This blog post is provided by Arthemis Moraru, Stefano Anile, and Sébastien Devillard and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article, “Global determinants of home range sizes in Felids: evidence of human disturbance impact”, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. In their study, Moraru and colleagues conduct the first global meta-analysis of home range size across wild felids, identifying the factors that influence their space use.

From the smallest wildcats to tigers, wild felids fascinate us. They are iconic predators, often elusive, and many species are increasingly threatened. One of the most fundamental questions we can ask about them is simple: how much space do they use to live, and why?

In ecology, the space an animal regularly uses to find food, reproduce and rest is called its home range. Home range size reflects how animals use the space around them, balancing what they need with the opportunities and constraints of their environment.

We conducted the first global meta-analysis of home range size across wild felids. Much of this information comes from the HomeRange database, which brings together decades of home range studies on mammals worldwide. In total, we gathered more than a thousand home range estimates from 29 of the 40 recognised wild felid species, spanning almost the entire world. By combining these data with information on each cat’s biology and environment, we aimed to identify the main drivers of space use across the felid family.

What shapes wild felid home ranges?

Our results confirm some well-known ecological patterns. Larger felids use larger home ranges, reflecting higher energetic requirements and the need to travel further to hunt bigger prey. Males also tend to occupy larger home ranges than females, consistent with reproductive strategies in which males encompass the ranges of multiple females. We also found that home ranges were smaller in highly productive environments, where prey is more abundant and easier to find.

Additionally, felids tend to use smaller home ranges in areas with high felid species richness, suggesting that competition may promote more efficient or specialised use of space.

One of the most striking results, however, concerned human land use – especially agriculture. We found that wild felid home ranges were smaller in landscapes dominated by croplands and pastures. Importantly, reduced space use in human-modified environments does not necessarily indicate favourable conditions. Instead, it may reflect restricted movement due to habitat fragmentation, behavioural avoidance of humans, or barriers such as roads and fences.

Implications for conservation and management

Felids are running out of room; they are very vulnerable to destruction and fragmentation of their habitat. To protect them we need to understand what determines how much space they use. By revealing that home range size is shaped not only by biological and ecological factors, but also by human activities, we hope our findings can help guide conservation planning. This brings us back to a question that is perhaps more urgent than ever: will they have enough space left if we continue to expand our crops and cattle?

Read the paper

Read the full paper here: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.70227

Arthemis Moraru

I’m a PhD student currently with the LEHNA (Laboratoire d’Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés) team E2C, at Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University (France). I started working on this paper during my Master’s 2 internship at LBBE (Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive) and continued it during a gap year before starting my PhD. I’m now working on the common toad (Bufo bufo) microbiome and how it responds to anthropization.