Journal article
The fox and the beach: Coastal landscape topography and urbanisation predict the distribution of carnivores at the edge of the sea
Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol.23, e01071
2020
Abstract
Mitigating the impact of invasive species is a global conservation challenge, which requires an understanding of the factors that drive the distribution, abundance, and ecological interactions of invaders. Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are a widespread and abundant invasive omnivore in Australia. They are common in dunes and coastal areas that abut marine shorelines, which provide abundant food resources in the form of carrion. They are considered a key threatening process to Australia's biodiversity. The global literature posits that foxes use a broad mix of habitats, leading to an expectation of few consistent associations of foxes with landscape attributes and human uses of beaches and coastal dunes - this is the fundamental hypothesis tested here. Fox distribution was comprehensively mapped in Eastern Australia (108 km of shoreline, 192 sites, 6900 h of wildlife camera footage) and related (general additive models) to a range of potential drivers (e.g. topographic features, habitat types, urbanisation, connectivity, dogs, fox removal) on ocean beaches. Notwithstanding the catholic nature of red foxes elsewhere, here we show that habitat use by red foxes along ocean beaches is not indiscriminate: more foxes occur on beaches backed by high dunes and large expanses of natural vegetation. Conversely, significantly fewer foxes occur where natural dune habitats have been lost to urban areas. Fox removal did not affect fox distributions. Foxes are functionally important carnivores in coastal landscapes, and their disjunct distribution demonstrated by us suggests a spatially heterogeneous functional signal in coastal food-webs. More broadly, sandy beach ecosystems, interspersed by urban development, dominate many coasts, offering a rich bio-geographic tapestry to test how models of fox habitat choice articulate into invasive species management and food-web interactions.
Details
- Title
- The fox and the beach: Coastal landscape topography and urbanisation predict the distribution of carnivores at the edge of the sea
- Authors
- Olivia Kimber (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - School of Science and EngineeringBen Gilby (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - School of Science and EngineeringChristopher J Henderson (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - School of Science and EngineeringAndrew D Olds (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - School of Science and EngineeringRod M Connolly (Author) - Griffith UniversityBrooke Maslo (Author) - Rutgers University, United StatesMichael A Weston (Author) - Deakin UniversityAshley Rowden (Author) - Victoria University, New ZealandBrendan Kelaher (Author) - Southern Cross UniversityThomas Schlacher (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - School of Science and Engineering
- Publication details
- Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol.23, e01071
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Date published
- 2020
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01071
- ISSN
- 2351-9894
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450941902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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