Spatio-Temporal Variation in Predation by Urban Domestic Cats (Felis catus) and the Acceptability of Possible Management Actions in the UK

PLoS ONE

Volumn 7, Issue 11, 2012, Pages

  Thomas, Rebecca L ^a   Fellowes, Mark D E ^a   Baker, Philip J ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF READING   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ADULT; ARTICLE; BIRD; CAT; CYANISTES CAERULEUS; ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT; ERITHACUS RUBECULA; FELIS CATUS; HUMAN; NONHUMAN; PET ANIMAL; POPULATION SIZE; PREDATION; PREDATOR PREY INTERACTION; PRUNELLA MODUALRIS; QUESTIONNAIRE; RISK FACTOR; SEASONAL VARIATION; SPARROW; SPECIES CONSERVATION; TURDUS MERULA; UNITED KINGDOM; URBAN AREA;

ANIMALS; ANIMALS, DOMESTIC; CATS; CITIES; FEMALE; GREAT BRITAIN; MALE; POPULATION CONTROL; PREDATORY BEHAVIOR; SPATIO-TEMPORAL ANALYSIS;

AVES; FELIS CATUS;

EID: 84869232762     PISSN: None     EISSN: 19326203     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0049369     Document Type: Article

References (63)

1. Baker PJ, Soulsbury CD, Iossa G, Harris S (2010) Domestic cat (Felis catus) and domestic dog (Canis familiaris). In: Gehrt SD, Riley SPD, Cypher BL, editors. Urban carnivores - ecology, conflict, and conservation. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 157-171.
2. Long JL (2003) Introduced mammals of the World: their history, distribution and influence. Victoria: CSIRO Publishing.
3. Fitzgerald BM, Turner DC (2000) Hunting behaviour of domestic cats and their impact on prey populations. In: Turner DC, Bateson P, editors. The Domestic Cat. 2nd Edition ed: Cambridge.
4. Nogales M, Martin A, Tershy BR, Donlan CJ, Witch D, et al. (2004) A review of feral cat eradication on islands. Conservation Biology 18: 310-319.
5. Winter L, Wallace GE (2006) Impacts of feral and free-ranging cats on bird species of conservation concern. A five-state review of New York, New Jersey, Florida, California, and Hawaii. Washington: American Bird Conservancy.
6. Dickman C (1996) Overview of the impacts of feral cats on Australian native fauna. Canberra: Australian Nature Conservation Agency.
7. Tores PJ, Marlow N (2012) The Relative Merits of Predator-Exclusion Fencing and Repeated Fox Baiting for Protection of Native Fauna: Five Case Studies from Western Australia. In: Somers MJ, Hayward M, editors. Fencing for Conservation: Springer New York. 21-42.
8. Karanth KU, Nichols JD, Kumar NS, Link WA, Hines JE, (2004) Tigers and their prey: Predicting carnivore densities from prey abundance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 101: 4854-4858.
9. Hayward MW, O'Brien J, Kerley GIH, (2007) Carrying capacity of large African predators: Predictions and tests. Biological Conservation 139: 219-229.
10. Liberg O, Sandell M, Pontier D, Natoli E (2000) Density, spatial organisation and reproductive tactics in the domestic cat and other felids. In: Turner DC, Bateson P, editors. The domestic cat - the biology of its behaviour. 2nd edition ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 119-147.
11. Sims V, Evans KL, Newson SE, Tratalos JA, Gaston KJ, (2008) Avian assemblage structure and domestic cat densities in urban environments. Diversity and Distributions 14: 387-399.
12. Baker PJ, Molony SE, Stone E, Cuthill IC, Harris S, (2008) Cats about town: is predation by free-ranging pet cats Felis catus likely to affect urban bird populations? IBIS 150: 86-99.
13. Baker PJ, Bentley AJ, Ansell RJ, Harris S, (2005) Impact of predation by domestic cats Felis catus in an urban area. Mammal Review 35: 302-312.
14. Barratt DG, (1997) Predation by house cats, Felis catus (L), in Canberra, Australia.1. Prey composition and preference. Wildlife Research 24: 263-277.
15. Barratt DG, (1998) Predation by house cats, Felis catus (L.), in Canberra, Australia. II. Factors affecting the amount of prey caught and estimates of the impact on wildlife. Wildlife Research 25: 475-487.
