Influence of revegetation on predation rates by introduced red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in south‐eastern Australian farmland

Abstract

AbstractInteractions between wild carnivore abundance and landscape composition in agricultural landscapes are poorly understood despite their importance to both production and conservation. In Australia, introduced red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) prey on both native species and lambs in the temperate agricultural regions. Historically these areas were extensively cleared of native vegetation. Recently revegetation programmes have been implemented, but there is concern that this may benefit foxes and hence increase their impacts. We used an artificial prey placed in eight revegetated (6–12% cover) and 10 cleared (0–1.5% cover) landscapes of ∼700 ha to assess how these landscapes influenced fox predation rates. In June and August 2006 (winter) when we expect fox populations to be relatively stable following juvenile dispersal, predation rates were 1.5–2 times higher in revegetated landscapes than in cleared landscapes. We found no evidence of microhabitat effects on predation rates suggesting these landscape‐level differences were probably due to differences in fox population density. In April 2007 (autumn) the results were more variable, possibly indicating more transient populations including dispersing juveniles at this time. Our results suggest that the impact of foxes on highly vulnerable prey could increase with revegetation. However, the benefits of revegetation to prey may offset negative impacts of foxes and future work is required to assess the likely net effects.