Tracking Cats from Space: Satellites Estimate Feral Ranges 2017
And yet, stray cats can be estimated from space, according to a new study.
No, the satellites have not become so sensitive that they are able to follow the movements of individual cats. But a new study found that landscape productivity measured by satellite tracking plants sets a set of wild cats
This is important because wild cats (domesticated cats that live in nature) are the main predators of domestic birds and small mammals around the world. The 2013 study published in the journal Nature Communications estimated that cats kill between 1,400 million and 3,700 million to 20,700 million birds and small mammals each year. [Photos: Seeing the world through cat's eyes]
Andrew Bengsen, a research scientist at the Department of Primary Industries at the NSW Research Unit on Vertebrate Pests in Australia and the lead author but wild cats is difficult to control, because they behave very differently depending on where they live in a new study.
"Understanding the patterns of wild cat movement, especially the distances traveling in the course of their daily activities, it is necessary to develop effective combat programs because it determines the amount of space that needs to be managed." Bengens Life Science said how intensive surveillance activities must be within this region.
After the wild cats
Bengsen said the cats followed the inexpensive and difficult brutal. Most studies are based on GPS, a method that requires a lot of manpower and it is difficult for government institutions with tight money management necklaces. In addition, GPS tracking requires the release of wild cats back into the environment, where you can continue to kill birds and mammals. This is particularly threatening in islands in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, where cats threaten unique island species.
Bengsen and his colleagues looked towards the sky. They extracted data from NASA satellites that measure greenness on Earth, which in turn determines the productivity landscape, or the amount of biomass being produced. The scientists said that more productive is the richest area in life.
Researchers combined this information based on the spatial data of 41 previous studies with GPS tracking and estimates of random population density in 47 places.
The results revealed significant changes in wild cat ranges: from 0.16 square miles (1.16 square kilometers) to 23.24 square kilometers for females. Males tend to wider ranges, as they travel around looking for females to mate.
The study said the scene care to explain these differences. Bengsen said low productivity in areas such as deserts and cats traveled further. The ranges were smaller in high productivity environments such as forests. The population densities of cats in one area were smaller ranges than animals. Bensen seasonal resources also matter.
Manage cats
Most of the sites surveyed were in Australia because the area where wild cats are the biggest threat to local species. However, the researchers also examined many sites in Europe and North America.
"We are collecting data from sites ranging from deserts to scopes at the foot," he added. "We are absolutely confident that relationships should remain to find similar sites elsewhere."
However, Bengsen said that tracking urban colonies cats is not possible with this technique. In cities, wild cats that rely on food can not be measured by satellite data such as human waste (or rodents in the garbage). The 2015 study found wild cats in the eastern United States that animals preferred urban corridors and Wilder squares areas, probably because wolves roam more freely in wild areas.
However, Bengsen said the study should give wildlife managers a guide to contain the damage of stray cats in the wild.