The effect of diet, behavior and habitat of red foxes (vulpes vulpes) on the native ecosystem at king park, perth, western australia

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY VU KIEN NAM THE EFFECT OF DIET, BEHAVIOUR AND HABITAT OF RED FOXES (VULPES VULPES) ON NATIVE ECOSYSTEM AT KING PARK, PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA BACHELOR THESIS Study Mode : Full- time Major : Environmental Science and Management Faculty : International Programs Office Batch : 2015 – 2019 Thai Nguyen, September 2019 DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry Degree Program Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management Student name Vu Kien Nam Student ID DTN155490020 The effect of diet, behavior and habitat of red foxes (Vulpes Vulpes) Thesis Title on the native ecosystem at King Park, Perth, Western Australia Dr David Blake Supervisor (s) Dr Bui Quang Binh Supervisor’s signature Abstract: Kings Perth is one of the largest city parks in the world, covering an area of 400 hectares, located right next to the city center of Perth, Western Australia, Australia The park is famous for its natural jungle, which stores the genetic resources of wild animals and plants in the world Red foxes are a wild creature easily trapped in this park With large numbers and the ability to grow and develop rapidly, red foxes become a threat to indigenous animals and plants such as birds nesting on the ground, small to medium sized animals’ vase and especially green turtles Foxes survive in a variety of habitats, including urban, alpine, and arid regions Outside urban areas, it seems to be the most abundant in the heavily wooded areas often found in agricultural landscapes that provide plenty of shelter and food Foxes eat almost everything, scavenge and hunt for whatever is i available Its main food source is small animals, but it also eats insects and fruits Fatal reasons for foxes comprise shooting, catching, and hunting Diseases, for example, manage and distemper are the main reason for death in fox populaces Hence, it can be seen that the development, increase and conduct of foxes will impact significantly on local species, especially in King Perth Nature Park Keywords Vulpes vulpes, Fox, Effect, Ecosystem Number of pages 64 Date of submission 23/09/2019 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To finish the educational program of Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, graduation preparing is crucial for each student The graduation practice is a chance for students to affirm their ability, simultaneously contact with practices and help students have logic research measure before graduation From that reality, with the advocate of the Executive Board of the Advanced Program in Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, Edith Cowan University, as well as the School Board, I implemented a study about the topic: "The impact of diet, behaviour and natural surroundings of red fox (Vulpes Vulpes) on native ecosystem at King Park, Perth, Western Australia” Having accomplished the results of this theme, I would like to send my sincere and gratitude to you that you have been committed to conferring knowledge all through the learning process Especially the instructor Dr David Blake, Dr Rob David, Dr Harriet Mills and Dr Bui Quang Binh have devotedly guided and supported me to implement this graduation thesis Due to the limited level of experience and practical work, the lack of information and materials, this graduation thesis does not eliminate initiating disadvantages in both content and structure Therefore, I hope to receive the contribution and feedback of teachers to accomplish the thesis Your sincerely! iii TABLE OF CONTENT DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .iii TABLE OF CONTENT iv LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF TABLES LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS PART I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Overall about the study 1.2 Objectives of the study 11 1.3 Research question 11 PART II LITERATURE REVIEW 12 2.1 Red fox (Vulpes Vulpes) 12 2.2 Components influencing fox control 13 2.2.1 Influence of other species 14 2.2.2 Effects of wild rabbits, rays and wild cats 15 2.2.3 Benefits from foxes 16 2.2.4 Cultural values 17 2.3 Methods to curb the rapid development of foxes 18 2.3.1 Traps 20 2.3.2 Biological control 22 2.3.3 Barriers 24 2.3.4 Management of living environment 27 2.4 The distribution of the Red Fox in the King park area and the impact of the fox on the native creatures 27 PART III METHODS 