posted on 2018-05-29, 14:14authored byGiovanne A. Ferreira, Eduardo Nakano-Oliveira, Artur Andriolo, Gelson Genaro
<p>Anthropogenic
changes are a major threat to biodiversity. One of the possible changes in
biodiversity is the introduction of domestic species in the environment, which
might represent a threat to wild species. The domestic cat, in particular, has
biological and behavioral characteristics that allow a great adaptability to
natural areas, thus representing a potential risk to the native species, mainly
to the other members of the Felidae family. In this study, the spatial overlap
between four species of Neotropical wildcats and domestic cats living in an
Atlantic Forest Protected Area in one of the most important forest remnants of
this ecosystem was verified. The results indicate the need to adopt mitigation
measures against the potential risks of this interaction with the goal of preserving
the native species.</p>