Populations of feral cats and dogs can be found all over the world, including Boston and parts of Costa Rica. These feral populations negatively impact local biodiversity through predation on indigenous species, often resulting in serious ecological impacts. Analogous research projects in Chestnut Hill and Costa Rica attempt to document and compare the effects of these human-associated populations of feral dogs and cats in both temperate and tropical habitats.
In 2007, a pilot radio telemetry project was conducted by a BC student in the Chestnut Hill area to record the activity and home ranges of three free-ranging domestic cats. The project proved radio telemetry to be an effective method for assessing the activity and ranges of these cats. It is hoped that in the future the same methods can be used to track feral cats in the Boston area, in order to assess the potential impacts of feral cat populations on local biodiversity.
Following the success of the radio telemetry research in Chestnut Hill, Professor Peter Auger and BC students have begun investigating the feral dog and cat populations in Costa Rica. Though significant feral cat and dog populations are evident throughout Costa Rica, little data exists regarding the impact of these populations on local ecosystems.
Previous observations and research suggest that feral dogs and cats in Costa Rica have negatively affected local biodiversity in Monteverde, Ostional, and Playa Grande. In the Monteverde area, it is suspected that cats and dogs range far from their homes into protected forested areas where they hunt indigenous species and threaten local wildlife. Feral dog populations also pose enormous threats to endangered nesting sea turtles at Ostional and Playa Grande, where the dogs destroy turtle nests, eat the eggs, and threaten hatchlings and nesting adults.
During the 2008 Costa Rica summer session, BC students conducted interviews to explore local perceptions of the ecological harm caused by these feral populations, and a radio telemetry project was proposed and initiated. Interviews revealed that local perceptions are not consistent with the reality of the situation, suggesting that empirical data regarding the actual ecological impacts of these feral populations is necessary before the issue can be properly addressed.
In conjunction with the Monteverde Institute, a domestic free-range dog in the Monteverde area was outfitted with a radio transmitter to establish its home range and potential effects on wildlife in the surrounding rainforest areas, and is currently being tracked by a Monteverde researcher. Further research during future Costa Rica summer sessions in conjunction with ecologists at Monteverde Institute should help establish the actuality of the situation and provide a basis for environmental and cultural approaches to reduce the impacts of these populations.
Currently, several BC students have begun to investigate the effectiveness of a new tracking method that involves the use of small GPS trackers. It is hoped that domestic cats in the Chestnut Hill area can be outfitted and tracked using this new technology. If the GPS trackers prove to be successful in tracking domestic cats, it is possible that they may also be used for investigating the feral cat populations in the Boston area.