Free-ranging domestic cats (Felis catus) on public lands: estimating density, activity, and diet in the Florida Keys

Cove, Michael V.; Gardner, Beth; Simons, Theodore R.; Kays, Roland; O’Connell, Allan F.

doi:10.1007/s10530-017-1534-x

Cited by 63 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Populations that are habituated to deliberated feeding by humans have greater potential to be monitored using the proposed scheme. Such populations may be for example: FRC in Malaysia (Khor, Davey, & Zhao, ), in the United States (Cove, Gardner, Simons, Kays, & O'Connell, ; Levy, Woods, Turick, & Etheridge, ), in Italy (Natoli et al, ; Slater et al, ), in Japan (Seo & Tanida, ), and in Greece (Mannhart, ); free‐roaming dogs in Nepal (Massei et al, ), in Greece (Mannhart, ), and in Italy (Slater et al, ); and feral pigeons and various bird species throughout the western world (Jones and James Reynolds, , Belguermi et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An accessible scheme for monitoring free‐roaming cat population trends

Gunther

Azriel

Wolf

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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Free‐roaming cats (FRCs) form nondomiciliary population groups that might lead to adverse environmental effects, as well as to welfare impairment of the cats themselves. Though criticized by ecologists, for the last two decades, the trap–neuter–return (TNR) programs were often employed aiming to manage these populations. At present, no accepted and accessible monitoring scheme exists to determine the effectiveness of those programs. In the current study, we present the reliability and validity of an applicable monitoring scheme, as an adjunct tool for a TNR program of FRC in an urban environment. The monitoring scheme is based on cat observation counts along randomly chosen transects. Fifty‐four transects were repeatedly walked for three years, between 2012‐2014, in 27 neighborhoods within an urban area of 19.3 Km2. Cat numbers counted in the 2014 observations were significantly higher than cat numbers found in the 2012 observations (prevalence ratio = 1.258, CI95%= 1.198–1.322, p < 0.001). The method revealed high reliability when different observers and different transects in the same neighborhood were compared (R2 = 0.548 and R2 = 0.391, respectively, for measuring cat counts per km, p < 0.001; and R2 = 0.5 and R2 = 0.74, respectively, for measuring neutering percentage, p < 0.001). This scheme was constructively validated by measurements of municipal data on the number of neutered cats and demonstrated high correlation (R2 = 0.59, p < 0.001). Conducting cat observations using friendly calling and feeding resulted in an increased number of FRC observed per km walk (by 79% and 22%–30%, respectively). However, these manipulations did not alter the recorded percentage of neutered cats. The proposed scheme provides spatio‐temporal data that can contribute to the management programs of such cat metapopulations in an urban environment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An accessible scheme for monitoring free‐roaming cat population trends

Gunther

Azriel

Wolf

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Our initial sampling design was implemented as part of a free‐ranging cat capture–recapture study (Cove et al., ). A 300‐m grid was established to delineate 9‐ha camera sampling units on the refuge and adjacent public (state and county) lands.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A 300‐m grid was established to delineate 9‐ha camera sampling units on the refuge and adjacent public (state and county) lands. We sampled 112 camera trap sites from 16 January 2013 through 4 April 2013 using an adaptive sampling approach in which initial camera data were used to inform subsequent sampling to increase the number of detections of both target species (i.e., Cove et al., ). We surveyed an additional 84 sites using the same protocol from 16 April 2014 to 2 June 2014.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Concurrent with expanding anthropogenic development, exotic predators such as large constrictor snakes (e.g., Python and Boa spp. ), tegus ( Salvator merianae ), and feral and free‐ranging domestic cats ( Felis catus ) are now established throughout south Florida and are potential threats to endangered endemic species such as the marsh rabbit in the Keys (Cove, Gardner, Simons, Kays, & O'Connell, ; Dorcas et al., ; Engeman, Jacobson, Avery, & Meshaka, ). McCleery et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Free‐ranging domestic cats (feral, colony, and indoor/outdoor house cats) are abundant in the Florida Keys because cats are subsidized by humans and have prodigious reproductive potential (Cove et al., ). Evidence of interactions between free‐ranging cats and marsh rabbits is limited and typically anecdotal (i.e., Forys, ), or potentially biased because cats can kill marsh rabbits without consuming them (e.g., for stable isotope analyses—Cove et al., ). A recently published integrated pest management plan (USFWS, ) described protection strategies for endangered species, including the removal of exotic predators, on refuge lands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Co‐occurrence dynamics of endangered Lower Keys marsh rabbits and free‐ranging domestic cats: Prey responses to an exotic predator removal program

