The diet of feral cats on islands: A review and a call for more studies

Biological Invasions

Volumn 13, Issue 3, 2011, Pages 581-603

  Bonnaud, E ^a,b   Medina, F M ^c   Vidal, E ^a   Nogales, M ^d   Tershy, B ^e   Zavaleta, E ^e   Donlan, C J ^f,g   Keitt, B ^e   Le Corre, M ^h   Horwath, S V ^e  

^a INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE POUR LE DÉVELOPPEMENT   (France)

^b UNIVERSITÉ PARIS SUD   (France)

^c Cabildo Insular de La Palma ^*  (Spain)

^d INSTITUTO DE PRODUCTOS NATURALES Y AGROBIOLOGÍA   (Spain)

^e UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

^f Advanced Conservation Strategies   (United States)

^g Department of Obstetrics Gynecology   (United States)

^h UNIVERSITÉ DE LA RÉUNION   (France)

Author keywords

Conservation; Domestic cat; Feeding behaviour; Felis catus; Food web; Island ecosystem

Indexed keywords

ADAPTIVE RADIATION; BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY; BIOLOGICAL INVASION; CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT; DIET; DOMESTIC SPECIES; ENDANGERED SPECIES; EXTINCTION; FEEDING BEHAVIOR; FOOD INTAKE; FOOD WEB; FUNCTIONAL MORPHOLOGY; INSECT; INTRODUCED SPECIES; ISLAND; LATITUDE; LITERATURE REVIEW; NATIVE SPECIES; PREDATION; PREDATOR-PREY INTERACTION; RANGE EXPANSION; SPECIES CONSERVATION; SPECIES DIVERSITY; TAXONOMY; VERTEBRATE;

AMPHIBIA; AVES; FELIS CATUS; HEXAPODA; INVERTEBRATA; MAMMALIA; ORYCTOLAGUS CUNICULUS; REPTILIA;

EID: 79851508241     PISSN: 13873547     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10530-010-9851-3     Document Type: Review

References (116)

