Body Weight as an Indicator of Vulnerability to Domestic Cat Predation for Juveniles of Three Species of Cottontail Rabbits (Sylvilagus spp.) in Colorado, USA: Implications for Release Criteria

Paul, G.; Friend, Daniel G.

doi:10.7589/jwd-d-20-00036

Cited by 5 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…We did not have enough data to conduct occupancy analyses on the non‐targeted mammal species. Although beyond the focus of this study, future research could evaluate interactions among coyote, cats, and cottontails, as other studies have found that cat abundance is higher in residential yards that do not have coyotes, and domestic cats can prey on lagomorph species (Kays et al, 2015; McGregor et al, 2020; Paul & Friend, 2020). Additionally, other research has found that mesopredators do not change temporal or spatial activity in response to predators like coyotes when humans are present, indicating that humans play a “predator”‐like role in urban systems similar to our study area (Moura et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neighborhood ethnicity is related to mammal occupancy and activity across a desert metropolitan area

Cocroft,

Lewis,

Clark

et al. 2024

Ecosphere

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Cities support abundant human and wildlife populations that are shaped indirectly and directly by human decisions, often resulting in unequal access to environmental services and accessible open spaces. Urban land cover drives biodiversity patterns across metropolitan areas, but at smaller scales that matter to local residents, neighborhood socio‐cultural factors can influence the presence and abundance of wildlife. Neighborhood income is associated with plant and animal diversity in some cities, but the influence of other social variables is less well understood, especially across desert ecosystems. We explored wildlife distribution across gradients of neighborhood ethnicity in addition to income and landscape characteristics within residential areas of metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Utilizing data from 38 wildlife cameras deployed in public parks and undeveloped open spaces within or near suburban neighborhoods, we estimated occupancy and activity patterns of common mammal species, including species native to the Sonoran Desert (coyote [Canis latrans] and desert cottontail rabbit [Sylvilagus audubonii]), and non‐native domestic cat (Felis catus). Neighborhood ethnicity (percentage of Latino residents) appeared to exhibit a negative relationship with occupancy for coyotes and cottontail rabbits. Additionally, daily activity patterns of coyotes occurred later in the evenings and mornings in neighborhoods with higher proportions of Latino residents, but activity was unaffected by differences in neighborhood income. This study is one of the first to show that social‐ecological mechanisms associated with patterns of neighborhood ethnicity as well as income may help to shape wildlife distribution in cities. These findings have implications for equitable management and provisioning of ecosystem services for urban residents and highlight the importance of considering a range of social covariates to better understand biodiversity outcomes in urban and urbanizing areas.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neighborhood ethnicity is related to mammal occupancy and activity across a desert metropolitan area

Cocroft,

Lewis,

Clark

et al. 2024

Ecosphere

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“…Therefore, this provides the rationale to include admission as a category. Because the state of eastern cottontails on admission depicts the type of care they will begin to receive (Burton & Doblar 2004;Garrigan et al 2016;Loyd et al 2017;McRuer et al 2017;Long et al 2020;Paul & Friend 2020;Timm & Kime 2020;Hanson et al 2021), we can expect admission information to be included in detail in the literature.…”

Section: Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A conditioning period or outdoor housing may help an eastern cottontail become familiarized with their surroundings and forage in a safer environment prior to being released (Cherney & Nieves 1991;Diehl & Stokhaug 2012;Ford & Dubé 2019), but it is unknown whether this period is beneficial to released eastern cottontails in the long term. Housing infant eastern cottontails indoors in quiet areas only could be a way to minimize stress while in care (Reese 1992a;Jijón et al 2007;Oberly 2015;Paul & Friend 2017;Santos 2018;Tseng 2019). As housing can have a significant effect on an eastern cottontail's welfare and potentially their outcome, it is important to be included in this analysis.…”

Section: Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

Rehabilitating infant eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus): a robust scoping review of the relevant literature published in Canada and the United States

