Counting Cats and Counting Birds In both studies, the authors quantified the impact of cat
predation on bird populations by comparing different levels of predation with different bird densities.
Not exact matches
As the UK's Royal Society for the Protection of
Birds notes, in refreshingly straightforward language: «Despite the large numbers of birds killed, there is no scientific evidence that predation by cats in gardens is having any impact on bird populations UK - wide... It is likely that most of the birds killed by cats would have died anyway from other causes before the next breeding season, so cats are unlikely to have a major impact on populations.&r
Birds notes, in refreshingly straightforward language: «Despite the large numbers of
birds killed, there is no scientific evidence that predation by cats in gardens is having any impact on bird populations UK - wide... It is likely that most of the birds killed by cats would have died anyway from other causes before the next breeding season, so cats are unlikely to have a major impact on populations.&r
birds killed, there is no scientific evidence that
predation by cats in gardens is having any impact
on bird populations UK - wide... It is likely that most of the
birds killed by cats would have died anyway from other causes before the next breeding season, so cats are unlikely to have a major impact on populations.&r
birds killed by cats would have died anyway from other causes before the next breeding season, so cats are unlikely to have a major impact
on populations.»
«Any
bird populations on the continents that could not withstand these levels of
predation from cats and other predators would have disappeared long ago, but
populations of
birds on oceanic islands have evolved in circumstances in which
predation from mammalian predators was negligible and they, and other island vertebrates, are therefore particularly vulnerable to
predation when cats have been introduced.»
``... the ecological and conservation significance of these kill tallies is difficult to contextualise, because (1) there are no reliable estimates of the total
population of
birds in Australia; (2)
predation may fall disproportionately
on some
bird species; (3) some
bird species may be able to sustain high mortality rates and maintain viable
populations but others may not; and (4) as demonstrated here, there is substantial spatial variation in the numbers and proportion of
birds killed across Australia.»
«Despite the large numbers of
birds killed, there is no scientific evidence that
predation by cats in gardens is having any impact
on bird populations UK - wide,» explains an article
on the RSPB website.
Even setting all that aside, the question remains: What impact does
predation by cats have
on bird populations?