Correlations between free-ranging domestic cat activity and land cover type across an urban gradient in western Massachusetts

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Fanny D. Riand, Sebastian Moreno and Paige S. Warren, Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, Fanny D. Riand, DDCSP Collaborative, Fanny D. Riand, ESA SEEDS Program, Aaron M. Grade, George Perkins Marsh Institute, Clark University, Worcester, MA, Susannah B. Lerman, Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Amherst, MA

Background/Question/Methods
Free-ranging domestic cats (Felis catus) kill approximately 1.3-4.0 billion birds each year, making them the single greatest source of anthropogenic mortality for birds in the United States. This loss is particularly significant given that wild bird populations in the continental U.S. and Canada have declined by almost 30% since 1970. However, a limited number of studies have identified the landscape-level features that may influence the presence of free-ranging cats in human-dominated landscapes. We explored the relationship between cat activity and surrounding land cover type based on a camera trapping survey of 36 sites across an urban gradient in western Massachusetts. We used 2016 Land Cover/Land Use data from MassGIS to calculate proportions of major land cover types within a 400-meter radius of each camera trap. We used linear models to test for correlations between observed cat activity and the proportions of nine land cover types.
Results/Conclusions
We found that 'Cultivated Land' had a positive correlation with cat activity, 'Evergreen Forest' had a negative correlation with activity, and no other land cover types were significantly related. The positive correlation between cat activity and ‘Cultivated Land’ aligns with previous studies, which found that unowned cats frequent more farmsteads in the fall and winter than expected based on availability, as well as more grassland and urban areas throughout all seasons. The negative correlation between cat activity and ‘Evergreen Forest’ may be related to lower human population densities in these areas, as free-ranging cats have been shown to have a preference for anthropogenic features. This research helps us better understand the landscape-level features associated with higher cat activity, and should be used to guide management and outreach efforts to reduce the negative impacts of free-ranging cats on birds and other wildlife.