1. Aguirre-Muñoz A, Croll DA, Donlan CJ et al (2008) High-Impact conservation action: a case study from the islands of western Mexico. Ambio 37: 101-107.
2. Alterio N (1996) Secondary poisoning of stoats (Mustela erminea), feral ferrets (Mustela furo), and feral house cats (Felis catus) by the anticoagulant poison, brodifacoum. N Z J Zool 23: 331-338.
3. Alterio N, Moller H (1997) Diet of feral house cats Felis catus, ferrets Mustela furo and stoats M. erminea in grassland surrounding yellow-eyed penguin Megadyptes antipodes breeding areas, South Island, New Zealand. J Zool 243: 869-877.
4. Apps PJ (1983) Aspects of the ecology of feral cats on Dassen Island, South Africa. S African J Zool 18: 353-362.
5. Apps PJ (1986) A case study of an alien predator (Felis catus) introduced on Dassen Island: selective advantages. Suid-Afrik Antarkt Navors 16: 118-122.
6. Arnaud G, Rodríguez A, Ortega-Rubio A et al (1993) Predation by cats on the unique endemic lizard of Socorro Island (Urosaurus auriculatus), Revillagigedo, Mexico. Ohio J Sci 93: 101-104.
7. Artois M, Duchene M-J, Pericard J-M et al. (2002) Le chat domestique errant ou haret. Encyclopédie des carnivores de France, Société Française pour l'Étude et la Protection des Mammifères, Bourges.
8. Atkinson IAE (2001) Introduced mammals and models for restoration. Biol Conserv 99: 81-96.
9. Balmford A (1996) Extinction filters and current resilience: the significance of past selection pressures for conservation biology. Tree 11: 193-196.
10. Berruti A (1986) The predatory impact of feral cats Felis catus and their control on Dassen Island. S African J Antarc Res 16: 123-127.
11. Blackburn TM, Cassey P, Duncan RP et al (2004) Avian extinction and mammalian introductions on oceanic islands. Science 305: 1955-1957.
12. Bloomer JP, Bester MN (1990) Diet of a declining feral cat Felis catus population on Marion Island. S African J Wildl Res 20: 1-4.
13. Bonnaud E, Bourgeois K, Vidal E et al (2007) Feeding ecology of a feral cat population on a small Mediterranean island. J Mammal 88: 1074-1081.
14. Bradshaw JWS (1992) The behaviour of the domestic cat. CABI Publishing, Wallingford.
15. Bramley GN (1996) A small predator removal experiment to protect North Island weka (Gallirallus australis greyi) and the case for single-subject approaches in determining agents of decline. N Z J Ecol 20: 37-43.
16. Brooks T, Smith ML (2001) Caribbean Catastrophes. Science 294: 1469-1471.
17. Burbidge A, Morris K (2002) Introduced mammal eradications for nature conservation on Western Australian islands: a review. In: Veitch CR, Clout MN (eds) Turning the Tide: The Eradication of Invasive Species Proceedings of the International Conference on Eradication of Islands Invasives. IUCN Species Survival Commission, New Zealand, pp 64-70.
18. Casañas-Acosta N, Yebra-Mora L, Medina FM (1999) Distribución y variación temporal de la dieta del gato cimarrón (Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758) en Alegranza, islas Canarias (Mammalia, Carnivora). Vieraea 27: 165-172.
19. Clevenger AP (1995) Seasonality and relationships of food resource use of Martes martes, Genetta genetta and Felis catus in the Balearic Islands. Rev d' Ecol (Terre et Vie) 50: 109-131.
20. Cook LM, Yalden DW (1980) A note on the diet of feral cats on Deserta Grande. Bocagiana 52: 1-4.
21. Courchamp F, Langlais M, Sugihara G (1999) Control of rabbits to protect island birds from cat predation. Biol Conserv 89: 219-225.
22. Courchamp F, Chapuis J-L, Pascal M (2003) Mammal invaders on islands: impact, control and control impact. Biol Rev 78: 347-383.
23. Cutberth R (2002) The role of introduced mammals and inverse density-dependent predation in the conservation of Hutton's shearwater. Biol Conserv 108: 69-78.
24. Derenne P (1976) Notes sur la biologie du chat haret de Kerguelen. Mammalia 40: 531-593.
25. Derenne P, Mougin JL (1976) Données écologiques sur les mammifères introduits de l'Ile aux Cochons, Archipel Crozet. Mammalia 40: 21-53.
26. Diamond J (1989) Overview of recent extinctions. In: Western D, Pearl MC (eds) Conservation for the twenty-First Century. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 37-41.
27. Dickman CR (1996) Overview of the impacts of feral cats on Australian native fauna. Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Canberra and Institute of Wildlife Research, University of Sydney.
28. Dilks PJ (1979) Observations on the food of feral cats on Campbell Island. N Z J Ecol 2: 64-66.
29. Dowding JE, Murphy EC (2001) The impact of predation by introduced mammals on endemic shorebirds in New Zealand: a conservation perspective. Biol Conserv 99: 47-64.
