Paton Alexandra J, Brook Barry W, Buettel Jessie C
School of Natural Sciences University of Tasmania Hobart Tasmania Australia.
ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH) University of Tasmania Hobart Tasmania Australia.
Ecol Evol. 2024 Nov 11;14(11):e70530. doi: 10.1002/ece3.70530. eCollection 2024 Nov.
Variations in coat morphology are well documented among felids and are theorised to aid in camouflage during stalk and ambush hunting. A diverse array of coat types has arisen in (feral cats) through domestication and subsequent selective breeding. This species has successfully spread across Australia over the past 200 years, raising the question of whether any specific coat types offer an adaptive advantage. We used 24,657 camera-trap images of feral cats in Tasmania, Australia, and assigned each cat observation a coat colour and pattern. We analysed these data to examine how different spatial features affect the modal coat type present at a site. We also tested if cats with differing coat types were active on different days in response to temporal features, including moon luminosity (full or new). Elevation was positively associated with the presence of orange (odds ratio = 2.5, 97.5% confidence interval = 1.5, 4.4) and tortoiseshell (odds ratio = 4.1, CI = 1.6, 10.5) cats, while blotched brown cats were negatively associated with elevation (odds ratio = 0.64, CI = 0.5, 0.9), relative to black cats. Brown mackerel cats were more common in eucalypt and rainforests (odds ratio = 1.9, CI = 1.1, 3.3), as well as sites with a higher FPAR (odds ratio = 1.3, CI = 1.1, 1.6). All coat types were 1.2-2 times more likely to be active on nights with a new moon, except for orange cats who were equally active regardless of moon luminosity (odds ratio = 0.94, CI = 0.62, 1.42). Our results indicate that coat types are equally successful across Tasmania, perhaps owing to naïve prey or limited predator competition. The high activity of orange cats irrespective of moon phase may be reflective of the male cat's tendency to patrol territory, as opposed to favouring dark nights for hunting. Future studies should consider comparing the coat types found in feral cats to adjacent domestic populations, and against a wider array of habitat types to further investigate the potential for selective pressure on feral cat coat types in Australia.
猫科动物的皮毛形态差异有充分的文献记载，理论上有助于在跟踪和伏击狩猎时进行伪装。通过驯化和随后的选择性育种，家猫（野猫）出现了各种各样的皮毛类型。在过去的200年里，这个物种成功地在澳大利亚蔓延，这就提出了一个问题，即是否有任何特定的皮毛类型具有适应性优势。我们使用了澳大利亚塔斯马尼亚州24657张野猫的相机陷阱图像，并为每只猫的观察记录指定了皮毛颜色和图案。我们分析这些数据，以研究不同的空间特征如何影响一个地点出现的主要皮毛类型。我们还测试了不同皮毛类型的猫是否会根据包括月光亮度（满月或新月）在内的时间特征在不同的日子里活动。海拔高度与橙色（优势比=2.5，97.5%置信区间=1.5，4.4）和玳瑁色（优势比=4.1，置信区间=1.6，10.5）猫的出现呈正相关，而相对于黑猫，斑点棕色猫与海拔高度呈负相关（优势比=0.64，置信区间=0.5，0.9）。棕色鲭鱼纹猫在桉树林和雨林中更为常见（优势比=1.9，置信区间=1.1，3.3），在具有较高FPAR的地点也是如此（优势比=1.3，置信区间=1.1，1.6）。除了橙色猫无论月光亮度如何都同样活跃（优势比=0.94，置信区间=0.62，1.42）之外，所有皮毛类型的猫在新月之夜活动的可能性都高出1.2至2倍。我们的结果表明，在塔斯马尼亚，各种皮毛类型的猫同样成功，这可能是由于猎物单纯或捕食者竞争有限。橙色猫无论月相如何都具有较高的活跃度，这可能反映了雄猫巡逻领地的倾向，而不是喜欢在黑夜狩猎。未来的研究应该考虑将野猫中发现的皮毛类型与相邻的家猫种群进行比较，并与更广泛的栖息地类型进行比较，以进一步研究澳大利亚野猫皮毛类型受到选择压力的可能性。
