Conservation gone to the dogs: when canids rule the beach in small coastal reserves
On most developed coastlines, dunes backing ocean beaches constitute an urbanised landscape mosaic containing remnant pockets of small conservation areas. Urbanised beaches are also prime sites for domestic dogs, known to be environmentally harmful in many other settings. It is unknown, however, whe...
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ftdeakinunifig:oai:figshare.com:article/20919253 2024-06-23T07:52:01+00:00 Conservation gone to the dogs: when canids rule the beach in small coastal reserves TA Schlacher Mike Weston D Lynn DS Schoeman CM Huijbers AD Olds S Masters RM Connolly 2015-03-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30068027 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Conservation_gone_to_the_dogs_when_canids_rule_the_beach_in_small_coastal_reserves/20919253 unknown http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30068027 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Conservation_gone_to_the_dogs_when_canids_rule_the_beach_in_small_coastal_reserves/20919253 All Rights Reserved Ecology not elsewhere classified Ecological applications not elsewhere classified Environmental management not elsewhere classified apex predators conservation domestic dogs invasive species red foxes reserves sandy shores scavengers 050202 Conservation and Biodiversity 960407 Control of Pests School of Life and Environmental Sciences Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment Centre for Integrative Ecology Text Journal contribution 2015 ftdeakinunifig 2024-06-06T01:57:32Z On most developed coastlines, dunes backing ocean beaches constitute an urbanised landscape mosaic containing remnant pockets of small conservation areas. Urbanised beaches are also prime sites for domestic dogs, known to be environmentally harmful in many other settings. It is unknown, however, whether small, protected parcels of dune are adequate for biological conservation and whether dogs compromise their functional conservation objectives. Here we examine, for two small (2 km ocean boundary) reserves in Eastern Australia abutting an urban area, whether such small reserves can continue to function as effective conservation instruments on ocean beaches, using scavenger community composition and efficiency to assess ecosystem function. Two non-native species of canids—domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes)—were ubiquitous and numerous inside conservation areas, to the point of having become the most abundant vertebrate scavengers at the beach-dune interface, outcompeting native scavengers for wave-cast carrion. Dogs and foxes have effectively supplanted raptors, normally abundant on non-urban beaches in the region, and other avian scavengers, as the principal consumers of animal carcasses both inside the declared reserves and at the urban beach. Whilst the ecological threats posed by foxes are widely and intensively addressed in Australia in the form of fox-control programs, dog controls are less common and stringent. Our data emphasize, however, that managing domestic dogs may be required to the same extent in order to maintain key forms and functions in coastal reserves situated close to urban areas. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus DRO - Deakin Research Online |
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Open Polar |
collection |
DRO - Deakin Research Online |
op_collection_id |
ftdeakinunifig |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Ecology not elsewhere classified Ecological applications not elsewhere classified Environmental management not elsewhere classified apex predators conservation domestic dogs invasive species red foxes reserves sandy shores scavengers 050202 Conservation and Biodiversity 960407 Control of Pests School of Life and Environmental Sciences Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment Centre for Integrative Ecology |
spellingShingle |
Ecology not elsewhere classified Ecological applications not elsewhere classified Environmental management not elsewhere classified apex predators conservation domestic dogs invasive species red foxes reserves sandy shores scavengers 050202 Conservation and Biodiversity 960407 Control of Pests School of Life and Environmental Sciences Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment Centre for Integrative Ecology TA Schlacher Mike Weston D Lynn DS Schoeman CM Huijbers AD Olds S Masters RM Connolly Conservation gone to the dogs: when canids rule the beach in small coastal reserves |
topic_facet |
Ecology not elsewhere classified Ecological applications not elsewhere classified Environmental management not elsewhere classified apex predators conservation domestic dogs invasive species red foxes reserves sandy shores scavengers 050202 Conservation and Biodiversity 960407 Control of Pests School of Life and Environmental Sciences Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment Centre for Integrative Ecology |
description |
On most developed coastlines, dunes backing ocean beaches constitute an urbanised landscape mosaic containing remnant pockets of small conservation areas. Urbanised beaches are also prime sites for domestic dogs, known to be environmentally harmful in many other settings. It is unknown, however, whether small, protected parcels of dune are adequate for biological conservation and whether dogs compromise their functional conservation objectives. Here we examine, for two small (2 km ocean boundary) reserves in Eastern Australia abutting an urban area, whether such small reserves can continue to function as effective conservation instruments on ocean beaches, using scavenger community composition and efficiency to assess ecosystem function. Two non-native species of canids—domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes)—were ubiquitous and numerous inside conservation areas, to the point of having become the most abundant vertebrate scavengers at the beach-dune interface, outcompeting native scavengers for wave-cast carrion. Dogs and foxes have effectively supplanted raptors, normally abundant on non-urban beaches in the region, and other avian scavengers, as the principal consumers of animal carcasses both inside the declared reserves and at the urban beach. Whilst the ecological threats posed by foxes are widely and intensively addressed in Australia in the form of fox-control programs, dog controls are less common and stringent. Our data emphasize, however, that managing domestic dogs may be required to the same extent in order to maintain key forms and functions in coastal reserves situated close to urban areas. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
TA Schlacher Mike Weston D Lynn DS Schoeman CM Huijbers AD Olds S Masters RM Connolly |
author_facet |
TA Schlacher Mike Weston D Lynn DS Schoeman CM Huijbers AD Olds S Masters RM Connolly |
author_sort |
TA Schlacher |
title |
Conservation gone to the dogs: when canids rule the beach in small coastal reserves |
title_short |
Conservation gone to the dogs: when canids rule the beach in small coastal reserves |
title_full |
Conservation gone to the dogs: when canids rule the beach in small coastal reserves |
title_fullStr |
Conservation gone to the dogs: when canids rule the beach in small coastal reserves |
title_full_unstemmed |
Conservation gone to the dogs: when canids rule the beach in small coastal reserves |
title_sort |
conservation gone to the dogs: when canids rule the beach in small coastal reserves |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30068027 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Conservation_gone_to_the_dogs_when_canids_rule_the_beach_in_small_coastal_reserves/20919253 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30068027 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Conservation_gone_to_the_dogs_when_canids_rule_the_beach_in_small_coastal_reserves/20919253 |
op_rights |
All Rights Reserved |
_version_ |
1802643211702763520 |