The skull morphology of London’s foxes: Exploring phenotypic plasticity and long-term adaptation as a consequence of dietary change

The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) shows diverse ecological, behavioural and dietary plasticity, and is now a common sight in UK towns and cities. Yet colonisation of the fox in London occurred relatively recently, following the Second World War and rise of suburban housing. With only ~70 years since urbanisation, red foxes in London offer a case study to explore both plastic and rapid evolutionary changes to morphology based on the very different food resources and selective pressures encountered in our cities. In conjunction with biomolecular analysis of fox remains to infer dietary signals, we use 3D geometric morphometrics of fox skulls from the 1970s and 2020s from London, and rural areas within Britain, to identify the extent to which urban environments have affected skull morphology.