The effect of collar weight and capture frequency on bodyweight in feral cats (Felis catus)

Ned L. Ryan-Schofield; Katherine E. Moseby; Todd J. McWhorter; Sarah M. Legge; Hugh W. McGregor

doi:10.1071/WR24024

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Previous Next Contents Vol 51(6)

The effect of collar weight and capture frequency on bodyweight in feral cats (Felis catus)

Ned L. Ryan-Schofield

^A ^B ^* , Katherine E. Moseby

^C ^D , Todd J. McWhorter

^E , Sarah M. Legge

^F ^G and Hugh W. McGregor

^D ^F ^H

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.

^B Bush Heritage Australia, Level 10, 637 Flinders Street, Docklands, Melbourne, Vic 3008, Australia.

^C School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

^D Arid Recovery, P.O. Box 147, Roxby Downs, SA 5725, Australia.

^E School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide, Roseworthy, SA 5371, Australia.

^F Threatened Species Recovery Hub, National Environmental Science Program, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4067, Australia.

^G Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2602, Australia.

^H School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, Tas 7001, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: ned.ryan-schofield@adelaide.edu.au

Handling Editor: Penny Fisher

Wildlife Research 51, WR24024 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR24024

Submitted: 22 February 2024 Accepted: 11 May 2024 Published: 30 May 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

Animal-borne devices can affect animal survival, reproduction, and behaviour through both the addition of weight and bulk and the direct effects of initial and subsequent capture. Researchers commonly employ a general rule of thumb that weight of the device must be less than 5% of bodyweight for terrestrial animals; however, this threshold has little empirical basis.

Aims

We evaluated the effects of environmental variables, repeated capture, and weight of animal-borne devices on bodyweight in free-ranging feral cats.

Methods

We recaptured feral cats at varying frequencies, wearing GPS and/or VHF collars that ranged from 0.29% to 4.88% of bodyweight, and recorded change in cat weight over time.

Key results

Collar weight as a percentage of bodyweight was not a significant predictor of feral cat weight change. Rather, change in bodyweight was best described by a negative relationship with an increasing temperature and number of captures, and a positive relationship with time since collar attachment.

Conclusions

Capture had a significant influence on feral cat weight but collar weights up to 5% of bodyweight did not significantly contribute to weight loss. However, the absence of control cats without collars hindered definitive conclusions on the effect of collar weight on cat weight change.

Implications

Researchers should space capture and handling events more than 30 days apart to reduce effects of weight loss from capture and handling. Researchers should also consider increasing collar weight and reducing frequency of capture (where collars are less than 5% of bodyweight), particularly if cat bodyweight is a parameter of interest.

Keywords: biologger, bodyweight, capture, collar impacts, condition, handling, neophobia, recapture, stress, weight change.

References

Aldridge HDJN, Brigham RM (1988) Load carrying and maneuverability in an insectivorous bat: a test of the 5% ‘rule’ of radio-telemetry. Journal of Mammalogy 69, 379-382.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Alibhai SK, Jewell ZC, Towindo SS (2001) Effects of immobilization on fertility in female black rhino (Diceros bicornis). Journal of Zoology 253, 333-345.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Bank MS, Franklin WL, Sarno RJ (2000) Assessing the effect of radiocollars on juvenile guanaco survival. Oecologia 124, 232-234.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Barron DG, Brawn JD, Weatherhead PJ (2010) Meta-analysis of transmitter effects on avian behaviour and ecology. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 1, 180-187.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Barton K (2011) MuMIn: multi-model inference. R package version 1.0.0. Available at http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=MuMIn

