干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): The short-term response of feral cats to rabbit population decline: Are alternative native prey more at risk?

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DOI	10.1007/s10530-019-02131-5
	The short-term response of feral cats to rabbit population decline: Are alternative native prey more at risk?
	McGregor, Hugh 1,2,3; Moseby, Katherine 3,4; Johnson, Christopher N.1,2; Legge, Sarah 1
通讯作者	McGregor, Hugh
来源期刊	BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
ISSN	1387-3547
EISSN	1573-1464
出版年	2020
卷号	22 期号:2 页码:799-811
英文摘要	The impacts of invasive predators can be amplified by high densities of invasive prey species. In Australia, hyper abundant rabbit populations lead to high densities of feral cats and correspondingly high impact of cats on native species, especially small mammals. Therefore, it would be expected reducing rabbits could also reduce abundance of cats, and thereby alleviate predation on native small mammals. However, cats might respond to the loss of rabbits by prey-switching to native small mammals, resulting in increased predation on those species. Our aim was to understand the short-term effects of an experimental reduction of rabbit abundance on feral cats and their small-mammal prey in arid South Australia. We reduced the rabbit population in a 37 km(2) experimental enclosure by ~ 80%, while monitoring an adjacent unmanipulated area as a control. Cat activity and survival of VHF-collared cats in the enclosure decreased by 40% following the rabbit reduction. Surviving cats increased their consumption of reptiles, birds and invertebrates, but they nevertheless evinced hunger by increased intake of experimentally-supplied sausages. There was no change in either the proportion of cat scats that contained remains of small mammals, or the rate at which video-collared cats were recorded killing small mammals, even though the activity of small mammals declined. Our results demonstrate that individual feral cats prey-switch in response to removal of their primary prey. However, we also show that survival and overall activity of cats decreased, which could result in net, long-term benefits for native prey threatened by cats. Management of feral cats using food lures or baits would also be more effective when introduced prey are scarce, as cats are more likely to eat novel food.
英文关键词	Prey switching Animal-borne video Diet Mesopredator Introduced predator Invasive species Wildlife
类型	Article
语种	英语
国家	Australia
收录类别	SCI-E
WOS记录号	WOS:000511569700045
WOS关键词	FOX VULPES-VULPES ; FELIS-CATUS ; INTRODUCED PREDATORS ; HEMORRHAGIC-DISEASE ; INVASIVE PREDATORS ; BAIT UPTAKE ; AUSTRALIA ; DIET ; EXTINCTION ; ABUNDANCE
WOS类目	Biodiversity Conservation ; Ecology
WOS研究方向	Biodiversity & Conservation ; Environmental Sciences & Ecology
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/314181
作者单位	1.Univ Queensland, Ctr Biodivers & Conservat Sci 9, Natl Environm Sci Program Threatened Species Reco, St Lucia, Qld 4075, Australia; 2.Univ Tasmania, Sch Nat Sci, Private Bag 55, Hobart, Tas 7001, Australia; 3.Arid Recovery, POB 147, Roxby Downs 5725, Australia; 4.Univ New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	McGregor, Hugh,Moseby, Katherine,Johnson, Christopher N.,et al. The short-term response of feral cats to rabbit population decline: Are alternative native prey more at risk?[J],2020,22(2):799-811.
APA	McGregor, Hugh,Moseby, Katherine,Johnson, Christopher N.,&Legge, Sarah.(2020).The short-term response of feral cats to rabbit population decline: Are alternative native prey more at risk?.BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS,22(2),799-811.
MLA	McGregor, Hugh,et al."The short-term response of feral cats to rabbit population decline: Are alternative native prey more at risk?".BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS 22.2(2020):799-811.