Mapping the spatial configuration of hybridization risk for an endangered population of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) in Scotland
Mapping the spatial configuration of hybridization risk for an endangered population of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) in Scotland
复制标题
绘制苏格兰濒危欧洲野猫（Felis silvestris silvestris）种群杂交风险的空间配置图
作者：
K. Kilshaw;R. Montgomery;Ruairidh D. Campbell;David A. Hetherington;P. Johnson;A. Kitchener;D. Macdonald;J. Millspaugh
英国苏格兰的野猫目前面临灭绝的危险，因为它与野生家猫(野生猫科动物)和杂交种(野猫 × 家猫杂交)杂交。由于关于这三种CAT类型的分布和杂交风险的空间差异的信息有限，保护工作受到阻碍。从2010年1月到2013年7月，我们在苏格兰北部进行了广泛的相机捕捉调查，以记录野生动物、杂种动物和野猫的分布情况。使用单季占有率模型，我们预测了这三种猫在苏格兰各地的占有率。在49,031天的时间里，我们捕获了87只野猫(24小时内一只猫在相机捕捉站的照片)，145只杂交猫和193只野猫。在我们检测到野猫的超过48%的摄像机捕捉站，我们也检测到了野猫或混血儿。我们预测野猫的占有率是栖息地协变量的函数。在混合林地生境比例较高的生境中，野猫占有率增加，而在边缘较多的生境(从封闭生境过渡到开放生境)中，野猫占有率降低。杂交种在分布格局上与野猫和野猫有明显的重叠。结果表明，苏格兰的野猫面临着从野生猫科动物和/或杂交猫科动物中进行杂交的风险。特别是，与野生猫科动物相比，杂交种占据与野猫相同的栖息地的可能性更大，这支持了最近的观点，即杂交种可能通过促进野猫和野生动物之间的基因流动而构成显著的额外杂交威胁。
The wildcat in Scotland, UK, is currently at risk of extinction because of hybridization with feral domestic cats (ferals) and hybrids (wildcat × domestic cat crosses). Conservation efforts are hampered by limited information on the distribution of these three cat types and the spatial variation in hybridization risk. From January 2010 to July 2013, we conducted widespread camera-trapping surveys throughout northern Scotland to document the distribution of ferals, hybrids, and wildcats. Using single-season occupancy models, we predicted the probability of occupancy for these three cat types across Scotland. Over 49,031 camera-trapping days, we had 87 captures (photo of a cat at a camera-trap station within a 24-h period) of wildcats, 145 captures of hybrids, and 193 captures of ferals. At over 48 % of the camera-trap stations where we detected wildcats, we also detected ferals or hybrids. We predicted wildcat occupancy as a function of habitat covariates. Wildcat occupancy probability increased in habitat with a higher proportion of mixed woodland habitat and decreased in habitat with more edge (transition from closed to open habitats). Hybrids showed a clear overlap in their distribution pattern with both ferals and wildcats. The results indicate that wildcats in Scotland are at risk of hybridization across much of their current distribution from ferals and/or hybrids. In particular, hybrids have an increased probability of occupying much of the same habitat as wildcats compared to ferals, supporting recent suggestions that hybrids may pose a significant additional hybridization threat by facilitating gene flow between wildcats and ferals.