Cats vs Quolls: Feral cats are a triple threat compared to native predators

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-01-06 11:01

Australia; TAS

Feral_Cat-with-Rosella_Photo-Brisbane-City-Council-CC-BY-2.0

Compared to native predators like quolls, feral cats pose a triple threat to native wildlife thanks to their sheer numbers, foraging intensity and their ability to live in a range of environments, according to Australian research. The study found that compared to a native predator such as the spotted-tailed quoll, individual prey are 20–200 times more likely to encounter feral cats. The authors say the results go some way to explaining the disproportionate impacts of feral cats on a broad range of native Australian wildlife.

Media release

From: The Royal Society

A triple threat: high population density, high foraging intensity and flexible habitat preferences explain high impact of feral cats on prey

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Why have invasive predators had such a devastating impact on biodiversity worldwide? The usual explanation is that prey are 'naïve', unable to respond effectively to an unfamiliar predator. Rather than focus only on the responses of individual prey species, however, we show that understanding the behaviour of the invasive predator, and how it differs from that of native predators, can allow us to predict its impact across a broad range of native wildlife.

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Research The Royal Society, Web page Please link to the article in online versions of your report (the URL will go live after the embargo ends).

Journal/
conference: Proceedings of the Royal Society B

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Tasmania, Tasmanian Land Conservancy

Funder: This work was supported by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Scheme grant no. (LP130100949), an Ecological Society of Australia ‘The Nature Conservancy Applied Conservation Award’, a Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment Grant and a Royal Zoological Society of NSW Ethel Mary Read Scholarship.

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