Pallas's cat is a 3-5kg species endemic to Central Asia. It is Near Threatened and thought to be at risk from habitat fragmentation, a declining prey base and consumptive hunting. Moreover, it Is distributed within the temperate grasslands biome, the least protected of all biomes in the world and increasingly under pressure from economic development and population growth. While the current status of Pallas's cat highlights Its need for protection, its ecology has not been studied, impairing the development of conservation strategies. In this thesis I address the need for an ecological framework to support the species conservation. conducted fieldwork for 30 months from 2005 to 2007. Pallas's cats were found to maintain large home range areas and live at very low densities.

While motor laterality and the variables affecting it have largely been explored in human and nonhuman primates, it is clear that research on domestic species, particularly the cat, is lacking. This thesis seeks to address the gap in the literature and determine whether the domestic cat displays motor laterality in the form of paw preferences. The research will firstly explore tests of motor bias in a bid to determine the most appropriate task for use throughout the experimental chapters and beyond. The thesis hopes to examine some of the variables that might influence the expression of lateral bias in the cat, including, for example, breed, age and sex. In addition, considering a relationship between lateral bias and emotional functioning has been reported in other species, the research aims to further explore this in order to establish whether tests of motor bias can be used to assess susceptibility to stress in the domestic cat. Finally, this thesis will, for the first time, explore motor laterality of spontaneous feline behaviours. Overall, this research hopes to determine whether the domestic cat shows paw preferences and-shed more light on the possible link between lateral bias and emotional functioning, with the potential implication that the findings may be used to inform animal welfare practice.

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Single-species research dominates the field of ecology; however there is a growing appreciation of the importance of a multi-species approach to holistic conservation. Carnivores exert a top-down control on other species, and are vital components of stable ecosystem functioning. Physiologically adapted for predation upon other animals, competition between carnivores can be particularly aggressive; frequently resulting in mortality, and even population suppression. Big cat research has historically focused on those species that are most easily observable; in particular the lion Panthera leo. The majority of the Felidae however are secretive and elusive, and receive relatively little scientific attention. In particular, there are few data available that measure the effect of direct intraguild interactions between carnivores. Using leopards Panthera pardus as a model species, this research aimed to investigate the impact of lions on the behavioural ecology of a socially subordinate carnivore. Leopards are the most abundant large carnivore in Africa, and have the largest global range of all felids; their ecological niche overlapping with that of both lions and tigers. The knowledge gained from examining their competitive interactions is therefore widely relevant, and may be applicable to other subordinate carnivore species that remain unstudied. Biotelemetry and camera-trap data were modelled using novel algorithms to show that lions impact on leopard population density, demographics and spatial ecology. Faecal analyses suggest that dietary niche segregation may facilitate sympatry. These results indicate the level of impact that large carnivores can exert over smaller species, and the potential for a focus on single-species conservation to undermine holistic conservation. The manifestation of intraguild competition has a significant influence on an animal’s ecology; leopards are generalist species that cope with persecution by adapting their behaviour and niche. Ecological specialists may not fare as well under competitive pressure, and proactive conservation initiatives may be required for endangered species.