Data from: Investigating cat predation as the cause of bat wing tears using forensic DNA analysis

Cat predation upon bat species has been reported to have significant effects on bat populations in both rural and urban areas. The majority of research in this area has focussed on observational data from bat rehabilitators documenting injuries, and cat owners, when domestic cats present prey. However, this has the potential to underestimate the number of bats killed or injured by cats. Here, we use forensic DNA analysis techniques to analyse swabs taken from injured bats in the United Kingdom, mainly including Pipistrellus pipistrellus (40 out of 72 specimens). Using quantitative PCR, cat DNA was found in two-thirds of samples submitted by bat rehabilitators. Of these samples, short tandem repeat analysis produced partial DNA profiles for approximately one-third of samples, which could be used to link predation events to individual cats. The use of genetic analysis can complement observational data, and potentially provide additional information to give a more accurate estimation of cat predation.已有文献报道，猫类捕食蝙蝠物种的行为，对乡村与城市区域的蝙蝠种群均具有显著影响。当前该领域的绝大多数研究均聚焦于两类观测数据：一是蝙蝠救助者记录的蝙蝠受伤情况，二是家猫主人提交的家猫捕获猎物相关数据。然而此类观测方式可能会低估家猫致死或致伤蝙蝠的实际数量。本研究针对英国境内受伤蝙蝠的拭子样本展开法医DNA分析，其中72份标本主要为普通伏翼（Pipistrellus pipistrellus）（共计40份）。借助定量PCR（quantitative PCR）技术，研究人员在蝙蝠救助者提交的三分之二样本中检测到了猫类DNA。其中约三分之一的样本经短串联重复序列（short tandem repeat，STR）分析获得了部分DNA分型，该结果可用于将捕食事件与具体家猫个体进行关联。遗传分析手段可作为观测数据的补充，有望提供更多信息，从而更精准地估算家猫的捕食规模。