30. Driscoll CA, Menotti-Raymond M, Roca AL et al (2007) The Near Eastern origin of cat domestication. Science 317: 519-523.
31. Espinosa-Gayosso CV, Álvarez-Castañeda ST (2006) Status of Dipodomys insularis, an endemic species of San José Island, Gulf of California, Mexico. J Mammal 87: 677-682.
32. Faulquier L, Fontaine R, Vidal E et al (2009) Feral cats Felis catus threaten endangered endemic Barau's Petrel Pterodroma baraui at Réunion Island (western Indian Ocean). Waterbird 32: 330-336.
33. Fitzgerald BM (1980) Feeding ecology of feral house cats in New Zealand forest. Carniv Genet News 4: 67-71.
34. Fitzgerald BM (1988) Diet of domestic cats and their impact on prey populations. In: Turner DC, Bateson P (eds) The Domestic Cat: The Biology of Its Behaviour. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 123-147.
35. Fitzgerald BM, Karl BJ (1979) Foods of feral house cats (Felis catus L.) in forest of the Orongorongo Valley, Wellington. N Z J Zool 6: 107-126.
36. Fitzgerald BM, Turner DC (2000) Hunting behaviour of domestic cats and their impact on prey populations. In: Turner DC, Bateson P (eds) The Domestic Cat: the biology of its behaviour. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 152-175.
37. Fitzgerald BM, Veitch CR (1985) The cats of Herekopare Island, New Zealand; their history, ecology and affects on birdlife. N Z J Zool 12: 319-330.
38. Fitzgerald BM, Karl BJ, Veitch CR (1991) The diet of feral cats (Felis catus) on Raoul Island, Kermadec group. N Z J Ecol 15: 123-129.
39. Fowler J, Cohen L, Jarvis P (1998) Practical statistics for field biology. Wiley, Chichester.
40. Fritts TH, Rodda GH (1998) The role of introduced species in the degradation of island ecosystems: a case history of Guam. Ann Rev Ecol Evol Syst 29: 113-140.
41. Furet L (1989) Régime alimentaire et distribution du chat haret (Felis catus) sur l'île Amsterdam. Rev d'Ecol (Terre et Vie) 44: 33-45.
42. García-Márquez M, Caetano A, Bello I et al (1999) Ecología del gato cimarrón en el ecosistema termófilo de El Hierro (Islas Canarias) y su impacto sobre el lagarto gigante (Gallotia simonyi). Monogr Herpetol 4: 207-222.
43. Gillies C (2001) Advances in New Zealand mammalogy 1990-2000: House cat. J Royal Soc N Z 31: 205-218.
44. Harper GA (2004) Feral cats on Stewart Island/Rakiura. DOC Science Internal Series 174. New Zealand Department of Conservation, Wellington.
45. Harper GA (2005) Numerical and functional response of feral cats (Felis catus) to variations in abundance of primary prey on Stewart Island (Rakiura). N Z Wildl Res 32: 594-604.
46. Hayde KA (1992) Ecology of the feral cat Felis catus on Great Dog Island. PhD, University of Tasmania.
47. IUCN (2008). 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. http://www. iucnredlist. org (accessed December 2008).
48. Jogahara T, Ogura G, Sasaki T et al (2003) Food habits of cats (Felis catus) in forests and villages and their impacts on native animals in the Yambaru area, northern part of Okinawa Island, Japan. Mamm Science 43: 29-37.
49. Jones E (1977) Ecology of the feral cat. Felis catus (L.), (Carnivora: Felidae) on Macquarie Island. Austral Wildl Res 4: 249-262.
50. Jones E (1980) A survey of burrow-nesting petrels at Macquarie Island based upon remains left by predators. Notornis 27: 11-20.
51. Jones C (2002) A model for the conservation management of a "secondary" prey: sooty shearwater (Puffinus griseus) colonies on mainland New Zealand as a case study. Biol Conserv 108: 1-12.
52. Jones ME, Barmuta LA (1998) Diet overlap and relative abundance of sympatric dasyurid carnivores: a hypothesis of competition. J Anim Ecol 67: 410-421.
53. Jones M, Dickman C, Archer M (eds) (2003) Predators with pouches: the biology of carnivorous marsupials. CSIRO, Collingwood.
54. Karl BJ, Best HA (1982) Feral cats on Stewart Island; their foods, and their effects on kakapo. N Z J Ecol 9: 287-294.
55. Kawakami K, Mashiko M (2008) Food habits of cat Felis catus on Haha-jima Island, Bonin Islands, Japan. Bulletin of the Bonin Islands study of Tokyo Metoropolitan University. 31: 41-48.
56. Kawauchi N, Sasaki T (2002) Foods habits and distribution of the three introduced Carnivores (mongoose, feral cat, feral dog) in forest region of northern part of Okinawa Island. Biol Mag Okinawa 40: 41-50.
57. Keitt BS, Tershy BR (2003) Cat eradication significantly decreases shearwater mortality. Anim Conserv 6: 307-308.