Bellard C, Cassey P, Blackburn TM (2016) Alien species as a driver of recent extinctions. Biology Letters 12, 20150623.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Berteaux D, Masseboeuf F, Bonzom J-M, Bergeron J-M, Thomas DW, Lapierre H (1996) Effect of carrying a radiocollar on expenditure of energy by meadow voles. Journal of Mammalogy 77, 359-363.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Bodey TW, Cleasby IR, Bell F, Parr N, Schultz A, Votier SC, Bearhop S (2018) A phylogenetically controlled meta-analysis of biologging device effects on birds: deleterious effects and a call for more standardized reporting of study data. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9, 946-955.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Bowen Z, Read J (1998) Population and demographic patterns of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) at Roxby Downs in arid South Australia and the influence of rabbit haemorrhagic disease. Wildlife Research 25, 655-662.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Brandle R, Moseby KE (1999) Comparative ecology of two populations of Pseudomys australis in northern South Australia. Wildlife Research 26, 541-564.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Braud C, Mitchell EP, Van der Merwe V, Tordiffe ASW (2019) A veterinary survey of factors associated with capture-related mortalities in cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus). Journal of the South African Veterinary Association 90, a1723.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Breed D, Meyer LCR, Steyl JCA, Goddard A, Burroughs R, Kohn TA (2019) Conserving wildlife in a changing world: understanding capture myopathy—a malignant outcome of stress during capture and translocation. Conservation Physiology 7, coz027.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Briscoe NJ, McGregor H, Roshier D, Carter A, Wintle BA, Kearney MR (2022) Too hot to hunt: mechanistic predictions of thermal refuge from cat predation risk. Conservation Letters 15, e12906.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Brooks ME, Kristensen K, van Benthem KJ, Magnusson A, Berg CW, Nielsen A, Skaug HJ, Mächler M, Bolker BM (2017) glmmTMB balances speed and flexibility among packages for zero-inflated generalized linear mixed modeling. The R Journal 9, 378-400.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Brown GE, Ferrari MCO, Elvidge CK, Ramnarine I, Chivers DP (2013) Phenotypically plastic neophobia: a response to variable predation risk. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 280, 20122712.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Bruholt S (2018) Behavioural responses of captive red fox (Vulpes vulpes) to telemetry collars. Master thesis, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway.

Burbidge AA, Manly BFJ (2002) Mammal extinctions on Australian islands: causes and conservation implications. Journal of Biogeography 29, 465-473.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Casper RM (2009) Guidelines for the instrumentation of wild birds and mammals. Animal Behaviour 78, 1477-1483.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Charrassin J-B, Hindell M, Rintoul SR, Roquet F, Sokolov S, Biuw M, Costa D, Boehme L, Lovell P, Coleman R, Timmermann R, Meijers A, Meredith M, Park Y-H, Bailleul F, Goebel M, Tremblay Y, Bost C-A, McMahon CR, Field IC, Fedak MA, Guinet C (2008) Southern Ocean frontal structure and sea-ice formation rates revealed by elephant seals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105, 11634-11639.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Cockrem JF (2013) Individual variation in glucocorticoid stress responses in animals. General and Comparative Endocrinology 181, 45-58.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Cooke SJ, Midwood JD, Thiem JD, Klimley P, Lucas MC, Thorstad EB, Eiler J, Holbrook C, Ebner BC (2013) Tracking animals in freshwater with electronic tags: past, present and future. Animal Biotelemetry 1, 5.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Coughlin CE, van Heezik Y (2015) Weighed down by science: do collar-mounted devices affect domestic cat behaviour and movement? Wildlife Research 41, 606-614.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Cypher BL (1997) Effects of radiocollars on San Joaquin kit foxes. The Journal of Wildlife Management 61 1412-1423.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Demers F, Giroux J-F, Gauthier G, Bêty J (2003) Effects of collar-attached transmitters on behaviour, pair bond and breeding success of snow geese Anser caerulescens atlanticus. Wildlife Biology 9, 161-170.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Doherty TS, Davis RA, van Etten EJB, Algar D, Collier N, Dickman CR, Edwards G, Masters P, Palmer R, Robinson S (2015) A continental-scale analysis of feral cat diet in Australia. Journal of Biogeography 42, 964-975.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Doherty TS, Glen AS, Nimmo DG, Ritchie EG, Dickman CR (2016) Invasive predators and global biodiversity loss. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113, 11261-11265.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Duenas M-A, Hemming DJ, Roberts A, Diaz-Soltero H (2021) The threat of invasive species to IUCN-listed critically endangered species: a systematic review. Global Ecology and Conservation 26, e01476.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Engelhard G, Brasseur S, Hall A, Burton H, Reijnders P (2002) Adrenocortical responsiveness in southern elephant seal mothers and pups during lactation and the effect of scientific handling. Journal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology 172, 315-328.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Fleming PA, Crawford HM, Auckland CH, Calver MC (2020) Body size and bite force of stray and feral cats—are bigger or older cats taking the largest or more difficult-to-handle prey? Animals 10, 707.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Fox J, Weisberg S (2018) ‘An R companion to applied regression.’ 3rd edn. (Sage Publications: London, UK)

