Abstract Context Recent global concern over invertebrate declines has drawn attention to the causes and consequences of this loss of biodiversity. Feral cats, Felis catus, pose a major threat to many vertebrate species in Australia, but their effect on invertebrates has not previously been assessed. Aims The objectives of our study were to (1) assess the frequency of occurrence (FOO) of invertebrates in feral cat diets across Australia and the environmental and geographic factors associated with this variation, (2) estimate the number of invertebrates consumed by feral cats annually and the spatial variation of this consumption, and (3) interpret the conservation implications of these results. Methods From 87 Australian cat-diet studies, we modelled the factors associated with variation in invertebrate FOO in feral cat-diet samples. We used these modelled relationships to predict the number of invertebrates consumed by feral cats in largely natural and highly modified environments. Key results In largely natural environments, the mean invertebrate FOO in feral cat dietary samples was 39% (95% CI: 31–43.5%), with Orthoptera being the most frequently recorded order, at 30.3% (95% CI: 21.2–38.3%). The highest invertebrate FOO occurred in lower-rainfall areas with a lower mean annual temperature, and in areas of greater tree cover. Mean annual invertebrate consumption by feral cats in largely natural environments was estimated to be 769 million individuals (95% CI: 422–1763 million) and in modified environments (with mean FOO of 27.8%) 317 million invertebrates year−1, giving a total estimate of 1086 million invertebrates year−1 consumed by feral cats across the continent. Conclusions The number of invertebrates consumed by feral cats in Australia is greater than estimates for vertebrate taxa, although the biomass (and, hence, importance for cat diet) of invertebrates taken would be appreciably less. The impact of predation by cats on invertebrates is difficult to assess because of the lack of invertebrate population and distribution estimates, but cats may pose a threat to some large-bodied narrowly restricted invertebrate species. Implications Further empirical studies of local and continental invertebrate diversity, distribution and population trends are required to adequately contextualise the conservation threat posed by feral cats to invertebrates across Australia.

中文翻译：

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引入了吃大陆动物群的猫：澳大利亚野猫（Felis catus）对无脊椎动物的消费

摘要背景最近对无脊椎动物减少的全球​​关注引起了对这种生物多样性丧失的原因和后果的关注。野猫 Felis catus 对澳大利亚的许多脊椎动物物种构成重大威胁，但此前尚未评估它们对无脊椎动物的影响。目的 我们研究的目的是 (1) 评估澳大利亚各地野猫饮食中无脊椎动物的发生频率 (FOO) 以及与这种变化相关的环境和地理因素，(2) 估计野猫食用的无脊椎动物数量每年和这种消费的空间变化，以及（3）解释这些结果的保护意义。方法从 87 项澳大利亚猫饮食研究中，我们对与野猫饮食样本中无脊椎动物 FOO 变化相关的因素进行了建模。我们使用这些建模关系来预测野猫在很大程度上是自然和高度修改的环境中消耗的无脊椎动物数量。主要结果在大部分自然环境中，野猫饮食样本中的平均无脊椎动物 FOO 为 39%（95% CI：31-43.5%），直翅目是最常记录的目，为 30.3%（95% CI：21.2-38.3） %）。最高的无脊椎动物 FOO 出现在年平均气温较低的降雨量较低的地区，以及树木覆盖率较高的地区。野猫在大部分自然环境中的年平均无脊椎动物消费量估计为 7.69 亿（95% CI：422-17.63 亿），在改良环境中（平均 FOO 为 27.8%）3.17 亿无脊椎动物年-1，总计估计整个大陆的野猫在第一年消耗了 10.86 亿只无脊椎动物。结论 澳大利亚野猫消耗的无脊椎动物数量大于脊椎动物分类群的估计值，尽管所摄取的无脊椎动物的生物量（以及因此对猫饮食的重要性）会明显减少。由于缺乏对无脊椎动物种群和分布的估计，猫捕食对无脊椎动物的影响很难评估，但猫可能对一些体型大的狭义无脊椎动物物种构成威胁。影响 需要对当地和大陆无脊椎动物的多样性、分布和种群趋势进行进一步的实证研究，以充分考虑野猫对澳大利亚无脊椎动物造成的保护威胁。因此，猫饮食的重要性）所采取的无脊椎动物会明显降低。由于缺乏对无脊椎动物种群和分布的估计，猫捕食对无脊椎动物的影响很难评估，但猫可能对一些体型大的狭义无脊椎动物物种构成威胁。影响 需要对当地和大陆无脊椎动物的多样性、分布和种群趋势进行进一步的实证研究，以充分考虑野猫对澳大利亚无脊椎动物造成的保护威胁。因此，猫饮食的重要性）所采取的无脊椎动物会明显降低。由于缺乏对无脊椎动物种群和分布的估计，猫捕食对无脊椎动物的影响很难评估，但猫可能对一些体型大的狭义无脊椎动物物种构成威胁。影响 需要对当地和大陆无脊椎动物的多样性、分布和种群趋势进行进一步的实证研究，以充分考虑野猫对澳大利亚无脊椎动物造成的保护威胁。但猫可能会对一些体型大、狭隘的无脊椎动物构成威胁。影响 需要对当地和大陆无脊椎动物的多样性、分布和种群趋势进行进一步的实证研究，以充分考虑野猫对澳大利亚无脊椎动物造成的保护威胁。但猫可能会对一些体型大、狭隘的无脊椎动物构成威胁。影响 需要对当地和大陆无脊椎动物的多样性、分布和种群趋势进行进一步的实证研究，以充分考虑野猫对澳大利亚无脊椎动物造成的保护威胁。