Cove

Gardner

Simons

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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The Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri) is one of many endangered endemic species of the Florida Keys. The main threats are habitat loss and fragmentation from sea‐level rise, development, and habitat succession. Exotic predators such as free‐ranging domestic cats (Felis catus) pose an additional threat to these endangered small mammals. Management strategies have focused on habitat restoration and exotic predator control. However, the effectiveness of predator removal and the effects of anthropogenic habitat modifications and restoration have not been evaluated. Between 2013 and 2015, we used camera traps to survey marsh rabbits and free‐ranging cats at 84 sites in the National Key Deer Refuge, Big Pine Key, Florida, USA. We used dynamic occupancy models to determine factors associated with marsh rabbit occurrence, colonization, extinction, and the co‐occurrence of marsh rabbits and cats during a period of predator removal. Rabbit occurrence was positively related to freshwater habitat and patch size, but was negatively related to the number of individual cats detected at each site. Furthermore, marsh rabbit colonization was negatively associated with relative increases in the number of individual cats at each site between survey years. Cat occurrence was negatively associated with increasing distance from human developments. The probability of cat site extinction was positively related to a 2‐year trapping effort, indicating that predator removal reduced the cat population. Dynamic co‐occurrence models suggested that cats and marsh rabbits co‐occur less frequently than expected under random conditions, whereas co‐detections were site and survey‐specific. Rabbit site extinction and colonization were not strongly conditional on cat presence, but corresponded with a negative association. Our results suggest that while rabbits can colonize and persist at sites where cats occur, it is the number of individual cats at a site that more strongly influences rabbit occupancy and colonization. These findings indicate that continued predator management would likely benefit endangered small mammals as they recolonize restored habitats.

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Counting the Capital's cats: Estimating drivers of abundance of free‐roaming cats with a novel hierarchical model

Cove

Herrmann

Herrera

et al. 2023

Ecological Applications

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Free-roaming cats are a conservation concern in many areas but identifying their impacts and developing mitigation strategies requires a robust understanding of their distribution and density patterns. Urban and residential areas may be especially relevant in this process because free-roaming cats are abundant in these anthropogenic landscapes. Here, we estimate the occupancy and density of free-roaming cats in Washington D.C. and relate these metrics to known landscape and social factors. We conducted an extended camera trap survey of public and private spaces across D.C. and analyzed data collected from 1483 camera deployments from 2018 to 2020. We estimated citywide cat distribution by fitting hierarchical occupancy models and further estimated cat abundance using a novel random thinning spatial capture-recapture model that allows for the use of photos that can and cannot be identified to individual. Within this model, we utilized individual covariates that provided identity exclusions between photos of unidentifiable cats with inconsistent coat patterns, thus increasing the precision of abundance estimates. This combined model also allowed for unbiased estimation of density when animals cannot be identified to individual at the same rate as for free-roaming cats whose identifiability depended on their coat characteristics. Cat occupancy and abundance declined with increasing distance from residential areas, an effect that was more pronounced in wealthier neighborhoods. There was noteworthy absence of cats detected in larger public spaces and forests. Realized densities ranged from 0.02 to 1.75 cats/ha in sampled areas, resulting in a district-wide estimate of ~7296 free-roaming cats. Ninety percent of cat detections lacked collars and nearly 35% of known individuals were ear-tipped, indicative of district Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs. These results suggest that we mainly sampled and estimated the unowned cat subpopulation, such that indoor/outdoor housecats were not well represented. The precise estimation of cat population densities is difficult due to the varied behavior of subpopulations within free-roaming cat populations (housecats, stray and feral cats), but our methods provide a first step in establishing citywide

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Free-ranging domestic cats (Felis catus) on public lands: estimating density, activity, and diet in the Florida Keys

Cited by 63 publications

References 36 publications

An accessible scheme for monitoring free‐roaming cat population trends

An accessible scheme for monitoring free‐roaming cat population trends

Co‐occurrence dynamics of endangered Lower Keys marsh rabbits and free‐ranging domestic cats: Prey responses to an exotic predator removal program

Counting the Capital's cats: Estimating drivers of abundance of free‐roaming cats with a novel hierarchical model

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