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Australian Journal of Zoology Australian Journal of Zoology Society
Evolutionary, molecular and comparative zoology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Urban fringe dweller: the European red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in an urban coastal ecosystem

Julie M. O’Connor https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8846-5985 A B C , Sanjeev K. Srivastava https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8402-6467 A , Elizabeth A. Brunton A and Scott E. Burnett A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs, Qld 4556, Australia.

B Sunshine Coast Regional Council, 1 Omrah Avenue, Caloundra, Qld 4551, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: Julie.OConnor@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au

Australian Journal of Zoology 68(1) 9-24 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO20069
Submitted: 25 July 2020  Accepted: 19 February 2021   Published: 12 March 2021

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.

Keywords: coastal ecosystem, compositional analysis, core activity area, habitat selection, home range, red fox, spatial ecology, urban environment, Vulpes vulpes.


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