29 3.1 Position selected 29 3.2 Study the fox's diet 29 3.2.1 Collect and identify fox SCAT 29 3.2.2 Prepare and analyse content 30 3.2.3 Statistical analysis 31 iv 3.3 Study the population density of the fox 32 3.3.1 Camera settings 32 3.3.2 Calculating fox population density 33 3.3.3 Calculation model and report detection 33 3.4 Habitat analysis 34 PART IV RESULTS 35 4.1 Diet of foxes 35 4.2 Camera trap results 37 4.3 Composition and density of species 38 4.4 Seasonal effects and habitats for foxes 38 PART V CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION 42 5.1 Discussion 42 5.2 Conclusion 48 REFERENCES 49 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1 Kings Park, Eastern Australia, Australia 29 Figure 4.1 Cameras position 37 LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Types of fences are used to exclude foxes, rabbits and feral cats 25 Table 4.1 Results from a diet analysis of the sweeping foxes were collected from Kings Park and Bold Park, Western Australia 36 Table 4.2 Results of model selection for long-term monitoring of red foxes occurred in Kings Park, Western Australia 39 Table 4.3 Probability takes up space for foxes in Kings Park 40 Table 4.4 The results of model selection for different detection methods are used for fox surveillance in Kings Park, Western Australia 40 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS C mor Monitor by camera CAM Camera IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature Vul Vulpes (red fox) PART I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Overall about the study In are, Western Australia is the biggest state in Australia It occupies up to one-third of Australia's area of more than 2,500,000 km2 With the total territory of more than 2,500,000 km2 Perth has about two million people, is the capital of Western Australia Furthermore, Perth is well-known to be one of the most wonderful cities in Australia.1 King Park is a 400.6-hectare park situated in Perth and overlooking the central business district of Perth, Western Australia The park is a mixture of grass parks, botanical gardens and natural bushland on Mount Eliza with twothirds of the land conserved as natural bushland Offering panoramic views of Swan River and Darling Range, this is home to more than 324 indigenous tree species, 215 known native fungal species and 80 bird species The red fox is the most abundant terrestrial wild predator Since the last century, this species has invaded urban areas in Europe, Australia, America, Canada and Japan It was deliberately introduced to Australia for hunting in 1855 and the population was built up in the wild in the early 1870s During 100 years, this species had spread crosswise over Australia, except for northern tropical regions and some offshore islands Urban foxes only capable of doing small damage to the economy but can cause certain recognizable influences through their routines such as hunting, digging and jeopardize the gardens and lawns (especially significant problem when Kings Park is classified as an A-class reserve), stealing pet food and also REFERENCES Aviss M and Roberts A (1994) Pest fences: notes and comments Threatened Species Occasional Publication 5, Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand Beeton RJS, Buckley KI, Jones GJ, Morgan D, Reichelt RE and Trewin D (2006) Australia state of the environment 2006, independent report to the Australian Government Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage, Canberra Bomford M (1990) A role for fertility control in wildlife management? 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NPWS, 29 Hurstville.http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/npws.nsf/Content/Predation+by+the+ red+fox+-+final+threat+abatement+plan (Accessed December 2006) Olsen P (1998) Australia’s pest animals: new solutions to old problems, Bureau of Resource Sciences, Kangaroo Press, East Roseville 52 APPENDICES Photos of red fox and other animals recorded by cameras Appendix SCAT data STT Code Date Large Medium Small Insect Reptile Bird Amphibians Fruit/seed KP037 2/12/2018 kp033 2/12/2018 kp030 kp011 27/11/17 kp035 2/12/2018 kp028 2/12/2018 kp026 2/12/2018 0,05 kp036 2/12/2018 0,2 kp034 2/12/2018 0,6 10 kp027 3/12/2018 11 kp031 4/12/2018 12 kp024 5/12/2018 13 kp025 6/12/2018 14 bp15 15 kp032 8/12/2018 16 bp01 17 kp003 27/11/17 18 bp20 12-Feb 0,4 0,6 0,6 0,8 0,65 0,8 0,35 0,2 0,95 0,6 0,2 0,4 0,15 0,85 0,8 0,6 0,2 0,1 0,3 0,7 0,1 27/03/18 0,9 30/01/18 27/03/18 0,2 1 Appendix Camera data Date Time Species name Common name Number Camera 28/04/2018 2:24:13 