DOI: 10.5061/dryad.k98sf7mks
title: Data from: Social media highlights the overlooked impact of cats on arthropods

description: The severe impact of domestic cats on vertebrate biodiversity is
 unequivocal. However, cats are generalist predators that also hunt various
 invertebrate taxa, yet we are still far from understanding the impacts of
 these predators on arthropod populations. Here, we analyzed records from
 social media to explore which arthropods are most preyed upon by domestic
 cats in urban environments. Using the search algorithms of two online
 platforms, iStock and TikTok, we analyzed &gt;17,000 photos and
 videos, which yielded 550 records of predation events by domestic cats. We
 examined these images to identify the orders of arthropods most frequently
 preyed upon by cats. We compared our findings with data from a recent
 global synthesis of academic papers quantifying the diet of domestic cats.
 In total, we recorded 14 distinct arthropod orders killed by domestic
 cats. Orthoptera was the most frequently preyed upon order, accounting for
 20.7% of the records. Hemiptera (14.5%) and Blattodea (14.4%) were also
 commonly observed. Our data show that domestic cats hunt a surprisingly
 diverse range of arthropods in urban settings. Overall, the data collected
 from social media showed similarities but also some differences compared
 to the general patterns found in the scientific literature on the diet of
 domestic cats. This finding emphasizes that these different data streams
 are not redundant; therefore, combining them can be an effective way to
 thoroughly document ecological interactions in urban environments. Social
 media serves as a powerful and rapidly growing source of biodiversity data
 for ecologists and conservation biologists. Our study presents new records
 of arthropod predation by cats and highlights the diversity of
 invertebrate prey killed by domestic cats in urban settings. Together,
 these findings offer new insights into the neglected impacts of cats on
 arthropod populations.
description: <strong>Data collection</strong>
 We collected data on <em>TikTok</em> and
 <em>iStock</em> between March and April 2024. To gather data
 from both platforms, we used search terms related to cat predation on
 arthropods (see details below) and only selected records—whether photos or
 videos—that depicted: (i) cats consuming arthropods, (ii) cats hunting or
 chasing arthropods or (iii) cats interacting with arthropods (e.g., cats
 attempting to capture, stalking, or preparing to attack an arthropod). To
 allow for precise identification of the arthropod at the taxonomic level
 of order in each photo, we only considered photos and videos where the
 prey killed or targeted by the cat was clearly visible. Photos and videos
 with barely visible prey or those that did not show the prey were
 discarded. We also removed photos and videos that appeared manipulated,
 showed significant human interference (e.g., a human offering prey to a
 cat), or were taken in potentially non-urban environments. Since
 <em>iStock</em> and <em>TikTok</em> have different
 search mechanisms, we employed specific methods for each platform, as
 described below: <em>iStock</em>
 In a preliminary analysis of the platform's search tools, we
 identified that using the same search terms in Portuguese, English, and
 Spanish resulted in very similar results. Therefore, we conducted searches
 in English. First, we used the search terms “<em>cat
 insects</em>” and then “<em>cat hunting insects</em>”.
 The use of the plural or singular search terms yielded similar results. We
 used only two combinations of search terms as the search results were
 numerous. We analyzed the first 6,000 photos and videos for each
 combination of the search terms, totalizing 12,000 photos.
 <em>TikTok</em> As the search
 language drastically changed the results obtained, we performed
 independent searches in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. To avoid content
 recommendation algorithms present on the platform, we created a new
 account specifically to carry out the search. Unlike
 <em>iStock</em>, searches on <em>TikTok</em>
 return more specific results, so we conducted the search in two stages,
 one more general and another more specific. For the general search, we
 analyzed the first 200 videos resulting from each of the following search
 terms: “<em>cat insects</em>” and “<em>cat hunting
 insects</em>” in English, Portuguese, and Spanish (i.e., we analyzed
 600 videos for each search term). The use of the plural or singular search
 terms yielded similar results. As the platform has a more specific search
 algorithm, we conducted additional searches combining
 “<em>cat</em>” with the popular names of the arthropod orders
 most prevalent in general search, i.e., ant, bee, beetle, butterfly,
 cicada, cockroach, cricket, dragonfly, fly, grasshopper, mantis, mosquito,
 moth and spider. These more specific searches were also carried out in
 English, Portuguese, and Spanish, and the first 100 videos corresponding
 to the search were analyzed. Videos that appeared in both the general and
 specific search were considered only once. Only on
 <em>TikTok</em>, we analyzed 5,150 videos.
description: # Data from: Social media highlights the overlooked impact of cats on
 arthropods Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.k98sf7mks](10.5061/dryad.k98sf7mks)
 ## Description of the data and file structure The data set is presented in
 a “.csv” file, which includes 550 records of arthropod predation events by
 domestic cats obtained from photos and videos available on two social
 media platforms, *iStock* and *TikTok*. For each record, we present (i)
 the social media where the photo or video was found, (ii) the search
 language used to find the photo or video, and (iii) the taxonomic
 identification (Order level) of the attacked prey. ### Files and variables
 #### File: data_Alexandre_Costa-Pereira.csv **Description:** The dataset
 includes 550 records of predation events by domestic cats obtained from
 photos and videos available on two social media platforms, *iStock* and
 *TikTok*. ##### Variables * social media: the social media platform in
 which the record was obtained; two categories: TikTok or iStock. * search
 language: the search language used to obtain the record; three categories:
 English, Spanish, or Portuguese. * prey: the taxonomic order of the prey
 from each record; 14 categories: Araneae, Blattodea, Coleoptera,
 Dermaptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Mantodea,
 Megaloptera, Odonata, Orthoptera, Phasmatodea, Scorpiones. ##
 Code/software The dataset is in ".CSV" format and can be opened
 and viewed using Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets or RStudio.  ## Access
 information Other publicly accessible locations of the data: * NA Data was
 derived from the following sources: * NA