Adaptations of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) to urban environments in Sydney, Australia
Abstract With urban encroachment on wild landscapes accelerating globally, there is an urgent need to understand how wildlife is adapting to anthropogenic change. We compared the behaviour of the invasive red fox (Vulpes vulpes) at eight urban and eight peri-urban areas of Sydney, Australia. We obse...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jue/juaa009 http://academic.oup.com/jue/article-pdf/6/1/juaa009/33711468/juaa009.pdf |
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croxfordunivpr:10.1093/jue/juaa009 2024-06-23T07:51:59+00:00 Adaptations of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) to urban environments in Sydney, Australia Gil-Fernández, Margarita Harcourt, Robert Newsome, Thomas Towerton, Alison Carthey, Alexandra 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jue/juaa009 http://academic.oup.com/jue/article-pdf/6/1/juaa009/33711468/juaa009.pdf en eng Oxford University Press (OUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Journal of Urban Ecology volume 6, issue 1 ISSN 2058-5543 journal-article 2020 croxfordunivpr https://doi.org/10.1093/jue/juaa009 2024-06-11T04:16:49Z Abstract With urban encroachment on wild landscapes accelerating globally, there is an urgent need to understand how wildlife is adapting to anthropogenic change. We compared the behaviour of the invasive red fox (Vulpes vulpes) at eight urban and eight peri-urban areas of Sydney, Australia. We observed fox behaviour around a lure and compared fox activity patterns to those of potential prey and to two domestic predators (dogs—Canis lupus familiaris and cats—Felis catus). We assessed the influence of site type, vegetation cover, and distance from habitation on fox behaviour, and compared the temporal activity patterns of urban and peri-urban red foxes. Urban red foxes were marginally more nocturnal than those in peri-urban areas (88% activity overlap). There was greater overlap of red fox activity patterns with introduced mammalian prey in urban areas compared with peri-urban areas (90% urban vs 84% peri-urban). Red fox temporal activity overlapped 78% with cats, but only 20% with dogs, across both site types. The high degree of overlap with cats and introduced mammalian prey is most likely explained by the nocturnal behaviour of these species, while pet dogs are generally kept in yards or indoors at night. The behavioural differences we documented by urban red foxes suggest they may adapt to human modifications and presence, by being more nocturnal and/or more confident in urban areas. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Oxford University Press Journal of Urban Ecology 6 1 |
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Oxford University Press |
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description |
Abstract With urban encroachment on wild landscapes accelerating globally, there is an urgent need to understand how wildlife is adapting to anthropogenic change. We compared the behaviour of the invasive red fox (Vulpes vulpes) at eight urban and eight peri-urban areas of Sydney, Australia. We observed fox behaviour around a lure and compared fox activity patterns to those of potential prey and to two domestic predators (dogs—Canis lupus familiaris and cats—Felis catus). We assessed the influence of site type, vegetation cover, and distance from habitation on fox behaviour, and compared the temporal activity patterns of urban and peri-urban red foxes. Urban red foxes were marginally more nocturnal than those in peri-urban areas (88% activity overlap). There was greater overlap of red fox activity patterns with introduced mammalian prey in urban areas compared with peri-urban areas (90% urban vs 84% peri-urban). Red fox temporal activity overlapped 78% with cats, but only 20% with dogs, across both site types. The high degree of overlap with cats and introduced mammalian prey is most likely explained by the nocturnal behaviour of these species, while pet dogs are generally kept in yards or indoors at night. The behavioural differences we documented by urban red foxes suggest they may adapt to human modifications and presence, by being more nocturnal and/or more confident in urban areas. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gil-Fernández, Margarita Harcourt, Robert Newsome, Thomas Towerton, Alison Carthey, Alexandra |
spellingShingle |
Gil-Fernández, Margarita Harcourt, Robert Newsome, Thomas Towerton, Alison Carthey, Alexandra Adaptations of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) to urban environments in Sydney, Australia |
author_facet |
Gil-Fernández, Margarita Harcourt, Robert Newsome, Thomas Towerton, Alison Carthey, Alexandra |
author_sort |
Gil-Fernández, Margarita |
title |
Adaptations of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) to urban environments in Sydney, Australia |
title_short |
Adaptations of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) to urban environments in Sydney, Australia |
title_full |
Adaptations of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) to urban environments in Sydney, Australia |
title_fullStr |
Adaptations of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) to urban environments in Sydney, Australia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Adaptations of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) to urban environments in Sydney, Australia |
title_sort |
adaptations of the red fox (vulpes vulpes) to urban environments in sydney, australia |
publisher |
Oxford University Press (OUP) |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jue/juaa009 http://academic.oup.com/jue/article-pdf/6/1/juaa009/33711468/juaa009.pdf |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
Journal of Urban Ecology volume 6, issue 1 ISSN 2058-5543 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/jue/juaa009 |
container_title |
Journal of Urban Ecology |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1802643159409229824 |