Reducing the impacts of feral cats (Felis catus) is a priority for conservation managers across the globe, and success in achieving this aim requires a detailed understanding of the species’ ecology across a broad spectrum of climatic and environmental conditions. We reviewed the diet of the feral cat across Australia and on Australian territorial islands, seeking to identify biogeographical patterns in dietary composition and diversity, and use the results to consider how feral cats may best be managed

A key factor influencing wildlife responses to human activity is the degree to which animals have been previously exposed to human stimuli. On subantarctic Macquarie Island, gentoo penguins Pygoscelis papua breed in areas of high and low human activity (on and off-station, respectively). We investigated the behaviour and breeding success of gentoo penguins on and offstation, by a) comparing the behavioural responses of guarding gentoos before, during and after exposure to standardised pedestrian approaches, and b) employing an observational study to determine how human activity may have contributed to within-season breeding success in light of other environmental and site variables.Behavioural responses to pedestrian visitation by gentoos off-station were significantly stronger than those of birds breeding on-station. However, no relationship was found between pedestrian activity and breeding success off-station. Breeding success was, however, positively related to colony size, and negatively related to the activity of other penguins, the number of nearby southern elephant seal Mirounga leonina harems and the location of colonies within short grassland. On-station, breeding success was amongst the highest recorded for that season. Habituation, predator exclusion and the relevance of these findings for management are discussed.

The diving and foraging behaviours of Ade´lie penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae, rearing chicks at Hukuro Cove, Lu¨tzow-Holm Bay, where the fast sea-ice remained throughout summer, were compared to those of penguins at Magnetic Island, Prydz Bay, where the fast sea-ice disappeared in early January. Parent penguins at Hukuro Cove made shallower (7.1-11.3 m) but longer (90-111 s) dives than those at Magnetic Island (22.9 m and 62 s). Dive duration correlated with dive depth at both colonies (r"0.01&0.90), but the penguins at Hukuro Cove made longer dives for a given depth. Parents at Hukuro Cove made shorter foraging trips (8.1-14.4 h) with proportionally longer walking/swimming (diving (1 m) travel time (27-40% of trip duration) and returned with smaller meals (253-293 g) than those at Magnetic Island, which foraged on average for 57.2 h, spent 2% of time walking/swimming ((1 m) travel, and with meals averaging 525 g. Trip duration at both colonies correlated to the total time spent diving. Trip duration at Hukuro Cove, but not at Magnetic Island, increased as walking/swimming ((1 m) travel time increased. These differences in foraging behaviour between colonies probably reflected differences in sea-ice cover and the availability of foraging sites.

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