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Increased demand for sustainable timber products has resulted in large investments in agroforestry in Australia, with plantations growing various Pinus species, selected to suit a plantation's environment. Juvenile Pinus species have a low fire tolerance. With Australia's history of wildfires and the likelihood of climate change exacerbating that risk, the potential for a total loss of invested capital is high unless cost-effective targeted risk minimisation is part of forest management plans. Based on the belief that the understory profiles within the juvenile plantations are a major factor determining fuel hazard risks, an accurate assessment of these profiles is required to effectively mitigate those risks. At present, assessment protocols are largely reliant on ground-based observations, which are labour-intensive, time consuming, and expensive. This research project investigates the effectiveness of using geospatial analysis of drone-derived photographic data collected in the commercial pine plantations of south-eastern Queensland as a cost-saving alternative to current fuel hazard risk assessment practices. Understory composition was determined using the supervised classification of orthomosaic images together with derivations of canopy height models (CHMs). The CHMs were subjected to marker-controlled watershed segmentation (MCWS) analysis, isolating and removing the plantation pine trees, enabling the quantification of understory fuel profiles. The method used proved highly applicable to immature forest environments with minimal canopy closure, but became less reliable for close canopied older plantations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial ecology of the European red fox in urban environments has not been widely studied in Australia. The spatial organisation and habitat selection of red foxes in coastal south-east Queensland was investigated using the GPS data from 17 collared foxes from seven putative fox families. Home range and core activity areas were calculated using 95% (KDE95) and 50% (KDE50) kernel density estimates respectively. Mean KDE95 home range size was 198 ha, and the mean core (KDE50) use area was 34 ha. Habitat selection, based on four broad habitat classes – Beach, Dunes, Urban and Green Space – was assessed using compositional analyses. At both 2nd order (study site) and 3rd order (home range) habitat selection, urban space was overwhelmingly the least preferred habitat in the study area despite being the most extensive habitat type. The unusual findings of this study contribute to a broader understanding of the ecology of this previously unstudied fox population. The spatial ecology of a population of the European red fox (Vulpes vulpes) was investigated in an urban coastal environment in south-east Queensland, Australia. The study provides an overview of the population structure, spatial organisation and habitat selection of seven fox families. In contrast to many other global studies of urban foxes, the foxes in this study demonstrated a strong avoidance of the built urban environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diet of the European red fox (Vulpes vulpes) was investigated through analysis of 1185 scats collected between 2010 and 2014 from coastal south-east Queensland, Australia. By both frequency of occurrence and volume, its diet was dominated by terrestrial arthropods, marine arthropods, vegetation and birds, although the remains of the short-tailed shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris) consumed as carrion dominated the latter. Terrestrial arthropods, primarily insects of the order Coleoptera, were eaten all year (61% frequency of occurrence, FO) but varied seasonally (35–67%FO), mostly due to the consumption of large numbers of Christmas beetles (Anoplognathus spp.) in the summer months. Marine arthropods consisted almost entirely of ghost crabs (Ocypode spp.) and seasonal variation in consumption was evident (33–72%FO) and likely correlated with ghost crab abundance. Fruit and berries were an important food item for foxes all year but also varied seasonally (30–65%FO). The opportunistic diet of this fox population is discussed in the context of dietary differences, but common opportunism, reported in other Australian and overseas studies. The diet of the European red fox (Vulpes vulpes) was investigated through analysis of 1185 scats collected between 2010 and 2014 from coastal south-east Queensland, Australia. Fox diet was dominated by terrestrial arthropods, marine arthropods, vegetation and birds, although the remains of the short-tailed shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris) consumed as carrion dominated the latter. Photo by Julie O'Connor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]