Feral cat home‐range size varies predictably with landscape productivity and population density

Bengsen, Andrew J.; Algar, Dave; Ballard, Guy; Buckmaster, Tony; Comer, Sarah; Fleming, Peter J. S.; Friend, J. Anthony; Johnston, Michael J.; McGregor, Hugh; Moseby, Katherine E.; Zewe, Frances

doi:10.1111/jzo.12290

Cited by 68 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…This is supported by male cats exhibiting, on average, larger home-range sizes than females at Fortescue Marsh over the five years of the program [24]. This difference has also been demonstrated in other studies [52]. Evidence of sex-biased dispersal in feral cats has been reported elsewhere [23] and is suggested to be an inbreeding avoidance mechanism [53].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Using Genetics to Evaluate the Success of a Feral Cat (Felis catus) Control Program in North-Western Australia

Cowen¹,

Clausen

Algar³

et al. 2019

Animals

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Simple Summary: The management of invasive species is a major challenge for the conservation of biodiversity globally. One technique that has been widely used to control feral cats (Felis catus) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Western Australia is the aerial broadcast of toxic baits, but assessing its efficacy can be difficult. Here, we report on a method of evaluating the effectiveness of this method for the abatement of feral cats using genetic analysis techniques. However, our results were unable to provide robust evidence that, over a five-year program, baiting had a detrimental impact on both genetics and demography in this population, and the results were not significant. Monitoring the impact of control programs in this way may provide valuable information to managers on the effectiveness of their management strategy, but further refinement of the methodology is recommended. Abstract:The feral cat has been implicated in the decline and extinction of many species worldwide and a range of strategies have been devised for its control. A five-year control program using the aerial broadcast of toxic Eradicat ® baits was undertaken at Fortescue Marsh in the Pilbara region of north-western Australia, for the protection of biodiversity in this important wetland area. This program has been shown to have had a significant detrimental effect on cats in this landscape, but the long-term impact is difficult to ascertain. We assessed population genetics across three cohorts of feral cats sampled as part of the control program. We also compared cat populations in natural habitats and around human infrastructure. A key challenge in any study of wild animal populations is small sample sizes and feral cats are particularly difficult to capture and sample. The results of this study superficially appear to suggest promising trends but were limited by sample size and many were not statistically significant. We find that the use of genetic techniques to monitor the impact of invasive species control programs is potentially useful, but ensuring adequate sample sizes over a long enough time-frame will be critical to the success of such studies.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Using Genetics to Evaluate the Success of a Feral Cat (Felis catus) Control Program in North-Western Australia

Cowen¹,

Clausen

Algar³

et al. 2019

Animals

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“…Though we expected more productive ranges (mean NDVI) to be smaller than less productive ranges following an area minimizing strategy, that prediction was not supported; ranges overall had high NDVI values possibly suggesting an energy maximizing approach. A negative relationship between productivity and range size has been observed in other carnivores (Bengsen et al, 2016;Ferguson, Currit, & Weckerly, 2009;Herfindal, Linnell, Odden, Nilsen, & Andersen, 2005), though the form of these relationships has been inconsistent among species .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Scale‐dependent home range optimality for a solitary omnivore

Gantchoff

Wang

Beyer

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Spatial and temporal heterogeneity are fundamental mechanisms structuring home ranges. Under optimality, an individual should structure their space use economically to maximize fitness. We evaluated support for three hypotheses related to range optimality in American black bears (Ursus americanus), predicting (a) range location on a landscape will correspond with high vegetation productivity, (b) increasing forest fragmentation will result in larger ranges, and (c) increasing proportion of forest and/or mean vegetation productivity will result in smaller ranges. We used black bear radio telemetry data from Michigan (2009–2015), Missouri (2010–2016), and Mississippi (2008–2017), USA. Annual space use excluded winter, and we separated seasonal space use into spring, summer, and fall. We collected data from 143 bears (80 females, 63 males), resulting in 97 annual and 538 seasonal ranges. We used generalized linear mixed models to evaluate productivity (estimated through Normalized Difference Vegetation Index [NDVI]) selection, and range size (km2) variation between individuals. At the annual scale, black bears consistently selected areas with greater vegetation productivity than the surrounding landscape; yet selection weakened and was more variable seasonally. Opposite to our prediction, we found that increasing fragmentation consistently resulted in smaller ranges; non‐forested land covers and forest edges might provide greater abundance or more diverse foods for bears. Ranges with a greater proportion of forest were smaller, likely reflecting an increase in food and cover which could reduce movements, yet there was no support for more productive ranges also being smaller as expected from an area minimizing strategy. Black bears displayed a scale‐dependent space use strategy: at larger spatial and temporal scales, productivity acted as the strongest limiting factor and energy maximizing was the dominant strategy, while an area minimizing strategy was exhibited seasonally. We revealed consistent, scale‐dependent responses by black bears to environmental conditions, demonstrating the intrinsic plasticity of this adaptable omnivore.

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“…) and therefore low cat densities (Bengsen et al. ). Based on predator–prey theory, lower levels of predation could enable the persistence of CWR species at low densities (Sinclair et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat as a mediator of mesopredator‐driven mammal extinction

McDonald

Nano²,

Ward³

et al. 2017

Conservation Biology

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A prevailing view in dryland systems is that mammals are constrained by the scarcity of fertile soils and primary productivity. An alternative view is that predation is a primary driver of mammal assemblages, especially in Australia, where 2 introduced mesopredators-feral cat (Felis catus) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes)-are responsible for severe declines of dryland mammals. We evaluated productivity and predation as drivers of native mammal assemblage structure in dryland Australia. We used new data from 90 sites to examine the divers of extant mammal species richness and reconstructed historic mammal assemblages to determine proportional loss of mammal species across broad habitat types (landform and vegetation communities). Predation was supported as a major driver of extant mammal richness, but its effect was strongly mediated by habitat. Areas that were rugged or had dense grass cover supported more mammal species than the more productive and topographically simple areas. Twelve species in the critical weight range (CWR) (35-5500 g) that is most vulnerable to mesopredator predation were extirpated from the continent's central region, and the severity of loss of species correlated negatively with ruggedness and positively with productivity. Based on previous studies, we expect that habitat mediates predation from red foxes and feral cats because it affects these species' densities and foraging efficiency. Large areas of rugged terrain provided vital refuge for Australian dryland mammals, and we predict such areas will support the persistence of CWR species in the face of ongoing mammal declines elsewhere in Australia.

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Feral cat home‐range size varies predictably with landscape productivity and population density

Cited by 68 publications

References 33 publications

Using Genetics to Evaluate the Success of a Feral Cat (Felis catus) Control Program in North-Western Australia

Using Genetics to Evaluate the Success of a Feral Cat (Felis catus) Control Program in North-Western Australia

Scale‐dependent home range optimality for a solitary omnivore

Habitat as a mediator of mesopredator‐driven mammal extinction

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