Topic > The red fox is an invasive species to Australian wildlife

Invasive species as a whole have become a nuisance to many habitats and ecosystems around the world. What defines an invasive species is the following. It must be a species foreign to the habitat in which it resides, have no natural predators that allow it to reproduce so rapidly, and compete with native animals for food and shelter (Rosenthal 2011). These characteristics are what create such high populations of these invasive species in various habitats around the world. One species in particular that I have studied 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 it thrives in habitats ranging from temperate deserts to boreal forests, but its range spans the entire globe (Tesky 1995). The red fox is omnivorous, meaning it feeds equally on animals and plants, which creates impacts on both types of populations within its habitat. What makes the red fox invasive is its introduction into Australia and the eastern parts of the United States, following the migration of Europeans t...