http://www.theage.com.au/environment/feral-cats-devastating-threat-to-native-animals-laid-bare-20121228-2bzdz.html
Feral cats' devastating threat to native animals laid bare
Date
December 29, 2012
Nicky Phillips
Science Reporter
THE rats never stood a chance. It took a pair of feral cats
just four days to gobble an entire population of native pale field rats
in a conservation enclosure on the edge of Arnhem Land.
Scientists and ecologists have long suspected feral cats were
partly to blame for the dramatic decline of native animals across
northern Australia over the past 20 years. But preliminary results from a
comprehensive study, funded by the Australian Research Council and led
by the non-profit Australian Wildlife Conservancy, reveal just how
devastating the predators can be.
''We had strong suspicions they were an issue, but we really
needed to confirm that,'' said the conservancy's head scientist, Dr
Sarah Legge.
Wongalara Sanctuary manager Chris Whatley and his daughter
Melissa with the electric fence. Photo: Peter Rae
On a former cattle station turned wildlife sanctuary, the
conservancy has built two 10-hectare enclosures, each divided into two
plots, to conduct their study.
One ''control'' plot allowed feral cats access in and out,
while the second ''experimental'' plot was surrounded by a six-metre
electrified fence to keep cats out.
Into each of the four plots, the group released about 20 pale
field rats, which have been regionally extinct in Arnhem Land for about
15 years and had to be sourced from Quoin Island, off the Northern
Territory coast.
''[Then] we followed their fate,'' said Dr Legge.
It took feral cats about a month to find one of the control
plots. When the researchers tried trapping the rats, or locating them by
their radio collars a week later they found none.
''Once the [cats] knew there was good feed in there, they
were right into it,'' said senior wildlife ecologist Dr Katherine Tuft.
Motion sensor cameras had captured images of two cats, she
said. ''Once they have decided there is something they like eating they
put an awful lot of effort into getting the last rat,'' said Dr Legge.
''I think that's partly why they've been so devastating.'' she said.
While the rats in the second control plot survived better, the enclosure's
first feral cat arrived in late October.
''So, we'll have to wait and see what its done,'' said Dr Tuft.
Both the plots that excluded cats now have thriving rat
populations that have produced young. The numbers of reptiles have also
increased.
While the preliminary results show the impact feral cats have
on the small rodents, the researchers will also study whether the
presence of cats prevents the recovery of the population.
The research team, which includes scientists from CSIRO, the
University of Tasmania and Charles Darwin University, plan to run the
experiment for another year, and may introduce other native animals to
the cat-free plots.
Read more:
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/feral-cats-devastating-threat-to-native-animals-laid-bare-20121228-2bzdz.html#ixzz2HNGKz6Ai
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