16. Morgan SA, Hansen CM, Ross JG, Hickling GJ, Ogilvie SC, et al. (2009) Urban cat (Felis catus) movement and predation activity associated with a wetland reserve in New Zealand. Wildlife Research 36: 574-580.
17. van Heezik Y, Smyth A, Adams A, Gordon J, (2010) Do domestic cats impose an unsustainable harvest on urban bird populations? Biological Conservation 143: 121-130.
18. Kays RW, DeWan AA, (2004) Ecological impact of inside/outside house cats around a suburban nature preserve. Animal Conservation 7: 273-283.
19. Gillies C, Clout M, (2003) The prey of domestic cats (Felis catus) in two suburbs of Auckland City, New Zealand. Journal of Zoology 259: 309-315.
20. Lepczyk CA, Mertig AG, Liu JG, (2004) Landowners and cat predation across rural-to-urban landscapes. Biological Conservation 115: 191-201.
21. Woods M, McDonald RA, Harris S, (2003) Predation of wildlife by domestic cats Felis catus in Great Britain. Mammal Review 33: 174-188.
22. Nelson SH, Evans AD, Bradbury RB, (2005) The efficacy of collar-mounted devices in reducing the rate of predation of wildlife by domestic cats. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 94: 273-285.
23. Gordon JK, Matthaei C, van Heezik Y, (2010) Belled collars reduce catch of domestic cats in New Zealand by half. Wildlife Research 37: 372-378.
24. Crooks KR, Soule ME, (1999) Mesopredator release and avifaunal extinctions in a fragmented system. Nature 400: 563-566.
25. Ruxton GD, Thomas S, Wright JW, (2002) Bells reduce predation of wildlife by domestic cats (Felis catus). Journal of Zoology 256: 81-83.
26. Calver M, Thomas S, Bradley S, McCutcheon H, (2007) Reducing the rate of predation on wildlife by pet cats: The efficacy and practicability of collar-mounted pounce protectors. Biological Conservation 137: 341-348.
27. Ash SJ, Adams CE, (2003) Public preferences for free-ranging domestic cat (Felis catus) management options. Wildlife Society Bulletin 31: 334-339.
28. Coleman J, Temple SA, Craven S, (1996) A conservation dilemma - the free-ranging domestic cat. The Probe 172: 1-5.
29. Dickman CR, (2009) House cats as predators in the Australian environment: impacts and management. Human-Wildlife Conflicts 3: 41-48.
30. Fitzgerald BM, (1990) Is cat control needed to protect urban wildlife. Environmental Conservation 17: 168-169.
31. Grayson J, Calver M, Styles I, (2002) Attitudes of suburban Western Australians to proposed cat control legislation. Australian Veterinary Journal 80: 536-543.
32. Jarvis PJ, (1990) Urban cats as pets and pests. Environmental Conservation 17: 169-171.
33. Lilith M, Calver M, Styles I, Garkaklis M, (2006) Protecting wildlife from predation by owned domestic cats: Application of a precautionary approach to the acceptability of proposed cat regulations. Austral Ecology 31: 176-189.
34. Lilith M, Calver M, Garkaklis M (2008) Roaming habits of pet cats on the suburban fringe in Perth,Western Australia: what size buffer zone is needed to protect wildlife in reserves?; Lunney D, Munn A, Meikle W, editors. Mosman NSW: Royal Zoological Soc New South Wales. 65-72 p.
35. Lilith M, Calver M, Garkaklis M, (2010) Do cat restrictions lead to increased species diversity or abundance of small and medium-sized mammals in remnant urban bushland? Pacific Conservation Biology 16: 162-172.
36. May RM, (1988) Wildlife protection- Control of feline delinquency. Nature 332: 392-393.
37. Metsers EM, Seddon PJ, van Heezik YM, (2010) Cat-exclusion zones in rural and urban-fringe landscapes: how large would they have to be? Wildlife Research 37: 47-56.
38. Patronek GJ, (1998) Free-roaming and feral cats- their impact on wildlife and human beings. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 212: 218-226.
39. Proulx G, (1988) Control of urban wildlife predation by cats through public-education. Environmental Conservation 15: 358-359.
40. Reynolds JC, Tapper SC, (1996) Control of mammalian predators in game management and conservation. Mammal Review 26: 127-155.
