The impact of feral domestic cats on native bird populations. Predictive modelling approach on a country scale

Abstract

Ecological interactions between native species are often disturbed by invasive species. However, to understand their impact on wild native animal populations on a country scale it is necessary to develop a predictive model. Therefore, I followed the species density distribution modelling approach to explore how feral domestic cats (Felis catus) along with environmental predictors determined densities of two bird species, the Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) and the Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava) on the whole area of Poland. As a modelling method, I used the Generalised Additive Model to develop two models for each of the two bird species: The first with the feral cat density as an additional predictor, and the second without it. As a result, I demonstrated the negative impact of cat density on native bird populations, illustrated by reduced density of the two studied species in their preferred habitats, in which cats reached a high density. Although it cannot be explicitly asserted that cats lead to a local extinction of the two bird species, these predators should not be underestimated. In many locations feral populations are fed with new individuals, and they do not follow the same internal mechanisms regulating their population as the native bird fauna. Thus, on a large spatial scale species density distribution models of birds should include cats’ population size as an additional predictor when this predator's environmental preferences overlap with preferences of the studied target groups.