58. Keitt BS, Wilcox C, Tershy BR et al (2002) The effect of feral cats on the population viability of black-vented shearwaters (Puffinus opisthomelas) on Natividad Island, Mexico. Anim Conserv 5: 217-223.
59. King CM, Flux M, Innes JG et al (1996) Population biology of small mammals in Pureora forest park: 1. Carnivores (Mustela erminea, M. furo, M. nivalis, and Felis catus). N Z J Ecol 20: 241-251.
60. Kirkpatrick RD, Rauzon MJ (1986) Foods of feral cats Felis catus on Jarvis and Howland Islands, Central Pacific Ocean. Biotropica 18: 72-75.
61. Konecny MJ (1983) Behavioral ecology of feral house cats in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Unpubl. Ph. D. dissertation. Univ. Florida, Gainesville.
62. Konecny MJ (1987) Food habits and energetics of feral house cat in the Galapagos Islands. Oikos 50: 24-32.
63. Krebs CJ (1989) Ecological methodology. Harper Collins Publishers, New York.
64. Langham NPE (1990) The diet of feral cats (Felis catus L.) on Hawke′s Bay farmland, New Zealand. N Z J Zool 17: 243-255.
65. Long JL (2003) Introduced mammals of the world: their history, distribution, and influence. CABI Publishing, Wallingford.
66. Lozano J, Moleón M, Virgós E (2006) Biogeographical patterns in the diet of the wildcat, Felis silvestris Scherber, in Eurasia: factors affecting the trophic diversity. J Biogeogr 33: 1076-1085.
67. Macdonald DW, Thom MD (2001) Alien carnivores: unwelcome experiments in ecological theory. In: Gittleman JL, Funk SM, Macdonald DW et al (eds) Carnivore conservation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 93-122.
68. Marshall WH (1961) A note on the food habits of feral cats on Little Barrier Island, New Zealand. N Z J Sci 4: 822-824.
69. Martínez-Gómez JE, Jacobsen JK (2004) The conservation status of Townsend's shearwater Puffinus auricularis auricularis. Biol Conserv 116: 35-47.
70. Matias R, Catry P (2008) The diet of feral cats at New Island, Falkland Islands, and impact on breeding seabirds. Polar Biol 31: 609-616.
71. Medina FM, García R (2007) Predation of insects by feral cats (Felis silvestris catus L., 1758) on an oceanic island (La Palma, Canary Island). J Insect Conserv 11: 203-207.
72. Medina FM, Nogales M (1993) Dieta del gato cimarrón (Felis catus L.) en el piso basal del Macizo de Teno (Noroeste de Tenerife). Doñana Acta Vert 20: 291-297.
73. Medina FM, García R, Nogales M (2006) Feeding ecology of feral cats on a heterogeneous subtropical oceanic island (La Palma, Canarian Archipelago). Acta Theriol 51: 75-83.
74. Medina FM, López-Darias M, Nogales M et al (2008) Food habits of feral cats (Felis silvestris catus L.) in insular semiarid environments (Fuerteventura, Canary Islands). Wildl Res 35: 162-169.
75. Medina FM, Bonnaud E, Nogales M et al. (2010) A global review of the impacts of invasive cats on insular endangered vertebrates (In Review in Biological Review).
76. Mukherjee S, Goyal SP, Jonhsingh AJT et al (2004) The importance of rodents in the diet of jungle cat (Felis catus), caracal (Caracal caracal) and golden jackal (Canis aureus) in Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India. J Zool 262: 405-411.
77. Murphy EC, Keedwell RJ, Brown KP et al (2004) Diet of mammalian predators in braided river beds in the central South Island, New Zealand. Wildl Res 31: 631-638.
78. Nogales M, Medina FM (1996) A review of the diet of feral domestic cats (Felis silvestris f. catus) on the Canary Islands, with new data from the laurel forest of La Gomera. Z Säugetier 61: 1-6.
79. Nogales M, Medina FM (2009) Trophic ecology of feral cats (Felis silvestris f. catus) in the main environments of an oceanic archipelago (Canary Islands): an updated approach. Mammal Biol 74: 169-181.
80. Nogales M, Martín A, Delgado G et al (1988) Food spectrum of the feral cat (Felis catus L., 1758) in the juniper woodland on El Hierro (Canary Islands). Bonn zool Beitr 39: 1-6.
81. Nogales M, Abdola M, Alonso C et al (1990) Premières données sur l'alimentation du chat haret (Felis catus L., 1758) du Parc National du Teide. Ténérife (Iles Canaries). Mammalia 54: 189-195.
82. Nogales M, Rodríguez JL, Delgado G et al (1992) The diet of feral cats (Felis catus) on Alegranza Island (north of Lanzarote, Canary Islands). Folia Zool 41: 209-212.
83. Nogales M, Martín A, Tershy BR et al (2004) A review of feral cat eradication on islands. Conserv Biol 18: 310-319.
84. Oro D, Aguilar JS, Igual JM et al (2004) Modelling demography and extinction risk in the endangered Balearic shearwater. Biol Conserv 116: 93-102.
85. Pearre S Jr, Maass R (1998) Trends in the prey size-based trophic niches of feral and house cats Felis catus L. Mammal Rev 28: 125-139.
