Temporal, spatial and individual variation in the diet of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in central New South Wales

Molsher, Robyn; Gifford, E. J.; McIlroy, John

doi:10.1071/wr99015

Cited by 46 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…If blowfly larvae were present in scats, the contents were classified as carrion. However, kangaroo, sheep and cattle remains were classified as carrion, irrespective of the presence of blowfly larvae because carcasses of these species were common in the study area and adults of these species are not common prey for foxes and cats [27,28]. Non-mammalian food items were identified using reference materials.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mesopredator Management: Effects of Red Fox Control on the Abundance, Diet and Use of Space by Feral Cats

Molsher¹,

Newsome

et al. 2017

PLoS ONE

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Apex predators are subject to lethal control in many parts of the world to minimize their impacts on human industries and livelihoods. Diverse communities of smaller predators—mesopredators—often remain after apex predator removal. Despite concern that these mesopredators may be 'released' in the absence of the apex predator and exert negative effects on each other and on co-occurring prey, these interactions have been little studied. Here, we investigate the potential effects of competition and intraguild predation between red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and feral cats (Felis catus) in south-eastern Australia where the apex predator, the dingo (Canis dingo), has been extirpated by humans. We predicted that the larger fox would dominate the cat in encounters, and used a fox-removal experiment to assess whether foxes affect cat abundance, diet, home-range and habitat use. Our results provide little indication that intraguild predation occurred or that cats responded numerically to the fox removal, but suggest that the fox affects some aspects of cat resource use. In particular, where foxes were removed cats increased their consumption of invertebrates and carrion, decreased their home range size and foraged more in open habitats. Fox control takes place over large areas of Australia to protect threatened native species and agricultural interests. Our results suggest that fox control programmes could lead to changes in the way that cats interact with co-occurring prey, and that some prey may become more vulnerable to cat predation in open habitats after foxes have been removed. Moreover, with intensive and more sustained fox control it is possible that cats could respond numerically and alter their behaviour in different ways to those documented herein. Such outcomes need to be considered when estimating the indirect impacts of fox control. We conclude that novel approaches are urgently required to control invasive mesopredators at the same time, especially in areas where apex predators are absent.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mesopredator Management: Effects of Red Fox Control on the Abundance, Diet and Use of Space by Feral Cats

Molsher¹,

Newsome

et al. 2017

PLoS ONE

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“…First, adults may selectively provision resources such as whole fawns or portions of fawns because they are easy to transport to young (e.g., Molsher et al 2000). Ease of transport may be particularly important when pups are old enough to consume solid prey items.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Foragers that select foods to optimize growth and development of their offspring may have a selective advantage over those that provision their young opportunistically (Krebs and Avery 1984;Wright et al 1998). Providers may select resources that are easy to transport (Molsher et al 2000) or that have nutritional qualities important for developing juveniles (Krebs and Avery 1984). Furthermore, providers may alter their behaviour while rearing young to reduce exposure of their offspring to parasites (Christe et al 1994;Merilä and Allander 1995;Tripet et al 2002).…”

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confidence: 99%

Early Ontogenetic Diet in Gray Wolves, <em>Canis lupus</em>, of Coastal British Columbia

et al. 2006

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Within populations, different age classes often consume dissimilar resources, and provisioning of juveniles by adults is one mechanism by which this can occur. Although the diet of Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) has been studied extensively, the diet of pups is largely unknown. We examined faeces deposited by altricial pups and adult providers during the first two months following birth at two den sites over two years on the central coast of British Columbia, Canada. Pups and adult wolves consumed similar species, and Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) constituted most of the diet for both age groups. Pup and adult diet, however, diverged. Specifically, adult deer occurred significantly less frequently in the diet of pups than in the diet of adult wolves, which suggests that adults selectively provisioned pups. We speculate that this may relate to adaptive strategies of adult wolves to provide their offspring with food of optimal nutritional value or reduced parasitic burden, and/or logistic factors associated with provisioning such as prey transportability and availability.

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“…Foxes in Australia, as elsewhere, are generalists that take a wide range of prey (Saunders et al 1995). In agricultural landscapes similar to the one in which we worked common prey items include the introduced rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), sheep, kangaroos and invertebrates (Coman 1973;Molsher et al 2000;Saunders et al 2004). Native small-and medium-sized mammals, introduced house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) and birds usually contribute smaller amounts to the diet.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of revegetation on predation rates by introduced red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in south‐eastern Australian farmland

Arthur¹,

Henry²,

Reid³

2010

Austral Ecology

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Interactions between wild carnivore abundance and landscape composition in agricultural landscapes are poorly understood despite their importance to both production and conservation. In Australia, introduced red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) prey on both native species and lambs in the temperate agricultural regions. Historically these areas were extensively cleared of native vegetation. Recently revegetation programmes have been implemented, but there is concern that this may benefit foxes and hence increase their impacts. We used an artificial prey placed in eight revegetated (6-12% cover) and 10 cleared (0-1.5% cover) landscapes of~700 ha to assess how these landscapes influenced fox predation rates. In June and August 2006 (winter) when we expect fox populations to be relatively stable following juvenile dispersal, predation rates were 1.5-2 times higher in revegetated landscapes than in cleared landscapes. We found no evidence of microhabitat effects on predation rates suggesting these landscapelevel differences were probably due to differences in fox population density. In April 2007 (autumn) the results were more variable, possibly indicating more transient populations including dispersing juveniles at this time. Our results suggest that the impact of foxes on highly vulnerable prey could increase with revegetation. However, the benefits of revegetation to prey may offset negative impacts of foxes and future work is required to assess the likely net effects.

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Temporal, spatial and individual variation in the diet of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in central New South Wales

Cited by 46 publications

References 40 publications

Mesopredator Management: Effects of Red Fox Control on the Abundance, Diet and Use of Space by Feral Cats

Mesopredator Management: Effects of Red Fox Control on the Abundance, Diet and Use of Space by Feral Cats

Early Ontogenetic Diet in Gray Wolves, <em>Canis lupus</em>, of Coastal British Columbia

Influence of revegetation on predation rates by introduced red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in south‐eastern Australian farmland

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