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The domestic cat (Felis catus) is an invasive exotic in many locations around the world and is thought to be a key factor driving recent mammal declines across northern Australia. Many mammal species native to this region now persist only in areas with high topographic complexity, provided by features such as gorges or escarpments. Do mammals persist in these habitats because cats occupy them less, or despite high cat occupancy? We show that occupancy of feral cats was lower in mammal-rich habitats of high topographic complexity. These results support the idea that predation pressure by feral cats is a factor contributing to the collapse of mammal communities across northern Australia. Managing impacts of feral cats is a global conservation challenge. Conservation actions such as choosing sites for small mammal reintroductions may be more successful if variation in cat occupancy with landscape features is taken into account.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	predation, wildlife conservation
Research Division:	Environmental Sciences
Research Group:	Environmental Science and Management
Research Field:	Wildlife and Habitat Management
Objective Division:	Environment
Objective Group:	Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity
Objective Field:	Sparseland, Permanent Grassland and Arid Zone Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity
UTAS Author:	Hohnen, R (Dr Rosemary Hohnen)
UTAS Author:	Johnson, CN (Professor Christopher Johnson)
ID Code:	112319
Year Published:	2016
Funding Support:	Australian Research Council (LP100100033)
Web of Science® Times Cited:	10
Deposited By:	Zoology
Deposited On:	2016-11-03
Last Modified:	2017-10-31
Downloads:	114 View Download Statistics