Research library
🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries
AI-curated summaries for the pride’s library — verify citations independently before citing.
13 summaries in Climate & Habitat Change on lion
Research overview: climate-driven disease range shifts affecting wild cats
OverviewClimate change can expand the range of pathogens, parasites, and disease vectors, with potential consequences for wild cat health. This overview surveys how warming may alter the distribution of tick-…
Research overview: cumulative and interacting impacts on cat communities
OverviewCats rarely face climate change in isolation; it interacts with habitat loss, fragmentation, hunting, disease, and conflict to produce cumulative impacts greater than any single threat. This overview…
Research overview: drought effects on prey and predator dynamics in cat systems
OverviewDrought reverberates through ecosystems by reducing vegetation, prey body condition, and reproduction, with cascading effects on the predators that depend on them. This overview surveys how droughts o…
Research overview: drought, water availability, and African lion prey systems
OverviewAfrican lions inhabit savannas where drought and water availability strongly shape prey abundance and distribution, making them sensitive to climate variability. This overview surveys how droughts red…
Research overview: drought-driven resource scarcity and human-cat conflict
OverviewDrought intensifies competition between people and predators for scarce water, forage, and livestock, often heightening human-wildlife conflict. This overview surveys how dry periods push cats toward…
Research overview: extreme climate events and felid population crashes
OverviewBeyond gradual trends, extreme events, severe droughts, heatwaves, floods, and harsh winters, can cause abrupt declines in cat populations or their prey. This overview surveys documented cases where e…
Research overview: prescribed fire and habitat management for felid prey
OverviewManagers use prescribed fire to shape vegetation, reduce fuel loads, and create habitat conditions that benefit wildlife, including the prey of cats. This overview surveys how planned burning maintain…
Research overview: thermal stress and activity-pattern shifts in cats
OverviewAs temperatures rise, cats may adjust their activity patterns to avoid heat, shifting toward more nocturnal or crepuscular behavior, with consequences for hunting and human overlap. This overview surv…
Research overview: vegetation productivity, NDVI, and felid prey forecasting
OverviewSatellite indices of vegetation productivity such as NDVI track the green forage that drives herbivore abundance, offering a remote way to anticipate prey conditions for predators. This overview surve…
Research overview: water dependence and drought resilience in arid-zone cats
OverviewCats vary in how much they depend on free-standing water versus obtaining moisture from prey, a trait that shapes drought resilience in arid landscapes. This overview surveys what is known about water…
Research overview: water provisioning and drought management in cat reserves
OverviewManagers of reserves holding lions, tigers, and other cats sometimes provision artificial water to buffer wildlife against drought, a practice with contested ecological consequences. This overview sur…
Research overview: woody encroachment and savanna change for African cats
OverviewRising carbon dioxide, altered rainfall, and changed fire and grazing regimes are driving woody plant encroachment into many African savannas, reshaping habitat for cats and their prey. This overview…
Status and ecological effects of the world's largest carnivores
ReviewThis influential review synthesized the global status of the largest carnivores, including big cats such as lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars, documenting widespread range contraction and populatio…
Ripple, W.J., Estes, J.A., Beschta, R.L., Wilmers, C.C., Ritchie, E.G., Hebblewhite, M., et al. · Science · 2014