AM Isoodon obesulus Quenda 28/4/2018 6:41:42 AM Vulpes Vulpes Fox 30/04/2018 3:50:59 AM Oryctolagus cuniculus Rabit 5/1/2018 7:51:08 PM Isoodon obesulus Quenda 5/3/2018 5:45:23 AM Vulpes Vulpes Fox 5/4/2018 5:45:23 AM Vulpes Vulpes Fox 5/4/2018 10:59:55 AM Vulpes Vulpes Fox 5/4/2018 8:33:39 PM Isoodon obesulus Quenda 5/6/2018 7:10:27 AM Vulpes Vulpes Fox 5/9/2018 11:20:41 PM Vulpes Vulpes Fox 5/11/2018 12:21:32 AM Isoodon obesulus Quenda Camera 28/04/2018 2:23:14 AM Rattus rattus Black Rat 29/04/2018 7:00:31 PM Isoodon obesulus Quenda 5/3/2019 10:14:53 PM Isoodon obesulus Quenda 5/4/2018 8:43:03 PM Isoodon obesulus Quenda 5/8/2018 2:45:37 AM Isoodon obesulus Quenda Camera 27/04/2018 22:09:52 Rattus rattus Black Rat 30/04/2018 8:27:35 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 30/04/2018 8:29:58 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 30/04/2018 8:42:14 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven Date Time Species name Common name Number 30/04/2018 11:27:42 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 30/04/2018 12:18:29 PM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 30/04/2018 2:39:10 PM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 30/04/2018 2:44:54 PM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 30/04/2018 5:28:21 PM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/1/2018 7:19:37 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/1/2018 8:02:17 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/1/2018 2:42:20 PM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/2/2018 2:41:23 PM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/2/2018 2:46:13 PM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/3/2018 11:24:18 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/4/2018 8:59:52 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/5/2018 8:57:16 Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/5/2018 8:59:00 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/6/2018 12:50:36 PM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/7/2018 8:57:49 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/7/2018 9:02:50 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/7/2018 9:38:18 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/8/2018 8:35:40 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/8/2018 8:42:54 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/8/2018 8:47:46 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/9/2018 4:54:58 AM Rattus rattus Black Rat 5/9/2018 7:36:32 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/9/2018 8:59:45 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven Date Time Species name Common name Number 5/9/2018 9:00:44 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/9/2018 4:07:11 PM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/10/2018 7:39:23 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven 5/11/2018 8:12:15 AM Corvus coronoides Australian Raven Camera 28/04/2018 1:39:08 AM Rattus Rattus Black Rat 28/04/2019 10:28:14 PM Rattus Rattus Black Rat 29/04/2018 2:$5:36 AM Isoodon obesulus Quenda Camera 27/04/2018 7:06:58 PM Isoodon Obesulus Quenda 27/04/2018 8:06:46 PM Rattus Rattus Black Rat 27/04/2018 8:13:01 PM Rattus Rattus Black Rat 27/04/2018 8:26:24 PM Rattus Rattus Black Rat 27/04/2018 8:59:11 PM Rattus Rattus Black Rat 27/04/2019 11:43:13 PM Rattus Rattus Black Rat 28/04/2018 3:27:37 AM Rattus Rattus Black Rat 28/04/2018 5:41:38 AM Rattus Rattus Black Rat 28/04/2028 11:26:40 AM Isoodon Obesulus Quenda 28/04/2018 1:04:08 PM Isoodon Obesulus Quenda 28/04/2018 6:50:40 PM Rattus Rattus Black Rat 29/04/2018 12:08:45 AM Rattus Rattus Black Rat 29/04/2018 8:52:36 PM Isoodon Obesulus Quenda 5/1/2018 1:39:48 PM Isoodon Obesulus Quenda 5/5/2018 8:22:38 PM Vulpes Vulpes Fox Date Time Species name Common name Number 5/8/2018 2:13:16 AM Trichosurus vulpecula Brushtail Possum Brushtail Possum Camera 28/04/2018 9:28:42 PM Trichosurus vulpecula Camera 10 5/3/2018 7:22:09 PM Isoodon Obesulus Quenda 5/4/2018 7:09:52 PM Isoodon Obesulus Quenda 5/9/2018 9:29:39 PM Isoodon Obesulus Quenda Camera 11 27/04/2018 3:52:39 AM Trichosurus vulpecula Brushtail Possum 29/04/1028 1:25:14 AM Trichosurus vulpecula Brushtail Possum 5/4/2018 12:25:35 AM Trichosurus vulpecula Brushtail Possum 5/4/2018 12:30:22 AM Trichosurus vulpecula Brushtail Possum 5/5/2018 5:26:32 AM Vulpes Vulpes Fox Camera 20 28/04/2018 7:59:07 AM Cracticus tibicen Magpie 28/04/2018 4:28:47 PM Cracticus tibicen Magpie 30/04/2018 7:36:19 AM Cracticus tibicen Magpie 5/3/2018 8:22:12 AM Cracticus tibicen Magpie