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Compounding and complementary carnivores: Australian bird species eaten by the introduced European red fox Vulpes vulpes and domestic cat Felis catus

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Woinarski, J. C. Z., Stobo-Wilson, A. M., Crawford, H. M., Dawson, S. J., Dickman, C. R., Doherty, T. S., Fleming, P. A., Garnett, S. T., Gentle, M. N., Legge, S. M., Newsome, T. M., Palmer, R., Rees, M. W., Ritchie, E. G., Speed, J., Stuart, J.-M., Thompson, E., Turpin, J. and Murphy, B. P. (2021) Compounding and complementary carnivores: Australian bird species eaten by the introduced European red fox Vulpes vulpes and domestic cat Felis catus. Bird Conservation International, n/a . pp. 1-17. ISSN 0959-2709

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Article Link: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270921000460

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.

Item Type:Article
Business groups:Biosecurity Queensland
Keywords:bird introduced species predation threatened species
Subjects:Science > Invasive Species > Animals > Animal control and ecology
Science > Invasive Species > Animals > Impact assessment
Agriculture > Agriculture (General) > Agriculture and the environment
Agriculture > Agriculture (General) > Conservation of natural resources
Animal culture > Small animal culture
Animal culture > Ornamental birds
Live Archive:07 Dec 2021 03:07
Last Modified:07 Dec 2021 03:07

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