The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a common meso-carnivore native to North America, Europe, Asia, and some parts of northern Africa. Being adaptable and plastic while having a generalist diet and habitat selection, the red fox is perfectly capable of surviving and reproducing in almost any environment. For the same reasons that it is widespread and pertinent in its native range, it can be extremely invasive and disruptive in areas that it is introduced to. It is especially invasive in the Oceania region, where its disturbance to the natural ecosystem has earned the red fox to be ranked as the 99th most invasive species in the world (Invasive Species Specialist Group 2010).
Background Information
Being completely capable of inhabiting almost any environmental condition, the red fox is very widespread throughout its distribution in the northern hemisphere. Red fox tend to favor the fragmented and open landscapes that are common throughout the heavily cultivated and developed northern temperate regions because of the increased availability of cover, food, and den sites. Established populations in tundra and desert regions, as well as even urban environments, exemplify the wide-ranging abilities of this species to survive and be fecund. The tropics and unavailable niches due to occupancy by other meso-carnivores seem to be the only physical barriers and restrictions to the distribution of red foxes. (Invasive Species Specialist Group 2010). Isolation caused by the tropic climates in southeast Asia and island geography naturally secluded red foxes from inhabiting Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, but European colonization of the Oceania region led to the introduction of the species to an ecosystem primed to be exploited.
In the 18...
... middle of paper ...
...M., Lindeman, M., Busana, F., and Long, K. 2007. Experimental trials to determine effective fence designs for feral Cat and Fox exclusion, Ecological Management & Restoration 8(3): 193-198.
Saunders, Glen. 2006. Foxes in Tasmania-A Report of an Incursion by an Invasive Species. Invasive Animals Co-operative Research Centre.
Saunders, G., Coman, B., Kinnear, J., and Braysher, M. 1995. Managing vertebrate pests: foxes. Australian Government Publication Service. 141.
Saunders, G., Gentle, M., and Dickman, C. 2010. The impacts and management of foxes Vulpes vulpes in Australia. Mammal Review 40.3: 181-211.
Saunders, G. and McLeod L. 2007. Improving fox management strategies in Australia. Bureau of Rural Sciences, Canberra, Australia.
West, Peter. 2008. Red Fox. Pages 34-37. Assessing Invasive Animals in Australia. National Land & Water Resources Audit. Australia.
A species in particular that I have researched is the red fox or Vulpes vulpes as it is known in the scientific community. The animal is native to North America, Asia and Europe where they thrive in habitats ranging from temperate deserts to boreal forests, but its range spans the entire globe (Tesky 1995). The red fox is omnivorous which means that it feeds on animals and plants equally, which, creates impacts on both types of populations within its habitat. What makes the red fox invasive is its introduction to Australia and Eastern parts of the United States, as a result of migration of Europeans t...
Unlike the maned wolf and coyote, Darwin’s fox lives in the temperate forests, especially near Chile, or any other place in South America. Some species live on Nahuelbuta National Park or in Chiloe Island. Alike the coyote and maned wolf, Darwin’s fox is omnivorous and a secondary consumer. It eats mammals, invertebrates, reptiles and birds as well as fruits. Because of it’s small size, Darwin’s fox is easier to get caught by predators such as wild and domesticated dogs as well as pumas.
Invasive species are non-native organisms that occupy habitats and disrupt the natural ecological cycles of the habitat. They threaten the biodiversity of an ecosystem and are biological pollutants Invasive species introduced into new habitats usually maximize their reproduction in their new home and crowd out native species. Their lack of natural predators in their new community allow for a proliferation in growth and expansion as a result of their abundant food supply. Once they are established, invasive species can rarely be eliminated because their new habitat is favorable for their survival.
Noceker, Robert J. ìCongressional Research Service Report for Congress Reintroduction of Wolves.î August 1, 1997. Visited: October 17, 1999.
Global change is taking place every day; therefore, it is important to understand how human activities and behavior alters the biodiversity and functions of ecosystems. Alien species is a stimulator of major changes in ecosystems (Vila et al. 2011). An invasive species, is a non-native plant, animal, or fungus that moves to a new ecosystem in a foreign environment. Invasive ecology explores how the invasive species affect the economic, environmental, and human health on the new environment. For example, invasive ecology studies how an invasive species tends to crowd out and sometimes replace a native species (Richardson and Pysek 2008).
“... prairie dogs from a given area are a threat of injury to park visitors who fall into holes.” Furthermore, this evidence supports that because of prairie dogs harmful ways on the
Slowly, the disruption of these delicate balances are taking their toll on the native habitats and transforming small temporary changes into permanent problems. The area of environmental modification that will be emphasized in this paper is the introduction of non-native species to new habitats and the resulting effects on that habitat; specifically, the introduction of the European Rabbit to Australia.
Zipkin, Elise F., Kraft, Clifford E., Cooch, Evan G., and Sullivan, Patrick J., “When Can Efforts to Control Nuisance and Invasive Species Backfire?,” Ecological Applications, Vol. 19, No. 6 (2009): 1585-1595, accessed October 11, 2013. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40346271.
Foxes are lovely, calm, quiet creatures that always run as soon as they see humans, so this must show that they are definitely more frightened of us than we are of them. During a hunt the poor foxes are chased out of their homes even when they are only cubs and sometimes their parents and family are killed. This must be a horrible experience for them. Animals have their own rights and feelings as well as humans. We do not kill humans if they kill or eat a farmer's chicken or lambs so why should it be different for foxes.
Mason, Robert A. B. "Wild Mammals In Captivity: Principles And Techniques For Zoo Management, 2Nd Edition." Austral Ecology38.8 (2013): e26. Environment Index. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
One huge impact of global warming is the change in animals’ habitats. When the earth’s temperature is increasing, it creates the change of weather conditions in a certain area, which causes some kinds of animals in this area to live with many difficulties, or sometimes those kinds of animals are forced to move to new region when they cannot handle the difficulties. The arctic fox is an example for this situation. According to the article “How Does Global Warming Affect Wildlife,” arctic foxes prefer to live in the cooler environment while their habitat is getting warmer and warmer due to global warming, so arctic foxes have to leave their own home to seek a more suitable area (National W...
Invasive species, (also known as invasive alien species or simply alien species) are defined as any organism (plant, animal, pathogen, or other living thing) that is alien (non-native) to an ecosystem, which can cause adverse economical, ecological, or health effects to native species and/or humans. The roots of these problems all stem from the massive negative ecological impact these organisms are having on the environment (CBD, 2009). For all animal extinctions where the cause is known since the 1600’s, invasive alien species have been a contributing factor 40% of the time (CBD, 2006); the second most contributing factor to extinctions after loss of habitat (GC, 2013). By eliminating native species through competition for resources, predation, and transmittal of disease, invasive species continue to reduce biodiversity in almost all ecosystems around the world (CBD, 2009). In the future, this problem may worsen, and if no action is taken, could lead to a cascading ecological problem so large that whole communities or even ecosystems could collapse.
"How Zoos Are Saving Our Animals." – Features – ABC Environment (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2015.
Sikes, Roberts. and William L. Gannon. "Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research." Journal of Mammalogy 92.1 (Feb. 2011): 235-253. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.
One of the big causes of extinction or the endangerment of species is foreign species entering a habitat. This species that are not native to the land can disrupt the food web in that community. These species take control of the food web and endanger some of the other species. The native species become endangered and over the course of many years they either adapt to their new way or life, the foreign predator leaves or is killed off due to the different environment, or the species is killed off and becomes extinct. Organizations like the “World Wild Li...