mcgregor et al b 2015.pdf (1.78 MB)
Feral cats are better killers in open habitats, revealed by animal-borne video
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-18, 12:32 authored by Hugh McGregor, Legge, S, Menna JonesMenna Jones, Christopher JohnsonChristopher JohnsonOne of the key gaps in understanding the impacts of predation by small mammalian predators on prey is how habitat structure affects the hunting success of small predators, such as feral cats. These effects are poorly understood due to the difficulty of observing actual hunting behaviours. We attached collar-mounted video cameras to feral cats living in a tropical savanna environment in northern Australia, and measured variation in hunting success among different microhabitats (open areas, dense grass and complex rocks). From 89 hours of footage, we recorded 101 hunting events, of which 32 were successful. Of these kills, 28% were not eaten. Hunting success was highly dependent on microhabitat structure surrounding prey, increasing from 17% in habitats with dense grass or complex rocks to 70% in open areas. This research shows that habitat structure has a profound influence on the impacts of small predators on their prey. This has broad implications for management of vegetation and disturbance processes (like fire and grazing) in areas where feral cats threaten native fauna. Maintaining complex vegetation cover can reduce predation rates of small prey species from feral cat predation.
Funding
Australian Research Council
Australian Wildlife Conservancy
History
Publication title
PLoS ONEVolume
10Issue
8Article number
e0133915Number
e0133915Pagination
1-12ISSN
1932-6203Department/School
School of Natural SciencesPublisher
Public Library of SciencePlace of publication
United StatesRights statement
© 2015 McGregor et al. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Repository Status
- Open