Vinícius de Morais
This study proposes to evaluate whether the sterilization of domestic dogs and cats reduces or eliminates the spatiotemporal overlap with five species of small wild cats in southern Brazil, and whether the construction of predator-proof chicken coops reduces or eliminates conflicts that result in the death of domestic birds and subsequent retaliatory killings.
The research will be conducted in four areas of the Atlantic Forest and Pampa biomes, focusing on five species, four of which are threatened with extinction: Leopardus guttulus, Leopardus munoai, Leopardus geoffroyi, Leopardus wiedii, and Herpailurus yagouaroundi. To investigate the spatiotemporal overlap between domestic carnivores and wild cats, we will initially estimate the size and current rates of these domestic populations in the field, using the Pasteur Technique (Pasteur Institute/SP).
Next, we will construct Leslie Matrices with demographic and environmental stochasticity to perform population projections for the next decade (2026-2035), testing eight distinct scenarios with fixed sterilization rates, ranging from 10% to 80%. The objective is to identify the persistence threshold necessary to stabilize domestic populations in the face of continuous abandonment and compare this effort with real data collected in sterilization campaigns carried out subsequently. To investigate the capacity of anti-predation chicken coops to mitigate these conflicts, the study will focus on a comparative analysis of the proportions of bird loss and retaliatory culling before and after the reform of the structures.
Effectiveness will be measured through paired t-tests applied to the 20 participating rural properties. In addition, the perceived safety index and the change in producers' predisposition to retaliatory culling will be evaluated. These data will be rigorously validated by comparison with a regional control group, composed of neighboring properties that did not receive the intervention and still maintain the traditional management of their birds.
We hope that the results obtained will support the progress of the National Action Plan for Small Felines in Brazil (ICMBio), promote coexistence actions throughout the territory covered by the projects of the Geoffroy's Cat Working Group and the Tiger Cat Conservation Initiative, and broaden the discussion on social perceptions in the relationship between humans and wild animals involving small wild cat species in Brazil and worldwide.