Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/24917
Title: Assessing the impact of introduced cats on island biodiversity by combining dietary and movement analysis
Authors: Hervias, S. 
Oppel, S. 
Medina, F.M. 
Pipa, T. 
Diez, A. 
Ramos, J.A. 
Ruiz de Ybanez, R. 
Nogales, M. 
Keywords: feral cats; domestic cats; generalist predator; GPS; home-range size; prey availability; scat composition
Issue Date: Jan-2014
Publisher: The Zoological Society of London
Serial title, monograph or event: Journal of Zoology
Volume: 292
Issue: 1
Abstract: Populations of feral (not owned by humans) and domestic cats Felis catus coexist in most inhabited islands, and they have similar impacts on native species. Feral cats are generally believed to vary their diet according to prey availability; however, no previous studies of diet have tested this hypothesis on insular ecosystems with a limited range of available prey. Because domestic cats kill prey independently of hunger, the spatial extent of their impact on wildlife will be influenced by home-range size. In this study, we combined dietary information with cat movements to assess the impacts of feral and domestic cats on island biodiversity. We quantified the diet of cats from scat samples collected across one year and tested whether diet varies by season. The abundance of main prey categories was also estimated to document seasonal variation in prey availability for cats. Finally, we tracked domestic cats by global positioning system units in all four seasons to examine whether home-range patterns varied seasonally. The diet of cats constituted three prey groups (rodents, birds and invertebrates), and the seasonal variation in consumption of each taxon matched the seasonal variation in prey availability, thus supporting the generalist behaviour of cats on oceanic islands. Roaming behaviour varied among individuals and across seasons, but could not be explained by availability of prey. Unconfined cats had larger homeranges than confined cats, but most domestic cats strayed <1 km from home. Thus, confinement of domestic cats might reduce the spatial extent of cat impact on native prey populations on oceanic islands.
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/24917
ISSN: 0952-8369
DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12082
Rights: openAccess
Appears in Collections:FCTUC Ciências da Vida - Artigos em Revistas Internacionais

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