Research Article Open Access

Impacts on the Biodiversity of Vertebrate Fauna in Brazil: Domestic Cats as Exotic Predator

Abstract

Domestic cats (Felis catus) are listed among the 100 worst invasive species with the greatest impact on the environment and conservation, threatening a variety of native and even endangered animal species. Data indicate that they are responsible for the extinction of 33 bird species. Due to the importance of this issu0065 and the scarcity of data in scientific manuscripts documenting species preyed upon by felines, we conducted a systematic review in the databases "Google Scholar," "ResearchGate," "Scopus," and "Scielo," seeking manuscripts containing data on species preyed upon by felines in Brazil over the past 30 years. We identified 14,980 manuscripts in the initial stage, and only 17 remained after subsequent stages and exclusion criteria, providing data on 146 species (or orders) of preyed animals, which were tabulated and discussed in this article. The number of articles already underscores the significance of this topic for conservation and may inspire further research to protect and preserve native fauna. Additionally, based on our research, we present unpublished data on cases of predation of both native and exotic species. The data on predation by domestic felines were gathered through observations, where the prey slaughtered and brought by the community cat were cataloged and listed over a 30-day period in the summer of 2020. The animal brought the prey to its feeding and resting place, in front of one of the houses where it received care. The study was conducted in the Camobi neighborhood, municipality of Santa Maria, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Geographical coordinates: 29°41'47.9"S 53°44'20.4"W. This represents the first documented predation of two bird species (Falco sparverius and Leptotila verreauxi) and two Squamatas (Tupinambis and Philodryas olfersii) in Brazil.

The overall objective of this research is to characterize the impact of domestic cats (Felis catus) on Brazil's biodiversity, demonstrating control measures to prevent predation and consolidating dispersed data from the literature succinctly, indicating the potential impact of this invasive species on the ecological balance of populations, elucidating preyed species and classes, and describing the predation of native and exotic fauna species by feral domestic felines. The results obtained can help alleviate the scarcity of information regarding the impacts of F.catus and support the need to implement management policies and environmental education to combat the abandonment of domestic animals and promote practices such as spaying/neutering and responsible pet adoption.

Luiza Isaia De Freitas*, Thais Ito Isaia Lanzanova, Fabio Yuji Shibuya, Gabriela Monteiro De Andrade, Vanessa Cirinéa Tapia Barraza, Paulo Dilkin, Sônia De Avila Botton, Helton Fernandes Dos Santos

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