NDLI: Landscape Management of Fire and Grazing Regimes Alters the Fine-Scale Habitat Utilisation by Feral Cats

Content Provider	PubMed Central
Author	Mcgregor, Hugh W. Legge, Sarah Jones, Menna E. Johnson, Christopher N.
Editor	Adam, Paul
Copyright Year	2014
Abstract	Intensification of fires and grazing by large herbivores has caused population declines in small vertebrates in many ecosystems worldwide. Impacts are rarely direct, and usually appear driven via indirect pathways, such as changes to predator-prey dynamics. Fire events and grazing may improve habitat and/or hunting success for the predators of small mammals, however, such impacts have not been documented. To test for such an interaction, we investigated fine-scale habitat selection by feral cats in relation to fire, grazing and small-mammal abundance. Our study was conducted in north-western Australia, where small mammal populations are sensitive to changes in fire and grazing management. We deployed GPS collars on 32 cats in landscapes with contrasting fire and grazing treatments. Fine-scale habitat selection was determined using discrete choice modelling of cat movements. We found that cats selected areas with open grass cover, including heavily-grazed areas. They strongly selected for areas recently burnt by intense fires, but only in habitats that typically support high abundance of small mammals. Intense fires and grazing by introduced herbivores created conditions that are favoured by cats, probably because their hunting success is improved. This mechanism could explain why, in northern Australia, impacts of feral cats on small mammals might have increased. Our results suggest the impact of feral cats could be reduced in most ecosystems by maximising grass cover, minimising the incidence of intense fires, and reducing grazing by large herbivores.
Related Links	http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0109097
Starting Page	109097
File Format	PDF
ISSN	19326203
e-ISSN	19326203
Journal	PLoS ONE
Issue Number	10
Volume Number	9
Language	English
Publisher	Public Library of Science
Publisher Date	2014-10-01
Access Restriction	Open
Rights Holder	Public Library of Science
Subject Keyword	Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all) Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all) Medicine(all) Research in Higher Education
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Multidisciplinary

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Breed Locally, Disperse Globally: Fine-Scale Genetic Structure Despite Landscape-Scale Panmixia in a Fire-Specialist

Feral Cats Are Better Killers in Open Habitats, Revealed by Animal-Borne Video

Analyzing the proximity to cover in a landscape of fear: a new approach applied to fine-scale habitat use by rabbits facing feral cat predation on Kerguelen archipelago

Fine-Scale Habitat Segregation between Two Ecologically Similar Top Predators

Does Fire Influence the Landscape-Scale Distribution of an Invasive Mesopredator?

Fine-Scale Analysis Reveals Cryptic Landscape Genetic Structure in Desert Tortoises

Fine-Scale Genetic Response to Landscape Change in a Gliding Mammal

Assessing Risks to Non-Target Species during Poison Baiting Programs for Feral Cats

Fine-Scale Habitat Heterogeneity Influences Occupancy in Terrestrial Mammals in a Temperate Region of Australia

Landscape Management of Fire and Grazing Regimes Alters the Fine-Scale Habitat Utilisation by Feral Cats

Similar Documents

Breed Locally, Disperse Globally: Fine-Scale Genetic Structure Despite Landscape-Scale Panmixia in a Fire-Specialist

Feral Cats Are Better Killers in Open Habitats, Revealed by Animal-Borne Video

Analyzing the proximity to cover in a landscape of fear: a new approach applied to fine-scale habitat use by rabbits facing feral cat predation on Kerguelen archipelago

Fine-Scale Habitat Segregation between Two Ecologically Similar Top Predators

Does Fire Influence the Landscape-Scale Distribution of an Invasive Mesopredator?

Fine-Scale Analysis Reveals Cryptic Landscape Genetic Structure in Desert Tortoises

Fine-Scale Genetic Response to Landscape Change in a Gliding Mammal

Assessing Risks to Non-Target Species during Poison Baiting Programs for Feral Cats

Fine-Scale Habitat Heterogeneity Influences Occupancy in Terrestrial Mammals in a Temperate Region of Australia

Landscape Management of Fire and Grazing Regimes Alters the Fine-Scale Habitat Utilisation by Feral Cats