CSUB receives grant for kit fox research project

Dr. Antje Lauer and three students survey foxes on campus, Kern River floodplains

By California State University, Bakersfield

July 9^th, 2025

A new grant has given California State University, Bakersfield the opportunity to expand its research into the endangered San Joaquin kit fox population on campus.

The university has received $8,500 from Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom and the National Wildlife Federation for Biology Professor Dr. Antje Lauer and three students to conduct a survey on the kit fox population on campus and along the floodplains of the Kern River to determine their preferred denning and hunting grounds.

As part of the project, Dr. Lauer and her students will develop a habitat conservation plan aimed at providing long-term protection for the species that will be implemented in CSUB’s Master Plan and presented to the Bakersfield City Council.

“We’re excited to receive this grant,” Dr. Lauer said. “This is an ambitious project that will give us more information about where the kit foxes are so we can have a real solid conservation plan.”

Through the six-month project, which began in June, Dr. Lauer and her students will survey fox habitations by collecting scat, extracting DNA and using a technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to analyze the DNA to identify which animal species are represented in the samples.

Dr. Lauer believes the research will provide more detailed information on how many kit fox populations there are across Bakersfield and how the Kern River floodplains are used as a travel corridor that connects isolated populations.

Even though there are dangers from coyotes and other animals there, she said the floodplains provide natural food sources in the form of small rodents and that the foxes are safer from being hit by cars.

“If we want to protect the foxes, we need to go beyond CSUB,” Dr. Lauer said. “Protecting this tiny population here isn’t enough. We need to know where the other populations are that are large enough to help the overall population to survive.”

Alejandro Romero, who graduated this spring with his bachelor’s degree in psychology and minors in biology and chemistry, has been conducting research through Dr. Lauer’s lab since February and was excited to learn about the new kit fox project.

“It’s been great. I’ve loved it so far,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun learning about the kit foxes and getting more in-depth experience using PCR.”

Romero is planning on pursuing his master’s degree later this year and hopes to one day become a doctor. As this is his first experience in a laboratory environment, he said the project has been a great learning experience.

“Being able to get this exposure to research is really good for me. I think it will help me be more prepared for medical school,” he said.

One of the other participating students is Kayla Medina, who also recently graduated with her bachelor’s in human biology. After taking a class with Dr. Lauer and learning about the kit fox project, she decided to try her hand at research for the first time.

“It’s very hands-on,” she said. “I thought I would be looking at Excel spreadsheets or something but instead I’m actually extracting DNA. It’s given me great experience in the clinical lab field.”

While Romero and Medina acknowledge that the research is the primary focus of the project, they said it’s also a great opportunity to educate the campus and the wider community about the importance of preserving kit foxes, which have lost 90% of their habitat in the Valley due to land development, agriculture use and energy cultivation.

“I feel a lot of people aren’t that aware of how many kit foxes are on campus. They don’t really know how important it is to maintain their habitat here,” Medina said. “Before I started working hands-on with this project, even I didn’t know how important it was to save the kit foxes. I knew they were here, but I didn’t know how endangered they were. We want to let the Bakersfield population know that it’s important to look after these endangered animals.”

Romero hopes that presenting a habitat conservation plan to the City Council will lead to the city taking steps to provide more protections for the kit foxes in the future.

“We really want these individuals to listen to what we have to say about why it’s so important to conserve these habitats,” he said. “I’m hoping they will pay attention and be willing to work with us. We’re trying to create this foundation that can be built on in the future.”

Dr. Lauer said a conservation plan could play a critical role in decision-making as CSUB and the city make plans for future land development.

“At the end of the day, we have to decide do we have a commitment to really protect the kit foxes, even if there is that consequence of ‘you can’t build on this plot?’ How much more development do we need? This all has to be evaluated,” she said. “If we build out everything, the foxes will be isolated and they will be doomed. They’ll be done.”