Long-Distance Movements of Feral Cats in Semi-Arid South Australia and Implications for Conservation Management

Jansen, Jeroen M.; McGregor, Hugh; Axford, Geoff; Dean, Abbey T.; Comte, Sébastien; Johnson, Constance A.; Moseby, Katherine E.; Brandle, Robert; Peacock, David; Jones, Menna Lloyd

doi:10.3390/ani11113125

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…The habitat selection ratios strengthen this image of an interspecific divide with clear differences between the species in their preferences for certain environmental variables such as the vegetation cover, geology, and rabbit densities. All the animals collared show broadly similar movement behaviours, with comparable sized home ranges and distances per day travelled, despite that the cats that travelled long distances (Jansen et al . 2021) were included in the data set.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Due to COVID-19 restrictions in 2020, the use of aircraft for tracking only started in mid-May. Tracking flight paths followed parallel lines across and extending beyond the entire study area, to find animals that wandered beyond the park boundaries (Jansen et al . 2021).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Managing invasive alien species such as feral cats at large scale in open landscapes is complex and challenging (Donaldson, Wilson & Maclean 2017). Cats have the ability to cover vast distances in search of suitable habitat (Jansen et al . 2021) and reinvasion can occur rapidly after management efforts (Palmas et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial niche separation of an invasive and a native mesopredator

Jansen,

Moseby,

Comte

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Re-introduced native animals face major challenges to re-establish themselves in their previous range of distribution when invasive alien predators are present. We study the interactions between a native and an invasive mesopredator across an ecological gradient in the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park in South Australia. We placed VHF/ GPS-collars on feral cats (Felis catus) and re-introduced western quolls (Dasyurus geoffroyi) and analysed their movement patterns, both utilisation distributions and behavioural states, and habitat selection. Despite being able to move anywhere in this open landscape, there is a clear interspecific difference between the two species in their use and preference for landscape elements. Cats prefer grassland and occupy flat areas where rabbit densities are high. Quolls prefer forests and avoid areas of high rabbit and therefore areas of high cat density. The almost complete spatial separation of cats and quolls may reflect different habitat requirements, but the historically broad distribution of quolls suggests that cats may limit quolls continuously to a restricted niche in the Flinders Ranges. This raises the possibility of management interventions that could support a further expansion of quoll occupancy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial niche separation of an invasive and a native mesopredator

Jansen,

Moseby,

Comte

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…The data are available from the Zenodo Digital Repository https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8419723 (Jansen et al., 2023).…”

Section: Data Availability Statementmentioning

confidence: 99%

High‐resolution mapping of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) densities for targeted conservation management

Jansen,

Dean

et al. 2023

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Despite the staggering economic and ecological impacts of invasive animals, maps of their distribution are often only broad generalisations. Detailed knowledge about the spatial distribution of pest animals is crucial to efficiently reduce their numbers in open landscapes where no conservation fencing, or natural boundaries exist. Our case study tests a random but spatially balanced transect design to collect data on the distribution of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), a major destructive pest species in Australian ecosystems, and create distribution maps in relation to abiotic and biotic features. We surveyed an area of 650 km2 in the semi‐arid Flinders Ranges of South Australia using 95 transects (1.4 km length by 50 m width), that were placed with a method originally developed for surveying the ocean‐floor and applied for the first time in terrestrial ecosystems. According to a hurdle model fitted to our data set, the presence of rabbit warrens is influenced by geology, vegetation cover and the topographic wetness index, whereas the number of holes per warren depends on the ruggedness of the terrain, the vegetation cover and whether it has previously been destroyed. The model predicted the numbers of rabbit holes with up to 96.4% accuracy and at a previously unavailable resolution, providing a significant improvement in detail of the distribution of this feral animal. Synthesis and applications: A reliable, high‐resolution map of the distribution of rabbit densities was generated with surveying of less than 1% of the study area, information that can now be used to direct targeted conservation management efforts. This method is highly accurate and can still be improved in future studies.

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“…2021). Areas where feral cats have been shot, poisoned or trapped are quickly reoccupied (Lazenby, Mooney & Dickman 2014), assisted by their capacity to travel long distances (Jansen et al . 2021; Roshier & Carter 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of alternative rabbit control methods on feral cat activity in an open, semi-arid landscape

Jansen,

Comte,

Dean

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The availability of invasive prey often plays an important role in regulating cointroduced invasive predator populations. As predators have been shown to respond rapidly to declines in prey populations, our objective was to experimentally test how local population reduction of an invasive prey species, the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), affects the activity of an introduced predator, the feral cat (Felis catus). To test the effectiveness of three different rabbit control methods, activity levels of cats were surveyed with remote infrared wildlife cameras in three treatment and four control sites. The rabbit control treatments were implemented in extensive open landscapes in the semi-arid zone of South Australia, and consisted of shooting of rabbits, destruction of rabbit warrens, and the targeted delivery of baits treated with RHDV. The results indicate that only the destruction of rabbit warrens has observable effects on the number of cat detections on cameras. Cat detections decreased in the areas where rabbit warrens were destroyed and increased in adjacent areas where rabbits were still abundant. This suggests that cats vacated the treated area and moved into surrounding areas of abundant introduced prey.

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Long-Distance Movements of Feral Cats in Semi-Arid South Australia and Implications for Conservation Management

Cited by 8 publications

References 60 publications

Spatial niche separation of an invasive and a native mesopredator

Spatial niche separation of an invasive and a native mesopredator

High‐resolution mapping of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) densities for targeted conservation management

The effects of alternative rabbit control methods on feral cat activity in an open, semi-arid landscape

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