The diet of the feral cat (Felis catus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and dog (Canis familiaris) over a three-year period at Witchelina Reserve, in arid South Australia

Woinarski, John C. Z.; South, Sally L.; Drummond, Paul; Johnston, Greg; Nankivell, A.

doi:10.1071/am17033

Cited by 20 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Because foxes and cats had similarly varied diets across habitat types and seasons, we have confidence in the main result of a high dietary overlap despite the lack of withinhabitat site replication. These are the first results regarding the degree of diet overlap between red foxes and domestic cats within human-dominated landscapes, which are in good agreement with those found in natural habitats (Paltridge 2002;Woinarski et al 2017). In our study, in summer, red fox and domestic cat diets only marginally overlapped, suggesting that they can hunt a wider prey spectrum to reduce their degree of trophic overlap through niche partitioning.…”

Section: Diet Breadth and Overlapsupporting

confidence: 89%

Feeding behaviour of red fox and domestic cat populations in suburban areas in the south of Paris

2020

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Among medium-sized carnivores, red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) are the most abundant species in human-dominated landscapes worldwide. Both are known to be generalist predators that exploit a wide range of prey groups (e.g., mammals, birds, and invertebrates). Identifying red fox and domestic cat predation pressure on shared prey could shed light on their ecological role in shaping wildlife communities in human-dominated landscapes.Here, we assess the seasonal diet of red foxes and domestic cats in terms of composition, breadth, and overlap. Over two years, we collected their scats across three human-dominated study sites: park (n = 220 for foxes and n = 0 for cats), agricultural land (n = 159 for foxes and n = 146 for cats), and managed forest (n = 169 for foxes and n = 47 for cats). We detected similar diet breadth (B) for red foxes and domestic cats (B = 0.32 and B = 0.36, respectively) as well as strong dietary overlap (O = 0.83) between them. Moreover, the diet composition of both predators varied according to the study sites and seasons. Our results confirm the highly flexible trophic behaviour of these carnivores at the study sites, probably as a consequence of prey availability, and also the simultaneity of their predation over the same prey groups. Future studies should simultaneously monitor predator diet as well as predator and prey abundance in human-dominated landscapes to better understand the predatory impact of red foxes and domestic cats.

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Section: Diet Breadth and Overlapsupporting

confidence: 89%

Feeding behaviour of red fox and domestic cat populations in suburban areas in the south of Paris

2020

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“…Further, at the time of the surveys the study area was experiencing a prolonged drought that may have temporarily reduced the abundance of some predators such as non-native foxes and cats. These two predators frequently prey on small lizards in Australia, including both of our study species or closely related species [ 34 , 66 , 67 ]. Previous work has shown that avian and mammalian predators attacked lizard models in the open more than those in spinifex dominated areas [ 68 ], or at the base of spinifex clumps [ 69 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predators, prey or temperature? Mechanisms driving niche use of a foundation plant species by specialist lizards

2021

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Foundation species interact strongly with other species to profoundly influence communities, such as by providing food, refuge from predators or beneficial microclimates. We tested relative support for these mechanisms using spinifex grass ( Triodia spp.), which is a foundation species of arid Australia that provides habitat for diverse lizard communities. We first compared the attributes of live and dead spinifex, bare ground and a structurally similar plant ( Lomandra effusa ), and then tested the relative strength of association of two spinifex specialist lizard species ( Ctenophorus spinodomus and Ctenotus atlas ) with spinifex using a mesocosm experiment. Temperatures were coolest within spinifex compared to bare ground and Lomandra. Invertebrate abundance and the threat of predation were indistinguishable between treatments, suggesting temperature attenuation may be a more important driver. Overall, the dragon C. spinodomus preferred live over dead spinifex, while the skink C. atlas preferred dead spinifex, particularly at warmer air temperatures. However, both species displayed individual variability in their use of available microhabitats, with some individuals rarely using spinifex. Our results provide an example of temperature attenuation by a foundation species driving niche use by ectothermic animals.

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“…, Doherty , Woinarski et al. ). Physiological theory predicts that dingoes are expected to feed commonly on prey that is ≤45% of their own mass, and it is plausible that they can survive on invertebrates (Carbone et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Continental patterns in the diet of a top predator: Australia's dingo

et al. 2018

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Conserving large carnivores is controversial because they can threaten wildlife, human safety, and livestock production. Since large carnivores often have large ranges, effective management requires knowledge of how their ecology and functional roles vary biogeographically. We examine continental‐scale patterns in the diet of the dingo – Australia's largest terrestrial mammalian predator. We describe and quantify how dingo dietary composition and diversity vary with environmental productivity and across five bioclimatic zones: arid, semi‐arid, tropical, sub‐tropical, and temperate. Based on 73 published and unpublished data sets from throughout the continent, we used multivariate linear modelling to assess regional trends in the occurrence of nine food groups (arthropods, birds, reptiles, European rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus, medium‐sized [25–125 kg] and large [169–825 kg] exotic ungulates [including livestock], and other small [<0.5 kg], medium‐sized [0.5–6.9 kg] and large [≥7 kg] mammals) in dingo diets. We also assessed regional patterns in the dietary occurrence of livestock and the relationship between dietary occurrence of rabbits and small, medium‐sized and large mammals. Dingoes eat at least 229 vertebrate species (66% mammals, 22% birds, 11% reptiles, and 1% other taxa). Dietary composition varied across bioclimatic zones, with dingo diets in the arid and semi‐arid zones (low‐productivity sites) having the highest occurrence of arthropods, reptiles, birds, and rabbits. Medium‐sized mammals occurred most frequently in temperate and sub‐tropical zone diets (high‐productivity sites), large mammals least in the arid and sub‐tropical zones, and livestock most in the arid and tropical zones. The frequency of rabbits in diets was negatively correlated with that of medium‐sized, but not small or large mammals. Dingoes have a flexible and generalist diet that differs among bioclimatic zones and with environmental productivity in Australia. Future research should focus on examining how dingo diets are affected by local prey availability and human‐induced changes to prey communities.

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The diet of the feral cat (Felis catus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and dog (Canis familiaris) over a three-year period at Witchelina Reserve, in arid South Australia

Cited by 20 publications

References 22 publications

Feeding behaviour of red fox and domestic cat populations in suburban areas in the south of Paris

Feeding behaviour of red fox and domestic cat populations in suburban areas in the south of Paris

Predators, prey or temperature? Mechanisms driving niche use of a foundation plant species by specialist lizards

Continental patterns in the diet of a top predator: Australia's dingo

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