The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) as a potential invasive predator in a Critically Endangered sawfish nursery

David L. Morgan; Karissa O. Lear; Jack Ingelbrecht; Travis Fazeldean; Patricia A. Fleming

doi:10.1071/PC24009

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) as a potential invasive predator in a Critically Endangered sawfish nursery

David L. Morgan

^A ^* , Karissa O. Lear ^A , Jack Ingelbrecht ^A , Travis Fazeldean ^A and Patricia A. Fleming

^B

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia.

^B Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: d.morgan@murdoch.edu.au

Handling Editor: Tim Doherty

Pacific Conservation Biology 31, PC24009 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC24009

Submitted: 9 February 2024 Accepted: 19 December 2024 Published: 13 January 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Although the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is considered one of the most damaging and adaptive invasive carnivorous mammals that consumes a wide variety of vertebrate and invertebrate taxa, there are surprisingly few reports of red foxes hunting fish. We observed evidence of an attempted predation event by a red fox on a neonate green sawfish (Pristis zijsron) within a deltaic island in the Ashburton River estuary, a remote desert river in Western Australia. The site is a globally important nursery where newborn sawfish arrive annually in spring. Injuries to the sawfish included paw/claw marks on the head, damage to the rostrum, which is a formidable tool that is used for both defence against predators and for detecting and attacking prey, as well as a major hole in the head and damage to the gills, which are vital for respiration, osmoregulation, nitrogenous waste excretion, pH regulation, and hormone production. A series of tracks suggests at least one fox parades the shallow tidally influenced banks, with evidence of a green mud crab (Scylla serrata) having also been predated on. There have also been reports of red fox predation of sea turtle nests nearby. This is the first record of a red fox hunting in marine waters and one of the few identifying fish as prey. We suggest that a monitoring program for foxes, and possibly a control program, is warranted prior to the annual seasonal colonisation of this habitat by neonate green sawfish and nesting turtles, which may in turn reduce predation of sympatric species.

Keywords: green sawfish, Indian Ocean, nursey habitat, Pilbara, Pristidae.

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