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Free-roaming cats (e.g., owned, semi-feral, and feral) impact wildlife worldwide through predation, competition, and disease transmission. Baseline ecological information necessary for population management is lacking. We radiocollared free-roaming cats (feral, n ¼ 30; semi-feral, n ¼ 14; owned, n ¼ 10) in Caldwell, Texas, USA between October 2004 and November 2005 and compared population demographics among sex and ownership classification. We found ranges and movements declined across ownership classes whereas survival and fecundity increased. Our findings suggest that human interactions (e.g., feeding) may result in high, localized free-roaming cat densities, which may concentrate feral cat impacts and should be considered when evaluating population control strategies. (JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT 71(3): 915-919; 2007)

Urban development in the Florida Keys, USA, mandates an understanding of how habitat requirements for Florida Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) interact with vegetation changes caused by development. Our study objectives were to (1) determine Key deer habitat use at different spatial scales, (2) evaluate vegetation changes and identify vegetation types most threatened by development, and (3) provide guidelines to direct land acquisition programs in the future. We identified 6 vegetation types: pineland, hammock, developed, freshwater marsh, buttonwood, and mangrove. Key deer (n = 180; 84 F, 96 M) preferred upland vegetation types (>1 m above mean sea level; pineland, hammock, developed) and avoided tidal or lower‐elevation areas (<1 m above mean sea level; freshwater marsh, buttonwood, mangrove). Analyses of Geographic Information System (GIS) coverages suggested that historical development impacted near‐shore habitats while recent trends pose a greater risk to upland areas (pineland, hammock). Because uplands are preferred by Key deer, conservation measures that include land acquisition and habitat protection of these areas may be needed.

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