What Is Mr. Whiskers Up To? Uncovering the Ecological Impacts of Domestic Cats on an Oceanic Island

Domestic cats are among the world’s most widespread invasive predators, posing significant challenges for biodiversity conservation, particularly in islands. Despite extensive research into their ecology and impacts, important gaps remain in our understanding of their population dynamics and their spatial patterns, as well as their main drivers. In this presentation, I will explore the ecological impacts of domestic cats, drawing on five years of research on a protected natural area in Madeira Island, where we have investigated their diet, abundance, activity patterns, and population dynamics. These findings provide the foundation for my PhD research, which examines cat distribution and their impacts on birds in natural areas across Portugal and Spain.

Online access* • LINK
*To access the meeting in the app without using the link, use the meeting ID 383 656 413 789 375 8 and acess code Hj2yd2EP