Reconstructing Fox Invasion of Australia: A Process-Based Approach Using Historical Sightings

Abstract

Aim: European colonisation of Australia triggered a cascade of processes that continue to threaten biodiversity today. These include the introduction of invasive species, responsible for rapid and widescale extinctions. Here, we integrated process-based models with thousands of first sighting records to reconstruct the arrival and spread of European red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Australia at a high spatiotemporal resolution. Location: Continental Australia. Methods: We constructed tens of thousands of spatially explicit population models of fox colonisation dynamics, using historical records, demographic estimates and spatiotemporal patterns of climate and environmental change. We then tested..