The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States

Loss, Scott R.; Will, Tom; Marra, Peter P.

doi:10.1038/ncomms2380

Cited by 651 publications

(652 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

584

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, populations 7 and 8 have declined more than predicted based on the amount of breeding habitat loss alone (figure 4). These populations also occupy the highly urbanized corridor stretching from Washington, DC, to Boston, MA, suggesting that threats associated with urban habitats, including non-native predators [44] and collisions with anthropogenic structures [45], may play an important role in driving regional declines. Furthermore, annual abundance of several populations was not predicted by any of the covariates included in our model, suggesting other forces are driving declines in these areas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying drivers of population dynamics for a migratory bird throughout the annual cycle

2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Worldwide, migratory species are undergoing rapid declines but understanding the factors driving these declines is hindered by missing information about migratory connectivity and the lack of data to quantify environmental processes across the annual cycle. Here, we combined range-wide information about migratory connectivity with global remote-sensing data to quantify the relative importance of breeding and non-breeding environmental processes to persistent long-term population declines of a migratory songbird, the wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina). Consistent with theoretical predictions about population limitation of migratory birds, our results suggest that habitat loss and climate have contributed to the observed declines in wood thrush breeding abundance, yet the relative importance of breeding versus non-breeding factors is population-specific. For example, high-abundance core breeding populations appear to be more limited by habitat loss, whereas low-abundance, peripheral populations appear to be limited by climate-driven seasonal interactions. Further, our analysis indicates that the relative impact of breeding habitat loss is at least three to six times greater than the impact of equivalent nonbreeding habitat loss and therefore the steepest regional declines have likely been driven by the loss of breeding habitat. These results underscore the need for population-specific conservation strategies implemented throughout the annual cycle to reverse long-term declines.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying drivers of population dynamics for a migratory bird throughout the annual cycle

2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In urban areas in particular, cats are one of the most common avian predators (Sims et al 2008), but their total impact on wildlife is difficult to estimate and varies greatly between studies (Fitzgerald and Turner 2000) and with study methodology (Krauze-Gryz et al 2012a). Recently, however, cats have been estimated to kill between 100 and 350 million birds per year in Canada (Blancher 2013) and 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion mammals annually in the United States (Loss et al 2013). In terms of overall proportions, they have been estimated to kill 2-7% of all birds in southern Canada (Blancher 2013) and to be responsible for at least 30% of sparrow deaths in an English village (Churcher and Lawton 1987).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Annual variation in prey composition of domestic cats in rural and urban environment

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The threat that domestic cats pose to wildlife has gained increased recognition by researchers and conservationists, and in this study, we investigated the seasonal variability and the effects of environment type (rural vs. urban) on the prey composition of free-ranging house cats in Poland. We analysed the variability in 307 monthly prey samples of different prey items killed by cats and brought to their owners (i.e., prey brought home by cats living in one home in one month) between 2002 and 2007 at 26 rural and urban sites. The variability in prey composition over time was analysed using additive models and canonical correspondence analysis. In total, we recorded 1348 prey items. Rodents were the most common prey in both environments, but shrews and reptiles were killed by cats more often in the rural environment while birds (mainly sparrows and pigeons) were more common in the urban environment. Additionally, prey composition changed seasonally. The pooled number of vertebrates killed by cats was largest in September and lowest in January, and rodents were killed most often in September, shrews and birds in June, and reptiles in April. The seasonal variation in the prey composition of cats was relatively high in the rural environment and more stable in the urban environment. Prey composition seemed to follow temporal and spatial variations in prey availability, thus confirming a facultative feeding strategy in free-ranging house cats.

show abstract

“…Woods et al (2003) extrapolated from their data that pet cats in Great Britain brought home 92 million prey over 5 months. Loss et al (2013) estimated the median wildlife mortality by pet cats in the USA at 684 million birds and 1,249 million mammals annually. In Canada, Blancher (2013) estimated that urban pet cats take approximately one-sixth of 100 -350 million birds (95% of estimates in this range) killed annually by all cats, owned and feral.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the effectiveness of the Birdsbesafe® anti-predation collar cover in reducing predation on wildlife by pet cats in Western Australia

Hall

Fontaine

Bryant

2015

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Highlights •We assessed the predation deterrent Birdsbesafe® (BBS) in an Australian context.• Captures of birds and herpetofauna, but not mammals, fell when cats wore a BBS.• Rainbow coloured BBS were more effective than red or yellow. 20 •To date, the BBS is the only predation deterrent protecting herpetofauna.• The BBS is not suitable where pet cats predate endangered mammals. 25 AbstractMany pet cats hunt and, irrespective of whether or not this threatens wildlife populations, distressed owners may wish to curtail hunting while allowing their pets to roam. Therefore we evaluated the effectiveness of three patterned designs (simple descriptions being rainbow, red and yellow) of the anti-predation collar cover, the Birdsbesafe® (BBS), in reducing prey captures by 114 30 pet cats over 2 years in a suburban Australian context. The BBS offers a colourful indicator of a cat's presence and should therefore alert prey with good colour vision (birds and herpetofauna), but not most mammals with limited colour vision. We also interviewed the 82 owners of cats in the study about their experience using the BBS and their assessment of the behavioural responses of their cats. In the first year of the study, which focused on the effectiveness of different BBS colours, 35 captures of prey with good colour vision were reduced by 54% (95% CL 43% -64%) when cats were wearing a BBS of any colour, with the rainbow and red BBS more effective than the yellow when birds were prey. Captures of mammals were not reduced significantly. The second year assessed the rainbow BBS alone, and those data combined with rainbow data in the first year found a significant reduction of 47% (95% CL 43% -57%) in capture of prey with good colour vision, with no effect of 40 differences across years. We found no evidence that cats maintained a lower predation rate once Page 3 of 37 A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t 3 the BBS was removed. Seventy-nine per cent of owners reported that their cats had no problems with the BBS and another 17% reported that their cats adjusted within 2 days. Fourteen owners reported that their cats spent more time at home and ate more while wearing the BBS. Two owners reported their cats stayed away from home more while wearing it. Sixty-four per cent of owners 45 using the red collar, 48% using rainbow and 46% using yellow believed that it worked. Overall, 77% of owners planned to continue using the BBS after the study had finished. The BBS is an option for owners wishing to reduce captures of birds and herpetofauna by free-ranging cats, especially where mammalian prey are introduced pests. To date, the BBS is the only predation deterrent that reduces significantly the number of herpetofauna brought home. It is unsuitable where endangered 50 mammalian prey or large invertebrates are vulnerable to predation by pet cats.

show abstract

The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States

Cited by 651 publications

References 25 publications

Quantifying drivers of population dynamics for a migratory bird throughout the annual cycle

Quantifying drivers of population dynamics for a migratory bird throughout the annual cycle

Annual variation in prey composition of domestic cats in rural and urban environment

Assessing the effectiveness of the Birdsbesafe® anti-predation collar cover in reducing predation on wildlife by pet cats in Western Australia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About