Gelling M, Montes I, Moorhouse TP, Macdonald DW (2010) Captive housing during water vole (Arvicola terrestris) reintroduction: does short-term social stress impact on animal welfare? PLoS ONE 5, e9791.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Godfrey JD, Bryant DM, Williams MJ (2003) Radio-telemetry increases free-living energy costs in the endangered Takahe Porphyrio mantelli. Biological Conservation 114, 35-38.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Golabek KA, Jordan NR, Clutton-Brock TH (2008) Radiocollars do not affect the survival or foraging behaviour of wild meerkats. Journal of Zoology 274, 248-253.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Greenberg R (2003) The role of neophobia and neophilia in the development of innovative behaviour of birds. In ‘Animal innovation’. (Eds SM Reader, KN Laland) pp. 175–196. (Oxford University Press: Oxford)

Guttilla DA, Stapp P (2010) Effects of sterilization on movements of feral cats at a wildland–urban interface. Journal of Mammalogy 91, 482-489.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Harcourt RG, Turner E, Hall A, Waas JR, Hindell M (2010) Effects of capture stress on free-ranging, reproductively active male Weddell seals. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 196, 147-154.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Harris RBS, Zhou J, Youngblood BD, Rybkin II, Smagin GN, Ryan DH (1998) Effect of repeated stress on body weight and body composition of rats fed low-and high-fat diets. American Journal of Physiology – Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 275, R1928-R1938.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Hines JE, Zwickel FC (1985) Influence of radio packages on young blue grouse. The Journal of Wildlife Management 49, 1050-1054.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Hussey NE, Kessel ST, Aarestrup K, Cooke SJ, Cowley PD, Fisk AT, Harcourt RG, Holland KN, Iverson SJ, Kocik JF, Mills Flemming JE, Whoriskey FG (2015) Aquatic animal telemetry: a panoramic window into the underwater world. Science 348, 1255642.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Jansen J, McGregor H, Axford G, Dean AT, Comte S, Johnson CN, Moseby KE, Brandle R, Peacock DE, Jones ME (2021) Long-distance movements of feral cats in semi-arid South Australia and implications for conservation management. Animals 11, 3125.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Jones E, Coman BJ (1982) Ecology of the feral cat, Felis catus (L.), in south-eastern Australia III.* Home ranges and population ecology in semiarid north-west Victoria. Wildlife Research 9, 409-420.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Judge S, Lippert JS, Misajon K, Hu D, Hess SC (2012) Videographic evidence of endangered species depredation by feral cat. Pacific Conservation Biology 18, 293-296.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Korpela J, Suzuki H, Matsumoto S, Mizutani Y, Samejima M, Maekawa T, Nakai J, Yoda K (2020) Machine learning enables improved runtime and precision for bio-loggers on seabirds. Communications Biology 3, 633.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Laurenson MK, Caro TM (1994) Monitoring the effects of non-trivial handling in free-living cheetahs. Animal Behaviour 47, 547-557.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Letnic M, Tamayo B, Dickman CR (2005) The responses of mammals to La Nina (El Nino Southern Oscillation)-associated rainfall, predation, and wildfire in central Australia. Journal of Mammalogy 86, 689-703.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Loss SR, Will T, Marra PP (2013) The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States. Nature Communications 4, 1396.
| Google Scholar |

Loyd KAT, Hernandez SM, Carroll JP, Abernathy KJ, Marshall GJ (2013) Quantifying free-roaming domestic cat predation using animal-borne video cameras. Biological Conservation 160, 183-189.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

McGregor HW, Legge S, Jones ME, Johnson CN (2014) Landscape management of fire and grazing regimes alters the fine-scale habitat utilisation by feral cats. PLoS ONE 9, e109097.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

McGregor H, Legge S, Jones ME, Johnson CN (2015) Feral cats are better killers in open habitats, revealed by animal-borne video. PLoS ONE 10, e0133915.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

