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Cat amongst the birds and trees: Feral cat movements respond to variation in spatiotemporal productivity in a large island ecosystem

Cyril Scomparin , Matthew Pauza, Menna Jones

Abstract

Context Feral cats (Felis catus) are a highly adaptable invasive species, widespread across mainlands and islands in Australia and globally. Managing feral cats to reduce their impact on native wildlife is a priority for conservation organisations, land managers, and policymakers. Aims This study aimed to examine how spatial and temporal heterogeneity in productivity influences the movement behavior, habitat selection, and home range size of feral cats on lunawanna-alonnah/Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia. Combining movement and landscape information provides a finer-scale understanding of habitat use and requirements, which is valuable for managing of invasive species. Methods We deployed GPS collars on 17 feral cats, across three sites on lunawanna-alonnah/Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia. Two of the sites contained seabird colonies, while the third was located in wet eucalypt forests. The collars recorded data for periods ranging from 40 to 340 days. We describe and compare home range utilisations using biased random-bridge kernels, classify movement paths using hidden Markov models, and apply the Manly selection ratio approach to investigate habitat selection. Key results Cat home ranges and movements were smallest in the high-productivity situation of seasonally breeding seabird colonies and largest in the lower-productivity wet forest. Cats in wet forests spent more time travelling and made greater use of anthropogenic features such as tracks and roads. Cats collared in the seabird colony avoided roads and mostly restricted their movements to the colony, with the exception of three males which made extensive extra-territorial movements after the seabirds departed the colony. Conclusions The sudden change in prey resources following seabird migration could present a threat to native wildlife if cats prey-switch, but offer an opportunity for lethal control as cats will be hungry, more mobile, and therefore more likely to encounter control activities. Implications Our results confirm the importance of landscape productivity in shaping the behaviour of feral cats and provide information which can inform control programs in similar landscapes.

WR24179  Accepted 15 March 2025

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