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12 March 2021 Urban fringe dweller: the European red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in an urban coastal ecosystem
Julie M. O’Connor, Sanjeev K. Srivastava, Elizabeth A. Brunton, Scott E. Burnett
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Abstract

The spatial ecology of the European red fox in urban environments has not been widely studied in Australia. The spatial organisation and habitat selection of red foxes in coastal south-east Queensland was investigated using the GPS data from 17 collared foxes from seven putative fox families. Home range and core activity areas were calculated using 95% (KDE95) and 50% (KDE50) kernel density estimates respectively. Mean KDE95 home range size was 198 ha, and the mean core (KDE50) use area was 34 ha. Habitat selection, based on four broad habitat classes – Beach, Dunes, Urban and Green Space – was assessed using compositional analyses. At both 2nd order (study site) and 3rd order (home range) habitat selection, urban space was overwhelmingly the least preferred habitat in the study area despite being the most extensive habitat type. The unusual findings of this study contribute to a broader understanding of the ecology of this previously unstudied fox population.

© CSIRO 2020
Julie M. O’Connor, Sanjeev K. Srivastava, Elizabeth A. Brunton, and Scott E. Burnett "Urban fringe dweller: the European red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in an urban coastal ecosystem," Australian Journal of Zoology 68(1), 9-24, (12 March 2021). https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO20069
Received: 25 July 2020; Accepted: 19 February 2021; Published: 12 March 2021
KEYWORDS
coastal ecosystem
compositional analysis
core activity area
habitat selection, home range
red fox
spatial ecology
urban environment
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