86. Peck DR, Faulquier L, Pinet P et al (2008) Feral cat diet and impact on sooty terns at Juan de Nova Island, Mozambique Channel. Anim Conserv 11: 65-74.
87. Phillips RB, Winchell CS, Schmidt RH (2007) Dietary overlap of an alien and native carnivore on San Clemente Island, California. J Mammal 88: 173-180.
88. Pontier D, Say L, Debias F et al (2002) The diet of feral cats (Felis catus L.) at five sites on the Grande Terre, Kerguelen archipelago. Polar Biol 25: 833-837.
89. Ratcliffe N, Bell M, Pelembe T et al (2009) The eradication of feral cats from Ascension Island and its subsequent recolonization by seabirds. Oryx 44: 20-29.
90. Rauzon MJ (1983) Feral cats of Jarvis Island: their effects on seabirds and their eradication. M. Sc Thesis, University of Hawaii, Manoa.
91. Rauzon MJ (1985) Feral cats on Jarvis Island: their effects and their eradication. Atoll Res Bull 282: 1-32.
92. Rauzon MJ, Forsell DJ, Flint EN et al. (2011-in press) Howland, Baker and Jarvis Islands 25 years after cat eradication: recovery in a bio-geographical context.
93. Rodríguez-Estrella R, Arnaud G, Álvarez S et al (1991) Predation by feral cats on birds at Isla Socorro, Mexico. Western Birds 22: 141-143.
94. Roemer G, Donlan C, Courchamp F (2002) Golden eagles, feral pigs, and insular carnivores: How exotic species turn native predators into prey? Proc Nat Acad Sci, USA 99: 791-796.
95. Santana F, Martín A, Nogales M (1986) Datos sobre la alimentación del gato cimarrón (Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758) en los montes de Pajonales, Ojeda e Inagua (Gran Canaria). Vieraea 16: 113-117.
96. Say L, Devillard S, Natoli E et al (2002) The mating system of feral cats (Feliscatus L.) in a sub-Antarctic environment. Polar Biol 25: 838-842.
97. Schall JJ, Pianka ER (1978) Geographical trends in numbers of species. Science 201: 679-686.
98. Seabrook W (1989) Feral cats (Felis catus) as predators of hatchling green turtles (Chelonias mydas). J Zool 219: 83-88.
99. Seabrook W (1990) The impact of the feral cat (Felis catus) on the native fauna on Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles. Rev d'Ecol (Terre et Vie) 45: 135-145.
100. Sinclair ARE, Pech RP, Dickman CR et al (1998) Predicting effects of predation on conservation of endangered prey. Conserv Biol 12: 564-575.
101. Smucker TD, Lindsey GD, Mosher SN (2000) Home range and diet of feral cats in Hawaii forests. Pacific Conserv Biol 6: 228-237.
102. Snetsinger TJ, Fancy SG, Simon JC et al (1994) Diets of owls and feral cats in Hawaii. Elepaio 54: 47-50.
103. Sokal RR, Rohlf JF (1995) Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in biological research. Freeman and Co, New York.
104. Sousa KS, Bager A (2008) Feeding habits of Geoffroy's cat (Leopardus geoffroyi) in Southern Brazil. Mammal Biol 73: 303-308.
105. Stattersfield AJ, Capper DR (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona.
106. Tabachnick BG, Fidell LS (1996) Using multivariate statistics. Harper Collins Collegue Publishers, New York.
107. Taylor RH (1979) How the Macquarie island parakeet became extinct. NZ J Ecol 2: 42-45.
108. Tidemann CR, Yorkston HD, Russack AJ (1994) The diet of Cats, Felis catus, on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Wildl Res 21: 279-286.
109. Trites AW, Joy R (2005) Dietary analysis from scat samples: how many scats are enough? J Mammal 86: 704-712.
110. van Aarde RJ (1980) The diet and feeding behaviour of feral cats, Felis catus at Marion Island. S African J Wildl Res 10: 123-128.
111. van Aarde RJ (1986) A case study of an alien predator (Felis catus) introduced on Marion Island: selective advantages. S African J Antarc Res 16: 113-114.
112. van Rensburg PJJ (1985) The feeding ecology of a decreasing feral house cat, Felis catus, population at Marion Island. In: Siegfried WR, Condy PR, Laws RM (eds) Antarctic Nutrient Cycles and Foods Webs. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, pp 620-624.
113. Vigne J-D, Guilaine J, Debue K et al (2004) Early taming of the cat in Cyprus. Science 304: 259.
114. Vitousek P, Loope L, Adsersen H (1995) Islands: biological diversity and ecosystem function. Ecological Studies 115. Wûrburg and Mooney, Lange, Stanford.
115. Watanabe S, Nakanishi N, Izawa M (2003) Habitat and prey resource overlap between the Irimote cat Prionailurus iriomotensis and introduced feral cat Felis catus based on assessment of scat content and distribution. Mamm Study 28: 47-56.
116. Whittaker RJ, Fernández-Palacios JM (2007) Island biogeography: ecology, evolution and conservation. Oxford University Press, Oxford.