The domestic cat Felis catus is one of the most ecologically harmful invasive species on earth. Predation by free‐ranging cats poses a serious global threat to small vertebrates and is a leading source of anthropogenic mortality for birds and small mammals in North America. However, little is known about the size of cat populations, especially in urban areas where both cats and wildlife are abundant. Methods to quantify free‐ranging cat populations are needed to understand the magnitude of threats facing wildlife populations and to inform decisions about prioritizing conservation and cat population management. We assessed the utility of trail cameras and sight—resight analysis for estimating free‐ranging cat abundance in a small urban area (Stillwater, OK, USA). We also evaluated whether relationships exist between cat abundance and both urban development intensity and human population density. Even with relatively large cat populations, we identified the vast majority (∼96.5%) of individual cats in both day‐time and night‐time photos. We found no relationship between cat abundance and either urban development intensity or human population density. This finding combined with the large numbers of cats observed suggests that cats may be abundant in our study area regardless of urban context. Sampling freeranging cat populations across a broad range of urbanization intensities that capture a variety of human behaviors and/or cat management policies is needed to shed light on the drivers of cat population abundance. Trail cameras show promise as a highly useful tool for achieving this objective in the context of wildlife conservation management.

Rainforest loss threatens terrestrial insectivorous birds throughout the world's tropics. Recent evidence suggests these birds are declining in undisturbed Amazonian rainforest, possibly due to climate change. Here, we first asked whether Amazonian terrestrial insectivorous birds were exposed to increasingly extreme ambient conditions using 38 years of climate data. We found long‐term trends in temperature and precipitation at our study site, especially in the dry season, which was ~1.3°C hotter and 21% drier in 2019 than in 1981. Second, to test whether birds actively avoided hot and dry conditions, we used field sensors to identify periodic intervals of ambient extremes and prospective microclimate refugia within undisturbed rainforest from 2017 to 2019. Simultaneously, we examined how tagged black‐faced antthrushes Formicarius analis used this space. We collected > 1.3 million field measurements quantifying ambient conditions in the forest understory, including along elevation gradients. For 11 birds, we obtained GPS data to test whether birds adjusted their cover usage using variation in GPS fix success (n = 2724) as a proxy and elevation using successful locations (n = 640) across seasonal and daily cycles. For four additional birds, we collected > 180 000 light and temperature readings to assess exposure. Field measurements in the modern landscape revealed that temperature was higher in the dry season and highest on plateaus. Thus, low‐lying areas were relatively buffered, providing microclimate refugia during hot afternoons in the dry season. At those times, birds apparently entered cover and shifted downslope. Because climate change intensifies the hot, dry conditions that antthrushes seemingly avoid, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that climate change decreases habitat quality for this species. If other terrestrial insectivores are similarly sensitive, climate‐induced changes to otherwise intact rainforest may be related to their recent declines.

∙ The Variegated Antpitta (Grallaria varia) is the largest member of the terrestrial insectivores guild within its Amazonian range. Despite the bird’s large size and loud vocalizations, however, basic aspects of G. varia’s natural history remain poorly understood. In this study, we conducted intensive tracking of one individual in a nature reserve in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, describing ‐ for the first time with radio telemetry ‐ space use, movement patterns, and roosting sites of G. varia. Over the course of 50 days in July and August 2017, the tracked individual moved slowly through a home range covering ∼ 17.6 ha and was generally quiet, singing at only two of 68 locations that together comprised its home range. Of five roosting sites, four included visual observations where the bird slept 3–7 (mean 4.5) m aboveground in relatively open mid‐story trees. We found no evidence of commutes to regular roost sites as all nocturnal locations were located close (mean 59.6 m, range 24–101 m) to the most recent diurnal locations. Slow movements on the ground without commutes to foraging or roosting sites help explain low capture rates in mist nets for this species. Our telemetry data suggest that G. varia home range may be larger than previously estimated in studies that relied heavily on bird vocalizations to determine area needs, though such methods may yield adequate results at times when birds vocalize frequently. Regardless, large area requirements help to explain the disappearance of G. varia documented in tropical forest fragments.Resumo ∙ Uso do espaço, movimento diurno e áreas de dormitório do tovacuçu (Grallaria varia) na Amazônia Central O tovacuçu (Grallaria varia) é o maior dos insetívoros terrestres dentro da sua distribuição na Amazônia. Apesar do seu tamanho e vocalizações altas, alguns aspectos básicos da história natural de G. varia ainda são pouco compreendidos. Neste estudo, nós realizamos o rastreamento intensivo de um indivíduo em uma reserva natural no estado do Amazonas, Brasil, descrevendo ‐ pela primeira vez com rádio‐telemetria ‐ o uso do espaço, padrões de movimento, e poleiros noturnos de G. varia. Durante 50 dias em julho e agosto de 2017, este indivíduo de G. varia moveu‐se lentamente na sua área de vida (cobrindo aproximadamente 17,9 ha) geralmente em silêncio, cantando somente em duas das 68 localizações que, juntas, formam sua área de vida. Dos cinco poleiros noturnos encontrados, quatro incluíram observações visuais onde a ave dormiu de 3 a 7 (média 4,5) m acima do solo, em um ambiente relativamente aberto no sub‐bosque. Não encontramos evidência de viagens regulares para poleiros usados a noite, uma vez que todos os poleiros noturnos estavam perto (média 59,6; amplitude 24–101 m) das localizações diurnas mais recentes do indivíduo. Mo‐vimentos lentos no solo, sem deslocamentos para sítios de forrageamento ou poleiros noturnos, ajudam a explicar a baixa taxa de captura em redes‐de‐neblina para esta espécie. Os dados de telemetria sugerem que a área de vida de G. varia é maior do que se estimava previamente em estudos que se baseavam principalmente em vocalizações para determinar o seu tamanho, embora tais métodos possam produzir resultados adequados quando as aves vocalizam com frequência. O requerimento de grandes áreas de vida ajuda a explicar o desaparecimento de registros de G. varia em fragmentos de floresta tropical.

Increasing free-ranging cat populations are a cause of concern for wildlife management and biodiversity conservation. Cats carry and transmit multiple diseases, annually depredate billions of birds and mammals in the mainland United States, and have caused extinctions and declines of wildlife populations worldwide. Trap-neuter-return (TNR) efforts, which entail trapping, sterilizing and releasing unowned free-ranging cats with the goal of reducing populations, have been implemented globally despite limited evidence of their ability to reduce cat numbers. To assess the effectiveness of a TNR program initiated in 2013 in Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA, we used trail cameras at 15 locations to estimate changes in cat abundance and the percentage of ear-tipped (i.e. sterilized) individuals between 2014 and 2018. We reviewed photographs to identify individual cats, and after accounting for detectability with mark-resight analyses, we estimated a non-significant decrease in abundance from 62 to 48 total cats across sampled locations. In 2018, approximately 27% of cats were eartipped compared to 0% in 2014, yet this percentage remains far below estimated sterilization levels needed for TNR to reduce unowned cat populations. Although additional long-term monitoring is needed, our results suggest that TNR conducted at its current intensity is unlikely to reduce Stillwater's cat population. Our research adds further evidence to the growing body of scientific literature indicating that TNR is ineffective in reducing cat populations.