Kosmal,

Cox,

Pearson

et al. 2023

Bulletin

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The objective of this review is to describe the current available literature on rehabilitated eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) in Canada and the United States to determine gaps in our knowledge, how the state of available literature compares to other wildlife species, and what aspects of rehabilitative care are covered. To meet the objectives, eligible sources must have included eastern cottontails that have entered rehabilitation. Thirty-six articles from 31 different authors were within the inclusion and outside the exclusion criteria for analysis. Results show a lack of information related to eastern cottontails in 80% (4/5) of categories and significant variation in protocols, with most being related to feeding. The lack of published scientific literature and protocol variation could be contributing to knowledge gaps within the field of rehabilitation.

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“…At each spatial scale, observation data from all cameras located within each grid cell were pooled to create daily detection histories (detected = 1, not detected = 0, not surveyed = NA) for the respective cell using the package "CamtrapR" in R version 4.1.2 (Niedballa et al, 2016;RStudio Team, 2019;R Core Team, 2020). Species included in this analysis were domestic cat due to its centrality to the research questions, and eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus), eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), groundhog (Marmota monax), and white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) because they are native species known to be depredated by domestic cats (George, 1974;Loyd et al, 2013;Paul and Friend, 2020;Herrera et al, 2022). Raccoon (Procyon lotor), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) were also included because they are disease vectors or are otherwise known to be a risk to cats through direct conflict or interference competition (Carey and McLean, 1983;Jenkins et al, 1988;Sogliani and Mori, 2019;Zecca et al, 2020;Hennessy and Hild, 2021).…”

Section: Observation Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal overlap of domestic cats (Felis catus) and native urban wildlife

et al. 2022

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Free-roaming domestic cats (Felis catus) are known to pose threats to ecosystem health via transmission of zoonotic diseases and predation of native wildlife. Likewise, free-roaming cats are also susceptible to predation or disease transmission from native wildlife. Physical interactions are required for many of these risks to be manifested, necessitating spatial and temporal overlap between cats and wildlife species. Therefore, knowledge of the location and extent of shared habitat and activity periods would benefit management programs. We used data from a 3-year camera trap survey to model species-specific occupancy and identify landscape variables that contribute to the distribution of free-roaming domestic cats and eight native mammal species in Washington, DC. (USA). Our analysis includes five species that are common prey items of domestic cats, and three species that are potential disease vectors or are otherwise known to be a risk to cats. We then predicted the probability of occupancy and estimated the probability of spatial overlap between cats and each native wildlife species at multiple scales. We also used kernel density estimations to calculate temporal overlap between cats and each native wildlife species. Across spatial scales, occupancy for potential disease vector species was generally positively correlated with canopy cover and open water. Prey species were also generally positively correlated with canopy cover, but displayed negative associations with human population density and inconsistent associations with average per capita income. Domestic cat occupancy was negatively correlated with natural habitat characteristics and positively correlated with human population density. Predicted spatial overlap between domestic cats and native wildlife was greatest for potential disease vector species. Temporal overlap was high (>0.50) between cats and all but two native wildlife species, indicating that temporal overlap is probable wherever species overlap spatially. Our findings indicate that the risk to and from domestic cats varies across urban landscapes, but primarily arises from human activities. As such, humans are implicated in the negative outcomes that result from cats interacting with wildlife. Data-driven management to reduce such interactions can aid in cat population management, biodiversity conservation, and public health campaigns.

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Body Weight as an Indicator of Vulnerability to Domestic Cat Predation for Juveniles of Three Species of Cottontail Rabbits (Sylvilagus spp.) in Colorado, USA: Implications for Release Criteria

Cited by 5 publications

References 3 publications

Neighborhood ethnicity is related to mammal occupancy and activity across a desert metropolitan area

Neighborhood ethnicity is related to mammal occupancy and activity across a desert metropolitan area

Rehabilitating infant eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus): a robust scoping review of the relevant literature published in Canada and the United States

Spatial and temporal overlap of domestic cats (Felis catus) and native urban wildlife

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