{"id":5039,"date":"2025-08-20T22:36:18","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T22:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/?p=5039"},"modified":"2025-10-09T22:52:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T22:52:26","slug":"outfox-an-island-fox-it-might-be-harder-than-you-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/20\/outfox-an-island-fox-it-might-be-harder-than-you-think\/","title":{"rendered":"Outfox an island fox? It might be harder than you think"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/gray-and-island-fox-skulls-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/gray-and-island-fox-skulls-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/gray-and-island-fox-skulls-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2024\/07\/gray-and-island-fox-skulls-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Schoenberger holds up a smaller Channel Island fox skull (on left in photo) and a larger mainland gray fox skull (on right in photo) to demonstrate the size difference\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Kimberly Schoenberger, a USC Dornsife Ph.D. student in biology, holds up the skull of a Channel Island fox (left) next to the skull of its closest living relative, a mainland gray fox (right). New research authored by Schoenberger and her collaborators shows that, despite having smaller skulls, most island foxes have a larger brain-to-body ratio than their mainland cousins. (Photo: Nick Neumann\/USC Wrigley Institute)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Outfox an island fox? It might be harder than you think<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n    \n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">August 20, 2025<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 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<p><em>Original story by Ileana Wachtel<\/em><\/p>\n<p>For decades, scientists believed animals on islands evolved smaller brains relative to body size to save energy. But most Channel Islands foxes \u2014 tiny predators no bigger than a house cat \u2013 defied that rule, evolving larger brains than their mainland cousins.<\/p>\n<p>These findings, published in <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0328893\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>PLOS One<\/em>\u00a0<\/a>by researchers at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, suggest brain size may hinge less on isolation and more on the demands of survival.<\/p>\n<p>Island syndrome refers to a suite of traits including reduced size, brain shrinkage, loss of flight in birds and tamer behavior. Until now, island brain size has been mainly studied in fossils of herbivores, which face different pressures than carnivores. The island fox provided an opportunity to bridge that research gap.<\/p>\n<p>Lead author\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/edmands\/current-lab-members\/\">Kimberly Schoenberger<\/a> said the results upend long-held assumptions about how animals adapt to island life. \u201cIt was most surprising to discover that island syndrome isn\u2019t one-size-fits-all,\u201d said Schoenberger, a PhD candidate in <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/bisc\/\">biology<\/a>. \u201cWhen we looked at carnivores like Channel Island foxes, the pattern of smaller brains didn\u2019t hold.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Channel Islands offer a natural experiment<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_25167\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25167\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-25167\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/08\/foxes-schoenberger-instory-c-500x370.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/08\/foxes-schoenberger-instory-c-500x370.jpg 500w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/08\/foxes-schoenberger-instory-c-768x568.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/08\/foxes-schoenberger-instory-c.jpg 980w\" alt=\"Small fox stands in dry grass\" width=\"320\" height=\"237\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-25167\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Channel Island fox searches for prey on Catalina Island.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/chis\/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Channel Islands<\/a>, an eight-island chain off the California coast, six of which are home to foxes, offered researchers a rare natural experiment to test whether island syndrome holds true across environments. The biologists compared the brains of foxes from those six islands with mainland gray foxes \u2014 their closest living relatives and likely ancestors \u2014 as well as with one another.<\/p>\n<p>The analysis revealed that the brain-to-body ratio appeared to be shaped less by isolation or island size alone \u2014 long thought to drive island syndrome \u2014 and more by local habitat conditions.<\/p>\n<p>On five of the islands \u2014 Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, Santa Catalina, San Clemente and San Miguel \u2014 foxes had relatively larger brains despite their smaller bodies. Their brains also showed slightly deeper folds and ridges in areas tied to motor control and spatial processing, traits that may help the foxes navigate rugged terrain and compete for food and shelter, especially on two islands where they share space with rivals like the spotted skunk.<\/p>\n<p>San Nicolas Island, the most remote and resource-limited of the six, was the exception. There, foxes had smaller relative brain sizes. With no predators, little biodiversity and limited food, researchers believe the animals faced fewer cognitive demands and may have conserved energy for basic survival rather than retaining traits like enhanced motor coordination or spatial processing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Channel Island foxes show that brain size reduction is not a universal feature of island life,\u201d Schoenberger said. \u201cIt depends on the pressures each species faces.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>This study was funded by the Offield Family Foundation through the USC Wrigley Institute, and by the USC Women in Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/island-fox-brains-proportionally-larger-than-mainland-foxes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read the full story on USC Dornsife news &gt;&gt;<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/research\/\">Learn more about Wrigley Institute research &gt;&gt;<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.earth.com\/news\/island-foxes-evolved-bigger-brains-to-help-them-survive\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Earth.com: Island foxes evolved bigger brains to help them survive &gt;&gt;<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/09\/05\/collaboration-is-the-lifeblood-of-island-fox-research\/\">Collaboration is the lifeblood of island fox research &gt;&gt;<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/06\/18\/conservation-ocean-coral-reefs-endangered-foxes-giant-kelp\/\">Wrigley Institute experts seek to save threatened species &gt;&gt;<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2023\/04\/21\/usc-natural-history-museum-collaboration-channel-island-fox-conservation-research\/\">USC, Natural History Museum collaborate on island fox research &gt;&gt;<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":1883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[79,86,76,48,12],"class_list":["post-5039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-biological-sciences","tag-channel-island-fox","tag-conservation","tag-earth-and-environmental-systems","tag-graduate"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Outfox an island fox? It might be harder than you think<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/20\/outfox-an-island-fox-it-might-be-harder-than-you-think\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Outfox an island fox? 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