McGregor HW, Legge S, Jones ME, Johnson CN (2016) Extraterritorial hunting expeditions to intense fire scars by feral cats. Scientific Reports 6, 22559.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

McGregor HW, Cliff HB, Kanowski J (2017) Habitat preference for fire scars by feral cats in Cape York Peninsula, Australia. Wildlife Research 43, 623-633.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

McGregor H, Moseby K, Johnson CN, Legge S (2020a) The short-term response of feral cats to rabbit population decline: are alternative native prey more at risk? Biological Invasions 22, 799-811.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

McGregor H, Read J, Johnson CN, Legge S, Hill B, Moseby K (2020b) Edge effects created by fenced conservation reserves benefit an invasive mesopredator. Wildlife Research 47, 677-685.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

McLaren GW, Mathews F, Fell R, Gelling M, Macdonald DW (2004) Body weight change as a measure of stress: a practical test. Animal Welfare 13, 337-341.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Medina FM, Bonnaud E, Vidal E, Tershy BR, Zavaleta ES, Josh Donlan C, Keitt BS, Le Corre M, Horwath SV, Nogales M (2011) A global review of the impacts of invasive cats on island endangered vertebrates. Global Change Biology 17, 3503-3510.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Moberg GP (2000) Biological response to stress: implications for animal welfare. In ‘The biology of animal stress: basic principles and implications for animal welfare’. (Eds GP Moberg, JA Mench) pp. 1–21. (CABI: Wallingford, UK)

Monterroso P, Díaz-Ruiz F, Ferreras P, Santos N (2022) Physiological and behavioural impact of trapping for scientific purposes on European mesocarnivores. In ‘Mammal trapping–wildlife management, animal welfare & international standards’. (Ed. G Proulx) pp. 201–214. (Alpha Wildlife Publications: Alberta)

Moorhouse TP, Gelling M, McLaren GW, Mian R, Macdonald DW (2007) Physiological consequences of captive conditions in water voles (Arvicola terrestris). Journal of Zoology 271, 19-26.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Moseby KE, McGregor HM (2022) Feral cats use fine scale prey cues and microhabitat patches of dense vegetation when hunting prey in arid Australia. Global Ecology and Conservation 35, e02093.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Moseby KE, Stott J, Crisp H (2009) Movement patterns of feral predators in an arid environment – implications for control through poison baiting. Wildlife Research 36, 422-435.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Moseby KE, Neilly H, Read JL, Crisp HA (2012) Interactions between a top order predator and exotic mesopredators in the Australian rangelands. International Journal of Ecology 2012, 250352.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Moseby KE, McGregor H, Hill BM, Read JL (2020) Exploring the internal and external wildlife gradients created by conservation fences. Conservation Biology 34, 220-231.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Moseby KE, McGregor H, Read JL (2021) The lethal 23%: predator demography influences predation risk for threatened prey. Animal Conservation 24, 217-229.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Nájera F, Hearn AJ (2022) Assessing welfare while capturing free-ranging Sunda clouded leopards (Neofelis diardi) with cage-traps: effects of physical restraint on serum biochemistry. In ‘Mammal trapping–wildlife management, animal welfare & international standards’. (Ed. G Proulx) pp. 215–223. (Alpha Wildlife Publications: Alberta)

