Abstract
Abstract
Two introduced carnivores, the European red fox Vulpes vulpes and domestic cat Felis catus, have had extensive impacts on Australian biodiversity. In this study, we collate information on consumption of Australian birds by the fox, paralleling a recent study reporting on birds consumed by cats. We found records of consumption by foxes on 128 native bird species (18% of the non-vagrant bird fauna and 25% of those species within the fox’s range), a smaller tally than for cats (343 species, including 297 within the fox’s Australian range, a subset of that of the cat). Most (81%) bird species eaten by foxes are also eaten by cats, suggesting that predation impacts are compounded. As with consumption by cats, birds that nest or forage on the ground are most likely to be consumed by foxes. However, there is also some partitioning, with records of consumption by foxes but not cats for 25 bird species, indicating that impacts of the two predators may also be complementary. Bird species ≥3.4 kg were more likely to be eaten by foxes, and those <3.4 kg by cats. Our compilation provides an inventory and describes characteristics of Australian bird species known to be consumed by foxes, but we acknowledge that records of predation do not imply population-level impacts. Nonetheless, there is sufficient information from other studies to demonstrate that fox predation has significant impacts on the population viability of some Australian birds, especially larger birds, and those that nest or forage on the ground.
Funder
Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Subject
Nature and Landscape Conservation,Animal Science and Zoology,Ecology
Reference70 articles.
1. Managing a breeding population of the Hooded Plover Thinornis rubricollis in a high-use recreational environment
2. The Australian native animals: how they stand today, and the cause of the scarcity of certain species;Le Souef;Aust Zool.,1923
3. The effect of land clearing on the ecology of Carnaby’s Cockatoo and the inland Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo in the wheatbelt of Western Australia;Saunders;Acta XX Congressus Internationalis Ornithologici.,1991
4. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Predator Control: the Non-Native Red Fox as a Case Study
5. TESTING ECOLOGICAL THEORY USING THE INFORMATION-THEORETIC APPROACH: EXAMPLES AND CAUTIONARY RESULTS
Cited by
6 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献