Ecology

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History of feral cats on Kangaroo Island Questions:
 * TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF WILDCATS AND KITTENS **
 * Case history of a feral predator on the Pelican Lagoon Peninsula, **
 * Kangaroo Island **
 * Questions: **
 * 1) Describe the methods of data collection used for this study.
 * 2) How has the area changed over the 27 years?
 * 3) The climate is described as temperate and mediterranean. What is meant by these terms?
 * 4) What is the difference in mean body weight between male and female cats?
 * 5) What are scats?
 * 6) How are scats useful to understanding the effect of feral cats on the community?
 * 7) Compared to other methods of determining the diet of feral cats, how useful is scat analysis and why?
 * 8) From the information in this article write a paragraph to describe the habits of feral cats. Include pattern of range, habitat use, food source, hunting methods. How does this information support the notion that feral cats are a big environmental problem?

Fox predation in the Snowy Mountains (extension paper)

THESE PAPERS BELOW SHOULD BE READ BEFORE THE SAC NEXT WEEK. You should be familiar with the methods described (how scats, radio collars and traps can be used in research). You will be asked to complete tables and graphs using given data and identify and discuss patterns in this data. You will not be expected to use complex statistical methods for this SAC.

The range of methods for fauna surveys

Investigation into fox control

These questions will focus on the methods used in this study and analysis of the data produced.
 * AN ASSESSMENT OF HABITAT MANIPULATION AS A FOX CONTROL STRATEGY **


 * Questions: **


 * 1) Refer to methods on page six (6-11). Describe the methods used to collect data on the foxes found in the study area.

Refer to the results (page 12 onwards)
 * 1) How many fox individuals were studied in this research?
 * 2) Home range (the area used by the foxes) was determined in a couple of ways (don’t worry too much about these methods). Why were multiple methods used to work out these mean ranges?
 * 3) Describe the dominant habitat used by foxes (page 13). How do the foxes change habitat use during the day and night?
 * 4) Refer to graph on page 18. Rank the major components of the fox diet.
 * 5) Page 19. How does the diet of the fox change between the seasons?
 * 6) How might this data be different in Britain (the place of origin of the fox)? Suggest reasons why this might be the case.