41. Holt AR, Davies ZG, Tyler C, Staddon S, (2008) Meta-analysis of the effects of predation on animal prey abundance: evidence from UK vertebrates. PLoS One 3: e2400.
42. Nicoll M, Norris K (2010) Detecting an impact of predation on bird populations depends on the methods used to assess the predators. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9999.
43. Smith RK, Pullin AS, Stewart GB, Sutherland WJ, (2010) Effectiveness of Predator Removal for Enhancing Bird Populations. Conservation Biology 24: 820-829.
44. George WG, (1974) Domestic cats as predators and factors in winter shortages of raptor prey. Wilson Bulletin 86: 384-396.
45. Maclean M (2007) Impact of domestic cat predation on bird and small mammal populations [PhD thesis]: University of Exeter.
46. Driscoll C, A, Clutton-Brock J, Kitchener A, C, O'Brien S, (2009) J (2009) The taming of the cat. Scientific American 300: 68-75.
47. Murray JK, Browne WJ, Roberts MA, Whitmarsh A, Gruffydd-Jones TJ, (2010) Number and ownership profiles of cats and dogs in the UK. Vet Rec 166: 163-168.
48. Tratalos J, Fuller RA, Evans KL, Davies RG, Newson SE, et al. (2007) Bird densities are associated with household densities. Global Change Biology 13: 1685-1695.
49. Tschanz B, Hegglin D, Gloor S, Bontadina F, (2011) Hunters and non-hunters: skewed predation rate by domestic cats in a rural village. European Journal of Wildlife Research 57: 597-602.
50. Calver MC, Grayson J, Lilith M, Dickman CR, (2011) Applying the precautionary principle to the issue of impacts by pet cats on urban wildlife. Biological Conservation 144: 1895-1901.
51. McNicholas J, Gilbey A, Rennie A, Ahmedzai S, Dono JA, et al. (2005) Pet ownership and human health: a brief review of evidence and issues. British Medical Journal 331: 1252-1254.
52. Clark NA (1999) Progress report on the effectiveness of the Mark II CatAlertTM collar at reducing predation by domestic cats. Thetford: BTO Research Report, British Trust for Ornithology.
53. Nelson SH, Evans AD, Bradbury RB, (2006) The efficacy of an ultrasonic cat deterrent. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 96: 83-91.
54. Shirley C, (1999) Why not declaw cats? Australian Veterinary Journal 77: 134-134.
55. Smit T, Moraal LG, Bakhuizen T, (1980) [Pasteurella multocida infections in birds following cat bites (author's transl)]. Tijdschr Diergeneeskd 105: 327-329.
56. Buckland ST, Anderson DR, Burnham KP, Laake JL, Borchers DL, et al. (2001) Introduction to Distance sampling, estimating abundance of biological populations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
57. Newson SE, Evans KL, Noble DG, Greenwood JJD, Gaston KJ, (2008) Use of distance sampling to improve estimates of national population sizes for common and widespread breeding birds in the UK. Journal of Applied Ecology 45: 1330-1338.
58. Maclean MM, Carslake DJ, Evans MR, Townley S, Hodgson DJ. The usefulness of sensitivity analysis for predicting the effects of cat predation on the population dynamics of their avian prey; 2008 2007; Leicester, ENGLAND. Blackwell Publishing. 100-113.
59. Chamberlain DE, Cannon AR, Toms MP, Leech DI, Hatchwell BJ, et al. (2009) Avian productivity in urban landscapes: a review and meta-analysis. Ibis 151: 1-18.
60. Siriwardena GM, Baillie SR, Wilson JD, (1998) Variation in the survival rates of some British passerines with respect to their population trends on farmland. Bird Study 45: 276-292.
61. Krauze-Gryz D, Gryz J, Goszczyński J (2012) Predation by domestic cats in rural areas of central Poland: an assessment based on two methods. Journal of Zoology: n/a-n/a.
62. Moll RJ, Millspaugh JJ, Beringer J, Sartwell J, He Z, (2007) A new 'view' of ecology and conservation through animal-borne video systems. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 22: 660-668.
63. Clark NA, Burton NHK (1998) A pilot field trial into the effectiveness of the CatAlert™ collar at reducing predation by domestic cats. Thetford: BTO Research Report, British Trust for Ornithology.