The diet of feral cats (Felis catus L.) at five sites on the Grande Terre, Kerguelen archipelago - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Polar Biology Année : 2002

The diet of feral cats (Felis catus L.) at five sites on the Grande Terre, Kerguelen archipelago

Résumé

Assessing the impact (direct or indirect) of introduced predator species on native seabird populations is a clear management priority, particularly so in the simple sub-Antarctic ecosystems where these effects may be dramatic. We evaluated the diet of introduced feral cats (Felis catus L.) on the Grande Terre, Kerguelen archipelago, by analysing 149 scats from 5 sites. Overall, rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were the primary prey (72.6%), followed by house mice (Mus musculus) (11.6%) and birds (all species confounded, 14.9%). However, the proportions of the three prey species varied among sites, reflecting the spreading pattern of cats onto the Grande Terre. Birds were consumed much less frequently in this study (7.3%, all sites pooled but one) compared to a 1976 study in the same area (66.3%), suggesting that cats had a strong impact on the native avifauna.

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hal-00192200 , version 1 (27-11-2007)

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Dominique Pontier, Ludovic Say, Francois Débias, Joël Bried, Jean Thioulouse, et al.. The diet of feral cats (Felis catus L.) at five sites on the Grande Terre, Kerguelen archipelago. Polar Biology, 2002, 25, pp.833-837. ⟨10.1007/s00300-002-0424-5⟩. ⟨hal-00192200⟩
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