IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Zanin, M.; Palomares, F.; Brito, D. | |
| What we (don't) know about the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on felids | |
| 2014 Oryx (49): 96-106 | |
Felid species have intrinsic ecological traits that make them particularly susceptible to the threats of habitat loss and fragmentation. We collate current knowledge of the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on felids, describing trends, investigating the allocation of research effort and identifying knowledge gaps. We searched the scientific literature and categorized articles according to conceptual and methodological approaches. We reviewed 162 articles and observed that scientific knowledge is unevenly distributed among topics and species. Habitat suitability and patch-landscape configuration are the most studied topics. The allocation of research effort is unrelated to variables that describe conservation priorities, such as threat status and habitat availability within a species' range, but it is related to body size, suggesting that charismatic attributes influence the choice of target species. Countries with less research effort are also those with less economic development, and thus North America and Europe are the centres of knowledge generation of reviewed studies. The responses of sixteen felid species to habitat loss and fragmentation remain unknown. Of these the Andean mountain cat _Leopardus jacobita_, the Bornean bay cat _Pardofelis badia_, the flat-headed cat _Prionailurus planiceps_ and the fishing cat _Prionailurus viverrinus_ most urgently require research because they are threatened with extinction. We recommend the use of theoretical approaches, through modelling exercises, as afirst step to address the lack of information about the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on felids, especially for those species for which there are large knowledge gaps. |
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