Cats have caused the extinction and extirpation of native wildlife ( Medina et al., 2011 Doherty et al., 2016 Greenwell et al., 2019) and represent a major source of mortality for wildlife populations ( Loss et al., 2013 Loss and Marra, 2017). Taken together, our results highlight the importance of incorporating human demographics, land use patterns, and urban context in estimating the abundance of free-ranging cats to better inform management decisions and improve conservation outcomes.įree-ranging domestic cats cause serious ecological damage and can be hazardous to human health. These results suggest that transect surveys conducted during the day may undercount cats in urban environments where unowned free-ranging cats predominate. ![]() Cats were more strictly nocturnal in medium and high intensity residential land-use areas, possibly because a greater proportion of these cats are unowned or because they avoid human activity. ![]() Using counts of cats observed on cameras, we found that the timing of cat activity varied depending on the degree of urban intensity. Transect data also provided evidence that cat abundance was greatest at intermediate levels of impervious surface cover (e.g., road and buildings), while data from camera traps also showed that cat abundance was positively associated with household income. Both sampling methods determined that cat abundance was greatest in areas with intermediate human population density and lower educational attainment. Using a network of sites participating in a community science program, we conducted transect and camera trap surveys to test predictions of cat population abundance and activity across a gradient of residential land use intensity. We hypothesized that cat abundance and activity both depend on human land use and demographics. The lack of robust cat population sampling limits our understanding of where cats pose risks, which is important for evaluating management strategies, such as trap-remove or trap-neuter-return. Estimating cat population size with an unbiased sampling design, however, especially in human-dominated areas, is logistically challenging and rarely done. As a result, removing free-ranging cats from the landscape has become a conservation and public health priority. 5Department of Biology and McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United Statesįree-ranging domestic cats are a detriment to wildlife and humans by preying on native species and transmitting disease.4Calder Biological Field Station, Fordham University, Armonk, NY, United States.3Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, United States. ![]()
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