Content with tag oryctolagus cuniculus .

The Iberian hare population increases in Doñana after the decline of the European rabbit

Iberian hare. Photo: Paco Carro

Competition, predation, and diseases are key factors shaping animal communities. In recent decades, lagomorphs in Europe have been impacted by virus-borne diseases that have caused substantial declines in their populations and, subsequently, in many of their predators. We examined activity and habitat-use patterns of sympatric European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and Iberian hares (Lepus granatensis) in Doñana National Park, during two periods of disease outbreak.

In the first period (1984–1985), fecal pellet counts and roadside counts indicated that lagomorph species were segregated, with rabbits occurring in scrublands and hares in marshlands.  Both species also occupied rush and fern belt ecotones. Roadside counts at sunrise, midday, sunset, and midnight revealed that rabbits and hares had the same activity patterns (crepuscular and nocturnal) in the zone of sympatry. During the second period (2005–2016), roadside counts showed that rabbits and hares were mainly nocturnal in scrublands and border marshlands. Hares occupied scrublands, a habitat previously occupied only by rabbits. These results are interpreted in the context of the competition theory and predation pressure. The disease-caused decline of rabbits has likely favored hares that moved into scrublands, a vegetation type previously occupied exclusively by rabbits.

The decline of rabbits in the Doñana National Park has also caused the almost disappearance of this area of the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), a rabbit specialist, thus enabling generalist predators to increase. Generalist predators have subsequently increased predation pressure on both rabbits and hares, causing them to switch to nocturnal activity.

 This study has been recently published in the journal Land and can be found in the following link, https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/4/461 .


https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/4/461

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Content with tag oryctolagus cuniculus .

The Iberian hare population increases in Doñana after the decline of the European rabbit

Competition, predation, and diseases are key factors shaping animal communities. In recent decades, lagomorphs in Europe have been impacted by virus-borne diseases that have caused substantial...

Hair and feathers as monitoring tools of mine pollution

Mining is responsible of releasing trace elements to the environment with potential negative effects on wildlife. Traditionally, wildlife exposure assessment has been developed by analyzing mainly...

Is restocking a useful tool for increasing rabbit densities?

The European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus is endemic to Mediterranean ecosystems in the Iberian Peninsula, where it is a key species. In recent years its populations have declined due to several...

Fecal nitrogen in European rabbit ecological studies

Measuring the quality of the nutritional resources available to wild herbivores is critical to understanding trophic regulation processes. However, the direct assessment of dietary nutritional...