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Does fire influence the landscape-scale distribution of an invasive mesopredator?

ABSTRACT: 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.

SUBMITTER: Payne CJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4188561 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Does fire influence the landscape-scale distribution of an invasive mesopredator?

Payne Catherine J CJ Ritchie Euan G EG Kelly Luke T LT Nimmo Dale G DG

PloS one 20141007 10

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, th ...[more]

PMID: 25291186

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Project description:Simple Summary Restoration of biodiversity in urban green spaces frequently requires eradication or management of invasive species. We aimed to identify fine- and landscape-scale habitat features associated with the presence of five invasive urban mammals (Rattus species, European hedgehogs, mice, and brushtail possums) in three urban green space types (forest fragment, amenity park, residential garden) across three New Zealand cities, and across two seasons, to identify where management effort should be focused. All species were detected in all greenspace types; however, rodents were detected least in residential gardens, possums were detected most often in forest fragments, and hedgehogs least in forest fragments. Proximity of amenity parks to forest patches was positively associated with possum and hedgehog presence and negatively with rats. Conversely, proximity of residential gardens to forest patches was positively associated with rat presence. Management of rats should focus on sites with shrub and lower canopy cover and of mice on sites with herb layer cover, while micro-habitat features were not important for hedgehogs and possums. Rats were most likely to be found in residential gardens with compost heaps. The wide distributions of these species suggest that in order to be successful, ecological restoration must be coordinated, target all green space types, and engage urban residents. Abstract A barrier to successful ecological restoration of urban green spaces in many cities is invasive mammalian predators. We determined the fine- and landscape-scale habitat characteristics associated with the presence of five urban predators (black and brown rats, European hedgehogs, house mice, and brushtail possums) in three New Zealand cities, in spring and autumn, in three green space types: forest fragments, amenity parks, and residential gardens. Season contributed to variations in detections for all five taxa. Rodents were detected least in residential gardens; mice were detected more often in amenity parks. Hedgehogs were detected least in forest fragments. Possums were detected most often in forest fragments and least often in residential gardens. Some of this variation was explained by our models. Proximity of amenity parks to forest patches was strongly associated with presence of possums (positively), hedgehogs (positively), and rats (negatively). Conversely, proximity of residential gardens to forest patches was positively associated with rat presence. Rats were associated with shrub and lower canopy cover and mice with herb layer cover. In residential gardens, rat detection was associated with compost heaps. Successful restoration of biodiversity in these cities needs extensive, coordinated predator control programmes that engage urban residents.

Project description:Estimating animal abundance is essential for research, management and conservation purposes. Although reliable methods exist to estimate absolute density for populations with individually marked animals, robust relative abundance indices (RAIs) may allow to track changes in population size when individual identification is not possible. Their performance, however, needs be thoroughly evaluated. We investigated the relative performance of several common faeces-based and camera-based RAIs for estimating small-scale variation in red fox abundance, a mesopredator of high relevance for management, in two different study areas. We compared precision, cost and performance of the methods in capturing relationships with covariates of local abundance. Random transect-based RAIs had a low mean, a comparatively high coefficient of variation and a high proportion of zeros, prohibiting or impeding analysis in relation to environmental predictors. Rectangular scat plots and transects along linear landscape features had an intermediate amount of zeros while retaining a high precision, but were less sensitive to local variation in abundance related to environmental predictors and required a large field effort. Camera trap-based RAIs yielded low to intermediate precision, but were more sensitive to small-scale variation in relative abundance than faeces-based methods. Camera traps were the most expensive methods for an initial monitoring session, but required the lowest field effort, were cheapest in the long run and were the least susceptible to observer bias and detection error under a robust sampling protocol. Generally, faeces count-based RAIs appear more suitable for studies that aim to compare local abundance between several study sites of equal landscape composition under constant detection probability. Camera traps provide more flexible data for studies that require accounting for influences of landscape composition on local abundance and are more cost-effective for long-term or continuous monitoring and more suitable to achieve high replication. Accordingly, the choice of the most suitable method and plot design is context-dependent.

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Dataset Information

Does fire influence the landscape-scale distribution of an invasive mesopredator?

Publications

Does fire influence the landscape-scale distribution of an invasive mesopredator?

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