武汉大学校园流浪猫行为生态学初步研究

随着宠物猫在人们生活中越来越普及，流浪猫的问题也日渐突显；它们可能携带多种人畜共患寄生虫，对本地生态系统造成干扰，并带来公共安全隐患。因此，开展流浪猫的调查，并制定相应的管理措施，对于缓解这一问题显得尤为重要。2021年9月——2022年12月，采用样线法对武汉大学校园地区流浪猫进行了种群调查，根据重捕法及其模型估算种群规模；通过定位项圈跟踪20只流浪猫，确定它们的家域范围；基于流浪猫的社交亲人行为等级，对流浪猫的行为差异进行了分析。结果显示，武汉大学的流浪猫密度约为1只/hm²，绝育率较低，校园流浪猫的家域范围为(4.99±0.84)hm²；校园流浪猫85%的时间都在喂食点半径100 m以内活动，且喂食点密度越高，流浪猫的活动范围越小；在不同性别上，雄性流浪猫的活动范围大于雌性，而绝育与否不影响其活动范围；在社交亲人行为方面，校园流浪猫社交亲人性高于一般的流浪猫，即分布在城市和乡村中的流浪猫，随着喂食点密度增加，其社交亲人等级随之升高。研究表明，武汉大学校园流浪猫数量较多，绝育率低，家域范围小，且主要分布在喂食点附近。此外，喂食点密度对流浪...

A preliminary study on behavioral ecology of free-ranging cats on Wuhan University campus

As pet cats become increasingly popular in our lives， the challenge posed by free-ranging cats has become more prominent. These cats may carry various zoonotic parasites， causing disturbance to the local ecosystem and poing public safety risks. Consequently， it is crucial to undertake studies on free-ranging cats and develop appropriate management strategies to address this growing concern. From September 2021 to December 2022， a comprehensive survey of the free-ranging cat population on the Wuhan University campus was carried out using the line transect method， estimating cat numbers through the capture-mark-recapture approach. Twenty free-ranging cats were tracked with positioning collars to determine their home ranges. The socialization levels were categorized following their observed behaviors. The findings revealed a density of approximately 1 cat per hectare on the Wuhan University campus， coupled with a low rate of neutering. The home range of free-ranging cats on campus is 4.99±0.84 hm²， and 85% of their time is spent within a 100-m radius of feeding locations. The higher the density of feeding point ，the smailer their activity range. Examining gender differences， male cats exhibited a larger activity range than females， with neutering showing no discernible effect on activity range. In terms of socialization behavior， the campus free-ranging cats demonstrated higher socialization levels to humans compared to their non-campus counterparts. As the density of feeding locations increased， the socialization behaviors in free-ranging cats also increased. This study highlighted that there are a large number of free-ranging cats on the campus， with a low neutering rate and a small home range， maily distributed near feeding locations. The density of feeding locations significantly influences the daily behavior of free-ranging cats： an increase in feeding points can lead to a reduction of the home range and an increase in socialization levels. Recommendations for control measures include： ① regulating the population of free-ranging cats on campus by implementing measures to control abandonment， and actively promote adoption after neutering of these cats； ② establishing centralized feeding locations and increasing feeding point density in designated areas to limit the home range of free-ranging cats， and decreasing feeding locations in the remaining areas to safeguard wildlife. This study offers new empirical data and theoretical insights for the management of campus free-ranging cats.