Quantifying the threat posed by feral cats to Australian reptiles. This project aims to provide the first quantification of the impact of feral cats on Australian reptiles, the country’s most diverse

Description

Quantifying the threat posed by feral cats to Australian reptiles. This project aims to provide the first quantification of the impact of feral cats on Australian reptiles, the country’s most diverse vertebrate lineage. This project expects to provide crucial missing pieces of the puzzle by adopting an innovative behavioural approach to determine how cats hunt for lizards, and how lizards respond to cat predation risk. The expected outcomes are an improved understanding of the capacity of native lizards to recognise cats as predators and respond appropriately, and a determination of the magnitude of threat that cats pose to native lizards. Importantly, our study aims to trial management strategies to mitigate the impact of cat predation on native reptiles.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0602 - Ecology. Lead: Prof David Chapple