Predation of wildlife by domestic cats in a Neotropical city: a multi-factor issue

Mella-Méndez, Isac; Flores‐Peredo, Rafael; Amaya-Espinel, Juan David; Bolívar‐Cimé, Beatriz; G., M. Cristina MacSwiney; Martínez, Armando J.

doi:10.1007/s10530-022-02734-5

Cited by 13 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Our results provide new evidence of the adaptive value of camouflage in mammals. Besides its theoretical significance, this may carry some practical implications: feral cats preying on smaller animals in natural and semi-natural areas pose a threat, often a serious one, to the local fauna, including endangered species (Bonnaud et al, 2011;Hardman et al, 2016;Mella-Méndez et al, 2022). Therefore…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distance from human settlements favors wild‐type appearance of feral cats (Felis catus) in Mediterranean woodland

Dubiner,

Namir,

Chen

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, under-standing what affects their hunting success(McGregor et al, 2015;Mella-Méndez et al, 2022) and occupancy of the surrounding habitat(Ferreira et al, 2011) is of value to conservation. Data curation (lead); formal analysis (lead); investigation (lead); visualization (lead); writing -original draft (equal); writing -review and editing (equal).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Distance from human settlements favors wild‐type appearance of feral cats (Felis catus) in Mediterranean woodland

Dubiner,

Namir,

Chen

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As major contributors to global biodiversity loss, domestic cats ( Felis catus ) have been studied on every continent where they occur (e.g., [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]). The world’s estimated 600 million cats [ 6 ] kill billions of birds and mammals annually [ 2 , 5 ], with particularly high tolls for reptiles and amphibians in some regions [ 1 , 7 , 8 ]. Even these figures likely do not capture the true predation rates, given that most studies rely on prey returned home, under-estimating actual numbers taken by between 4.3 [ 9 ] and 5.6-fold [ 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Movement Patterns of Urban Domestic Cats Living on the Edge in an African City

Simmons

Seymour

George

et al. 2023

Animals

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Domestic cats (Felis catus) are amongst the most destructive invasive vertebrates globally, depredating billions of native animals annually. The size and seasonal variation of their geographical “footprint” is key to understanding their effects on wildlife, particularly if they live near conservation areas. Here we report the first GPS-tracking studies of free-roaming owned cats in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. A total of 23 cats was tracked (14 cats in summer, 9 in winter) using miniature (22 g) GPS locators in 2010–2011. In summer, all cats living on the urban-edge (UE: n = 7) made extensive use of protected areas, while only one of seven urban (U) cats (>150 m from the edge) did so. In winter two of four UE and two of five U cats entered protected areas. Home ranges (95% kernel density estimates) were significantly larger in summer (3.00 ± 1.23 ha) than winter (0.87 ± 0.25 ha) and cats ventured further from their homes in summer (maximum 849 m) than in winter (max 298 m). The predation risk posed by caracal (Caracal caracal) may limit the time cats spend in protected areas, but our results suggest that cat buffers around conservation areas should be at least ~600 m wide to reduce impacts to native fauna.

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“…At the same time, these studies recognize the importance of preserving fragments of the landscape with natural coverage, in order to maintain high diversity of native rodents in urban areas (Rizkalla and Swihart 2009;Fernández and Simonetti 2013;Johnson and Karels 2016;Lopucki and Kitowski 2017). It is also important to control stray dogs and cats, common in many cities throughout the continent, which can be predators of native species and endanger their survival (Coronel-Arellano et al 2021;Mella-Méndez et al 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of an urban area in the distribution pattern and diversity of Neotropical rodents

Tapia-Ramírez

Lorenzo

Carrillo-Reyes

et al. 2022

Therya

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Urbanization implies the loss of biodiversity and promotes the extirpation of local flora and fauna. It favors habitat fragmentation and the establishment and increase of non-native species and, eventually, the homogenization of the landscape. This study aims to evaluate the urbanization process in a medium-sized city in the Mexican southeast, San Cristóbal de Las Casas (SCLC) in the Neotropics, and the response of the rodent community to such process. The study area was categorized according to its structural characteristics into four coverage classes: urban, forest, agricultural and mountain wetlands. Rodents were sampled over urbanization gradients. In each gradient, nine sampling sites were established. The responses of rodent alpha and beta diversities to landscape structure (landscape metrics) were evaluated. The larger diversity of rodents was found in the mosaic and transition landscape categories and the least diverse were the conserved and urban ones. In SCLC, rodent richness responds to the number of fragments and the diversity of the landscape. Mus musculus and Rattus rattus were more abundant in landscapes with a high percentage of urban cover, while Peromycus mexicanus and P. beatae, in landscapes with higher forest cover. San Cristóbal de Las Casas is a city that grows over areas with native vegetation, forests and mountain wetlands; of which fragments remain embedded in the urban matrix. Mosaic and transition landscapes favor areas with high diversity and richness of rodent species (intermediate disturbance hypothesis). This study suggests that both native and non-native rodent species are abundant in areas with natural vegetation and also in urban sites. Sanitary measures are granted, since reservoir species of pathogens with zoonotic potential can be found in the area.

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Predation of wildlife by domestic cats in a Neotropical city: a multi-factor issue

Cited by 13 publications

References 79 publications

Distance from human settlements favors wild‐type appearance of feral cats (Felis catus) in Mediterranean woodland

Distance from human settlements favors wild‐type appearance of feral cats (Felis catus) in Mediterranean woodland

Seasonal Movement Patterns of Urban Domestic Cats Living on the Edge in an African City

Effect of an urban area in the distribution pattern and diversity of Neotropical rodents

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