Fishing for Feral Cats in a Naturally Fragmented Rocky Landscape Using Movement Data

Sandra D Williamson,Lewis Trotter,Richard Van Dongen,Todd P Robinson,Russell Palmer

doi:10.3390/rs13234925

Sandra D Williamson, Lewis Trotter + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13234925

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Abstract

Feral cats are one of the most damaging predators on Earth. They can be found throughout most of Australia’s mainland and many of its larger islands, where they are adaptable predators responsible for the decline and extinction of many species of native fauna. Managing feral cat populations to mitigate their impacts is a conservation priority. Control strategies can be better informed by knowledge of the locations that cats frequent the most. However, this information is rarely captured at the population level and therefore requires modelling based on observations of a sample of individuals. Here, we use movement data from collared feral cats to estimate home range sizes by gender and create species distribution models in the Pilbara bioregion of Western Australia. Home ranges were estimated using dynamic Brownian bridge movement models and split into 50% and 95% utilisation distribution contours. Species distribution models used points intersecting with the 50% utilisation contours and thinned by spacing points 500 m apart to remove sampling bias. Male cat home ranges were between 5 km2 (50% utilisation) and 34 km2 (95% utilisation), which were approximately twice the size of the female cats studied (2–17 km2). Species distribution modelling revealed a preference for low-lying riparian habitats with highly productive vegetation cover and a tendency to avoid newly burnt areas and topographically complex, rocky landscapes. Conservation management can benefit by targeting control effort in preferential habitat.

Highlights

Most invasive species have been introduced without consideration of their pervasiveness or environmental ramifications [1]
The study was conducted on Yarraloola station, located in the northwest Pilbara bioregion of Western Australia (Figure 1)
The estimated home ranges using the dynamic Brownian bridge movement modelling (dBBMM) for each of the feral cats varied in size considerably

Summary

Introduction

Most invasive species have been introduced without consideration of their pervasiveness or environmental ramifications [1]. In Australia, invasive plants and animals are a significant economic burden, with their cost of management estimated to be more than. Some invasive species have come from locations where their physiological tolerances are well adapted to their new environment and have occupied niches that were not filled when they arrived, such as by the cane toad (Rhinella marina) in Australia [5]. Some introductions can prosper by slotting into niches between existing native species [6]. This includes the feral domestic cat (Felis catus), which is a ubiquitous predator throughout the globe [7]

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Conclusion