Impacts and management of unowned and owned cats at a seabird colony on Reunion Island (Western Indian Ocean)

Choeur, Arthur; Faulquier, Lucie; Orlowski, Sabine; Dijoux, Julien; Potin, Gaël; Bureau, Sophie; Guilhaumon, François; Corre, Matthieu Le

doi:10.1007/s10530-022-02774-x

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…This space use strongly contrasts to that observed in a low altitude area of Réunion Island transformed by human activities. A recent study has shown that, at sea level, cat density can reach 27 ± 2 cats/km 2 (Choeur 2021), with an average home range of 0.12 km 2 (Choeur et al 2022). This peri-urban habitat is characterised by extremely abundant food resources for cats including anthropogenic food wastes, supplemental feeding and introduced prey such as mice, rats and lizards.…”

Section: Density and Home Range Of Feral Catsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another more general recommendation would be to improve the public awareness and sensitisation at the scale of the entire island to stop human-mediated displacement of cats, to stop abandonment of domestic cats or kitten in the wild and to sterilise as many domestic cats as possible (Dias et al 2017;Russell et al 2018;Choeur et al 2022).…”

Section: Management Implications and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The main difficulties to eradicate feral cats from large inhabited islands are low social acceptability, inappropriate legislation, lack of long-term political commitment, important financial cost and reduced technical feasibility of such large-scale operations (Oppel et al 2010;Glen et al 2013;Russell et al 2018). The situation is even more complicated by the presence of domestic cats which can be accidentally culled and which permanently supplement the feral cat population through breeding (Choeur et al 2022). One alternative to eradication is long-term control of feral cats in key areas, in order to maintain the population below a threshold that results in a low and acceptable impact on biodiversity (Doherty et al 2017;Palmas et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, in most cases, controlled areas are not isolated from nearby uncontrolled areas and are continuously re-invaded by cats (Lazenby et al 2015;Palmas et al 2020). The re-invasion rate depends on various factors, such as the density of cats in uncontrolled nearby areas, the connectivity between controlled and uncontrolled areas and the dispersive behaviour of the cats (Palmas et al 2020;Choeur et al 2022). When cat control is implemented in key areas, there is a strong need to understand the individual dispersion (Pulliam 1988;Hanski 1999) and space use at global and local scales to estimate the rate of re-invasion and to optimise the cost-effectiveness of control campaigns (Palmas et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Application of genetic and Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture analyses to design adaptive feral cat control in a large inhabited island

Juhasz¹,

Avargues²,

Humeau³

et al. 2022

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Faunas of oceanic islands have a high proportion of endemic species which contribute to the uniqueness of island communities. Island species are particularly naïve and vulnerable to alien predators, such as cats (Felis catus). On large, inhabited islands, where the complete eradication of feral cat populations is not considered feasible, control represents the best management option to lower their detrimental effects on native fauna. The first objective of our study was to investigate population genetics of feral cats of Réunion Island. The second objective was to understand the space use of feral cats established near the breeding colonies of the two endemic and endangered seabirds of Réunion Island, the Barau’s Petrel (Pterodroma baraui) and the Mascarene Petrel (Pseudobulweria aterrima). We evaluated genetic diversity, population structure and gene flow amongst six groups of feral cats located at a maximum of 10 km from known petrel colonies. We also analysed the behaviour and space use of one of these feral cat groups using camera-trap data and Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture (SECR) models. Genetic analyses revealed that feral cats were structured in three genetic clusters explained mostly by the island topography. Two clusters were observed at five sampled sites, suggesting high connectivity amongst these sites. The last cluster was found in only one site, suggesting high isolation. This site was a remote mountain area located in the vicinity of one of the main Barau’s Petrel colonies. The behavioural study was conducted on this isolated feral cat population. Mark recapture analysis suggested that feral cats were present at low density and had large home ranges, which is probably explained by reduced food availability. Finally, we make several recommendations for refining feral cat management programmes on inhabited islands.

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Section: Density and Home Range Of Feral Catsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Management Implications and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Application of genetic and Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture analyses to design adaptive feral cat control in a large inhabited island

Juhasz¹,

Avargues²,

Humeau³

et al. 2022

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Density and Home Range of Cats in a Small Inhabited Mediterranean Island

Molina-Bernabeu,

López-Iborra

2024

Animals

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There is growing concern about effectively controlling cat populations due to their impact on biodiversity, especially on islands. To plan this management, it is essential to know the cat population size, sterilization rates, and space they use. Small inhabited islands can have very high cat densities; thus, this study aimed to evaluate cat density and home range on a small tourist island in the Spanish Mediterranean. Surveys in the urban area identified individual cats using a photographic catalog, and camera trapping was conducted in the scrubland area. GPS devices were fitted on three urban cats. The overall cat density was estimated to be 308 cats/km2, varying between the urban area (1084 cats/km2) and the uninhabited scrubland (27 cats/km2). Urban cats had smaller average home ranges (0.38 ha or 1.25 ha, depending on the estimation method) compared to scrubland cats (9.53 ha). Penetration of scrubland cats into the urban area was not detected. These results indicate that the urban area acts as a source of cats for the scrubland. Although the total sterilization rate was high (90.3%), the large cat population implies that the density would take over a decade to decrease to acceptable levels. Therefore, complementary measures for managing this cat population are recommended.

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Impacts and management of unowned and owned cats at a seabird colony on Reunion Island (Western Indian Ocean)

Cited by 2 publications

References 94 publications

Application of genetic and Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture analyses to design adaptive feral cat control in a large inhabited island

Application of genetic and Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture analyses to design adaptive feral cat control in a large inhabited island

Density and Home Range of Cats in a Small Inhabited Mediterranean Island

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Impacts and management of unowned and owned cats at a seabird colony on Reunion Island (Western Indian Ocean)

Cited by 2 publications

References 94 publications

﻿Application of genetic and Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture analyses to design adaptive feral cat control in a large inhabited island

﻿Application of genetic and Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture analyses to design adaptive feral cat control in a large inhabited island

Density and Home Range of Cats in a Small Inhabited Mediterranean Island

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Application of genetic and Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture analyses to design adaptive feral cat control in a large inhabited island

Application of genetic and Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture analyses to design adaptive feral cat control in a large inhabited island