IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Stefen, C. | |
| Does the European wildcat (_Felis silvestris_) show a change in weight and body size with global warming? | |
| 2015 Folia Zoologica (64): 65-78 | |
The question whether the European wildcat, adapted to cooler climate than other small to medium sized felids, shows changes in body mass or size in response to climate change as indicated for other animals is addressed. The literature yielded body mass data of individual specimens covering the time span from about 1860 to 1960. Also the records of collections were accessed to record weight and body length. These mainly cover the time after 1950. Additionally, three cranial measures, gsl, cbl and zw were measured as indicators of size in the collections representing Germany and Slovakia. Museum records of weight from the last 60 years alone do not show a statistically significant change over time or mean annual temperature. But they do so for body length. The combined data from literature and collections from both regions show a statistically significant decrease in weight over time. As the samples from the literature and museum records represent different time periods, prior to and after 1950, it is difficult to decide if the literature data might be unrealistically high or if there was a real decrease in weight. The German and Slovakian samples differ statistically in the studied parameters, which complicates the picture. Overall the indications of changes in size of wildcats with time or mean annual temperature are not consistent in the studied regions and therefore difficult to assess. Even though there is ample material and substantial literature the collected specimens in the collections do mainly represent relatively short time periods and the available data on weight are also unevenly distributed in time. This supports the necessity to collect large series of specimens over time. |
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