Universität zu Köln

Tuft, Katherine ORCID: 0000-0002-3585-444X, Legge, Sarah ORCID: 0000-0001-6968-2781, Frank, Anke S. K., James, Alex I., May, Tegan, Page, Ethan, Radford, Ian J., Woinarski, John C. Z., Fisher, Alaric, Lawes, Michael J., Gordon, Iain J. and Johnson, Chris N. (2021). Cats are a key threatening factor to the survival of local populations of native small mammals in Australia's tropical savannas: evidence from translocation trials with Rattus tunneyi. Wildl. Res., 48 (7). S. 654 - 663. CLAYTON: CSIRO PUBLISHING. ISSN 1448-5494

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Abstract

Context. Invasive predators are a key threat to biodiversity worldwide. In Australia, feral cats are likely to be responsible for many extinctions of native mammal species in the south and centre of the continent. Aims. Here we examine the effect of feral cats on native rodent populations in the second of two translocation experiments. Methods. In a wild-to-wild translocation, we introduced pale field rats, Rattus tunneyi, whose populations are declining in the wild, into two pairs of enclosures where accessibility by feral cats was manipulated. Key results. Individual rats translocated into enclosures accessible to cats were rapidly extirpated after cats were first detected visiting the enclosures. Rats in the enclosure not exposed to cats were 6.2 times more likely to survive than those exposed to cats. Two individual cats were responsible for the deaths of all but 1 of 18 cat-accessible rats. Rats in the site with denser ground cover persisted better than in the site with more open cover. Conclusions. These results are consistent with our previous study of a different native rat species in the same experimental setup, and provide further evidence that, even at low densities, feral cats can drive local populations of small mammals to extinction.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Tuft, Katherine UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-3585-444X UNSPECIFIED Legge, Sarah UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0001-6968-2781 UNSPECIFIED Frank, Anke S. K. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED James, Alex I. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED May, Tegan UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Page, Ethan UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Radford, Ian J. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Woinarski, John C. Z. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Fisher, Alaric UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Lawes, Michael J. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Gordon, Iain J. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Johnson, Chris N. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-602868
DOI:	10.1071/WR20193
Journal or Publication Title:	Wildl. Res.
Volume:	48
Number:	7
Page Range:	S. 654 - 663
Date:	2021
Publisher:	CSIRO PUBLISHING
Place of Publication:	CLAYTON
ISSN:	1448-5494
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language FELIS-CATUS; FERAL CATS; CONTINENTAL FAUNA; PREDATION; DECLINE; PREY; EXTINCTION Multiple languages Ecology; Zoology Multiple languages
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/60286