Diet and prey selectivity of three species of sympatric mammalian predators in central Australia

Spencer, Emma E.; Crowther, Mathew S.; Dickman, Chris R.

doi:10.1644/13-mamm-a-300

Cited by 50 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…For example, Spencer et al. () showed that long‐haired rats Rattus villosissimus and central short‐tailed mice Leggadina forresti were selectively preyed upon by feral cats. Central short‐tailed mouse occurred in over 20% of cat scats even when they were virtually undetectable in surveys.…”

Section: Impacts On Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts and management of feral cats Felis catus in Australia

et al. 2016

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Feral cats are among the most damaging invasive species worldwide, and are implicated in many extinctions, especially in Australia, New Zealand and other islands. Understanding and reducing their impacts is a global conservation priority. We review knowledge about the impacts and management of feral cats in Australia, and identify priorities for research and management. In Australia, the most well understood and significant impact of feral cats is predation on threatened mammals. Other impacts include predation on other vertebrates, resource competition, and disease transmission, but knowledge of these impacts remains limited. Lethal control is the most common form of management, particularly via specifically designed poison baits. Non‐lethal techniques include the management of fire, grazing, food, and trophic cascades. Managing interactions between these processes is key to success. Given limitations on the efficacy of feral cat management, conservation of threatened mammals has required the establishment of insurance populations on predator‐free islands and in fenced mainland enclosures. Research and management priorities are to: prevent feral cats from driving threatened species to extinction; assess the efficacy of new management tools; trial options for control via ecosystem management; and increase the potential for native fauna to coexist with feral cats.

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Section: Impacts On Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts and management of feral cats Felis catus in Australia

et al. 2016

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“…The frequency of occurrence of mammals in the diet also halved and the volume was considerably lower between these periods. Studies in other habitats have shown that small mammals are the favoured prey of feral cats, and that the long-haired rat and Forrest's mouse Leggadina forresti are strongly selected if they are available (Spencer et al 2014). These two species, especially the rat, comprised more volume of the diet of cats than any other prey types during the boom period in our study (Table 2).…”

Section: Cat Diet During Boom and Bust Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In much of arid Australia, the rain-driven pulses of productivity allow irruptions of the native long-haired rat Rattus villosissimus as well as populations of several other native rodent species (Predavec and Dickman 1994;Dickman et al 2010;Greenville et al 2013). These rodents are selectively hunted by cats during the boom phases (Spencer et al 2014). During the intervening bust phases, by contrast, populations of R. villosissimus decrease dramatically to extremely low levels, with remnant colonies apparently persisting at small and spatially discrete refuge sites near water (Watts and Aslin 1981).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diet of the feral cat, Felis catus, in central Australian grassland habitats during population cycles of its principal prey

Yip

Rich²,

Dickman

2014

Mamm Res

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Foraging theory predicts that animals should forage so as to maximize their net rate of energy gain or to minimize their risk of starvation. In situations where prey numbers fluctuate dramatically, theory predicts further that foragers will eat 'optimal' prey when it is abundant but expand their diet to include other prey types when the optimal prey is scarce; this is the alternative prey hypothesis. Here, we test this prediction by analyzing the diet of a mammalian predator, the feral house cat Felis catus, during periods of scarcity and abundance of the long-haired rat Rattus villosissimus. We also investigate whether the body condition of feral cats differs during different stages of the prey population cycle. Feral cats were shot during culling operations in semi-arid grassland habitats in central Queensland, Australia, and the stomach contents later identified. We found that the body condition of feral cats did not differ between phases of the prey population cycle, but the diets of cats culled when long-haired rats were scarce were significantly more diverse than when this rodent was abundant. Rats comprised about 80 % of cats' diet by volume and frequency of occurrence when they were present, whereas birds, reptiles and invertebrates comprised the bulk of the diet when rats were not available. We conclude that, whilst feral cats are often thought to be specialist predators, they may be better considered as facultative specialists that will shift their diet in predictable ways in response to changes in the abundance of primary prey.

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“…This is unlikely to be the case with the pygmy bluetongue lizard, as the native predators of the lizards, mainly eastern brown snakes and various raptors are unlikely to be preyed upon by foxes, to any significant degree (Davis et al, 2015;Spencer et al, 2014). Only in areas where feral cats are abundant is it likely that the presence of foxes could have a positive effect on small lizards through competition with or predation on cats (Glen & Dickman, 2005).…”

Section: Transactions Of the Royal Society Of South Australiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The fox is adaptable, and with a diet varying in size from insects to large mammals (Davis et al, 2015;Spencer, Crowther, & Dickman, 2014), it is affecting a long list of native fauna (Moseby, Hill, & Read, 2009;Moseby et al, 2011;Olsson et al, 2005;Read & Cunningham, 2010;Read & Scoleri, 2015;Wayne, Liddelow, & Williams, 2011). Apart from a direct impact of predation (Moseby et al, 2011), foxes can also have an indirect effect on the food web, by preying on native predators and thereby releasing predation pressure on some prey species (Moseby et al, 2009;Read & Scoleri, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of foxes digging for the pygmy bluetongue lizard (Tiliqua adelaidensis)

Nielsen

Bull

2016

Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia

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The endangered pygmy bluetongue lizard (Tiliqua adelaidensis) is endemic to heavily fragmented patches of native grassland in the mid-north region of South Australia. The lizards live in spider burrows, and suitable burrows can be a limiting factor to local populations. The invasive red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a likely predator of the lizards. No previous research has focussed on the effects of foxes on pygmy bluetongue lizards. This article presents observations from three sampling rounds in a single lizard activity season. During each round, burrows were located and lizard presence or absence, fox digging and burrow condition were recorded. Out of 256 monitored lizard burrows, 12 were dug out by foxes. The data show that foxes actively seek to prey on pygmy bluetongue lizards. In several cases, the fox gave up before reaching the lizard. Dug out burrows were quickly abandoned by the surviving lizards and became filled in, reducing the supply of suitable burrows for the population. These data highlight the need for fox management around pygmy bluetongue lizard populations, especially if future management of the species involves relocation, as small newly established populations could be vulnerable to fox predation and secondary effects of burrow destruction. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Diet and prey selectivity of three species of sympatric mammalian predators in central Australia

Cited by 50 publications

References 54 publications

Impacts and management of feral cats Felis catus in Australia

Impacts and management of feral cats Felis catus in Australia

Diet of the feral cat, Felis catus, in central Australian grassland habitats during population cycles of its principal prey

Impact of foxes digging for the pygmy bluetongue lizard (Tiliqua adelaidensis)

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