Nájera F, Hearn AJ, Ross J, Nathan S, Revuelta L (2014) Alterations in selected serum biochemistry values of free-ranging Bornean leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis borneoensis) captured by box traps. Veterinary Research Communications 38, 265-269.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Nogales M, Vidal E, Medina FM, Bonnaud E, Tershy BR, Campbell KJ, Zavaleta ES (2013) Feral cats and biodiversity conservation: the urgent prioritization of island management. BioScience 63, 804-810.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Osborne DA, Frawley BJ, Weeks HP, Jr (1997) Effects of radio tags on captive northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) body composition and survival. American Midland Naturalist 137, 213-224.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Pedler RD, Ribot RFH, Bennett ATD (2018) Long-distance flights and high-risk breeding by nomadic waterbirds on desert salt lakes. Conservation Biology 32, 216-228.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Pilfold NW, McCall A, Derocher AE, Lunn NJ, Richardson E (2017) Migratory response of polar bears to sea ice loss: to swim or not to swim. Ecography 40, 189-199.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Plantinga EA, Bosch GX, Hendriks WH (2011) Estimation of the dietary nutrient profile of free-roaming feral cats: possible implications for nutrition of domestic cats. British Journal of Nutrition 106, S35-S48.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Portugal SJ, White CR (2018) Miniaturization of biologgers is not alleviating the 5% rule. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9, 1662-1666.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Rachlow JL, Peter RM, Shipley LA, Johnson TR (2014) Sub-lethal effects of capture and collaring on wildlife: experimental and field evidence. Wildlife Society Bulletin 38, 458-465.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Rasiulis AL, Festa-Bianchet M, Couturier S, Côté SD (2014) The effect of radio-collar weight on survival of migratory caribou. The Journal of Wildlife Management 78, 953-956.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Read JL (1992) Influence of habitats, climate, grazing and mining on terrestrial vertebrates at Olympic Dam, South Australia. The Rangeland Journal 14, 143-156.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Read J, Bowen Z (2001) Population dynamics, diet and aspects of the biology of feral cats and foxes in arid South Australia. Wildlife Research 28, 195-203.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Recio MR, Mathieu RSA, Maloney R, Seddon PJ (2010) First results of feral cats (Felis catus) monitored with GPS collars in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 34, 288-296.
| Google Scholar |

Recio MR, Mathieu R, Virgós E, Seddon PJ (2014) Quantifying fine-scale resource selection by introduced feral cats to complement management decision-making in ecologically sensitive areas. Biological Invasions 16, 1915-1927.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Ross AK, Letnic M, Blumstein DT, Moseby KE (2019) Reversing the effects of evolutionary prey naiveté through controlled predator exposure. Journal of Applied Ecology 56, 1761-1769.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Rutz C, Hays GC (2009) New frontiers in biologging science. Biology Letters 5, 289-292.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Sakamoto KQ, Takahashi A, Iwata T, Trathan PN (2009) From the eye of the albatrosses: a bird-borne camera shows an association between albatrosses and a killer whale in the Southern Ocean. PLoS ONE 4, e7322.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Sol D, Griffin AS, Bartomeus I, Boyce H (2011) Exploring or avoiding novel food resources? The novelty conflict in an invasive bird. PLoS ONE 6, e19535.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Thirgood SJ, Redpath SM, Hudson PJ, Hurley MM, Aebischer NJ (1995) Effects of necklace radio transmitters on survival and breeding success of red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus. Wildlife Biology 1, 121-126.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Troscianko J, Rutz C (2015) Activity profiles and hook-tool use of New Caledonian crows recorded by bird-borne video cameras. Biology Letters 11, 20150777.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Tuyttens FAM, Macdonald DW, Roddam AW (2002) Effects of radio-collars on European badgers (Meles meles). Journal of Zoology 257, 37-42.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Van der Weyde LK, Blumstein DT, Letnic M, Tuft K, Ryan-Schofield NL, Moseby KE (2023) Can native predators be used as a stepping stone to reduce prey naivety to novel predators? Behavioral Ecology 34, 63-75.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Venturato E, Cavallini P, Banti P, Dessì-Fulgheri F (2009) Do radio collars influence mortality and reproduction? A case with ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in central Italy. European Journal of Wildlife Research 55, 547-551.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

West R, Letnic M, Blumstein DT, Moseby KE (2018) Predator exposure improves anti-predator responses in a threatened mammal. Journal of Applied Ecology 55, 147-156.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

White CR, Cassey P, Schimpf NG, Halsey LG, Green JA, Portugal SJ (2013) Implantation reduces the negative effects of bio-logging devices on birds. Journal of Experimental Biology 216, 537-542.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Wilmers CC, Nickel B, Bryce CM, Smith JA, Wheat RE, Yovovich V (2015) The golden age of bio-logging: how animal-borne sensors are advancing the frontiers of ecology. Ecology 96, 1741-1753.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Zhou J, Yan X, Ryan DH, Harris RBS (1999) Sustained effects of repeated restraint stress on muscle and adipocyte metabolism in high-fat-fed rats. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 277, R757-R766.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |