Does fire influence the landscape-scale distribution of an invasive mesopredator?
Predation and fire shape the structure and function of ecosystems globally. However, studies exploring interactions between these two processes are rare, especially at large spatial scales. This knowledge gap is significant not only for ecological theory, but also in an applied context, because it l...
Main Authors: | , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
2014
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30070751 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Does_fire_influence_the_landscape-scale_distribution_of_an_invasive_mesopredator_/20922502 |
id |
ftdeakinunifig:oai:figshare.com:article/20922502 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdeakinunifig:oai:figshare.com:article/20922502 2023-05-15T15:50:56+02:00 Does fire influence the landscape-scale distribution of an invasive mesopredator? C J Payne Euan Ritchie L T Kelly Dale Nimmo 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30070751 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Does_fire_influence_the_landscape-scale_distribution_of_an_invasive_mesopredator_/20922502 unknown http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30070751 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Does_fire_influence_the_landscape-scale_distribution_of_an_invasive_mesopredator_/20922502 All Rights Reserved Uncategorized Science & Technology Multidisciplinary Sciences Science & Technology - Other Topics FOXES VULPES-VULPES SMALL VERTEBRATE FAUNA RED FOXES HOME-RANGE BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION VEGETATION STRUCTURE WESTERN-AUSTRALIA HEIRISSON PRONG CANIS-LUPUS HABITAT USE Text Journal contribution 2014 ftdeakinunifig 2022-11-17T21:25:39Z Predation and fire shape the structure and function of ecosystems globally. However, studies exploring interactions between these two processes are rare, especially at large spatial scales. This knowledge gap is significant not only for ecological theory, but also in an applied context, because it limits the ability of landscape managers to predict the outcomes of manipulating fire and predators. We examined the influence of fire on the occurrence of an introduced and widespread mesopredator, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), in semi-arid Australia. We used two extensive and complimentary datasets collected at two spatial scales. At the landscape-scale, we surveyed red foxes using sand-plots within 28 study landscapes - which incorporated variation in the diversity and proportional extent of fire-age classes - located across a 104 000 km2 study area. At the site-scale, we surveyed red foxes using camera traps at 108 sites stratified along a century-long post-fire chronosequence (0-105 years) within a 6630 km2 study area. Red foxes were widespread both at the landscape and site-scale. Fire did not influence fox distribution at either spatial scale, nor did other environmental variables that we measured. Our results show that red foxes exploit a broad range of environmental conditions within semi-arid Australia. The presence of red foxes throughout much of the landscape is likely to have significant implications for native fauna, particularly in recently burnt habitats where reduced cover may increase prey species' predation risk. Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus DRO - Deakin Research Online |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
DRO - Deakin Research Online |
op_collection_id |
ftdeakinunifig |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Uncategorized Science & Technology Multidisciplinary Sciences Science & Technology - Other Topics FOXES VULPES-VULPES SMALL VERTEBRATE FAUNA RED FOXES HOME-RANGE BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION VEGETATION STRUCTURE WESTERN-AUSTRALIA HEIRISSON PRONG CANIS-LUPUS HABITAT USE |
spellingShingle |
Uncategorized Science & Technology Multidisciplinary Sciences Science & Technology - Other Topics FOXES VULPES-VULPES SMALL VERTEBRATE FAUNA RED FOXES HOME-RANGE BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION VEGETATION STRUCTURE WESTERN-AUSTRALIA HEIRISSON PRONG CANIS-LUPUS HABITAT USE C J Payne Euan Ritchie L T Kelly Dale Nimmo Does fire influence the landscape-scale distribution of an invasive mesopredator? |
topic_facet |
Uncategorized Science & Technology Multidisciplinary Sciences Science & Technology - Other Topics FOXES VULPES-VULPES SMALL VERTEBRATE FAUNA RED FOXES HOME-RANGE BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION VEGETATION STRUCTURE WESTERN-AUSTRALIA HEIRISSON PRONG CANIS-LUPUS HABITAT USE |
description |
Predation and fire shape the structure and function of ecosystems globally. However, studies exploring interactions between these two processes are rare, especially at large spatial scales. This knowledge gap is significant not only for ecological theory, but also in an applied context, because it limits the ability of landscape managers to predict the outcomes of manipulating fire and predators. We examined the influence of fire on the occurrence of an introduced and widespread mesopredator, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), in semi-arid Australia. We used two extensive and complimentary datasets collected at two spatial scales. At the landscape-scale, we surveyed red foxes using sand-plots within 28 study landscapes - which incorporated variation in the diversity and proportional extent of fire-age classes - located across a 104 000 km2 study area. At the site-scale, we surveyed red foxes using camera traps at 108 sites stratified along a century-long post-fire chronosequence (0-105 years) within a 6630 km2 study area. Red foxes were widespread both at the landscape and site-scale. Fire did not influence fox distribution at either spatial scale, nor did other environmental variables that we measured. Our results show that red foxes exploit a broad range of environmental conditions within semi-arid Australia. The presence of red foxes throughout much of the landscape is likely to have significant implications for native fauna, particularly in recently burnt habitats where reduced cover may increase prey species' predation risk. |
format |
Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper |
author |
C J Payne Euan Ritchie L T Kelly Dale Nimmo |
author_facet |
C J Payne Euan Ritchie L T Kelly Dale Nimmo |
author_sort |
C J Payne |
title |
Does fire influence the landscape-scale distribution of an invasive mesopredator? |
title_short |
Does fire influence the landscape-scale distribution of an invasive mesopredator? |
title_full |
Does fire influence the landscape-scale distribution of an invasive mesopredator? |
title_fullStr |
Does fire influence the landscape-scale distribution of an invasive mesopredator? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Does fire influence the landscape-scale distribution of an invasive mesopredator? |
title_sort |
does fire influence the landscape-scale distribution of an invasive mesopredator? |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30070751 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Does_fire_influence_the_landscape-scale_distribution_of_an_invasive_mesopredator_/20922502 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30070751 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Does_fire_influence_the_landscape-scale_distribution_of_an_invasive_mesopredator_/20922502 |
op_rights |
All Rights Reserved |
_version_ |
1766385977323945984 |