Effectiveness of habitat management in the recovery of low-density populations of wild rabbit

Abstract

Understanding the relationship between spatial patterns of landscape attributes and population presence and abundance is essential for understanding population processes as well as supporting management and conservation strategies. This study evaluates the influence of three factors: environment, habitat management, and season on the presence and abundance of the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), an important prey species for Mediterranean endangered predator species. To address this issue, we estimated wild rabbit presence and abundance by latrine counting in transects located in 45 plots within a 250×250 m grid from June 2007 until June 2009 in a 1,200 ha hunting area in southern Portugal. We then analyzed how wild rabbit presence and abundance correlate with the aforementioned factors. Our results showed that the main variable influencing wild rabbit presence and abundance was the distance to the artificial warrens. North and northeast slope directions were negatively related to wild rabbit presence. Conversely, rabbit presence was positively correlated with short distances to ecotone, artificial warrens, and spring. Regarding rabbit abundance, in addition to artificial warrens, soft soils, bushes, and season also had a positive effect. We found that environmental variables, management practices, and season each affect wild rabbit presence and abundance differently at a home range scale in low-density population. Thus, our major recommendations are reducing the distance to artificial warrens and ecotone, ideally to less than 100 m, and promoting habitat quality improvement on slopes with plenty of sun exposure.

Evaluating the influence of diet‐related variables on breeding performance and home range behaviour of a top predator

“…Nevertheless, it demonstrates the important role of landscape heterogeneity, fragmentation and complexity in generalist species (Kenward 1982;Penteriani et al 2002;Campioni et al 2013). It is important to mention that the known relationship between increased proportion of ecotones (reflected in greater edge density) and greater rabbit abundance (Moreno and Villafuerte 1995;Delibes-Mateos et al 2010;Godinho et al 2013) could have, in part, masked the effect of the rabbit-related variables so that these had lower relative importance in our analysis. We also found that older individuals required smaller home ranges and covered smaller areas per night, which is probably the result of greater experience related to greater hunting efficiency (Marchetti and Price 1989;Wunderle 1991;Penteriani et al 2013).…”

European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) restocking: Effects on abundance and spatial distribution

“…These results contrast with the ones obtained previously, because analyzed rabbit restockings were unsuccessful (Calvete et al , Moreno et al ). Habitat factors may have a strong influence on restocking (Godinho et al ) and warren occupation (Fernández‐Olalla et al ). However, there might be other factors influencing these dynamics.…”

The impact of abandoned/disused marble quarries on avifauna in the anticline of Estremoz, Portugal: does quarrying add to landscape biodiversity?

“…The wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), a key prey in the Iberian Peninsula (Delibes-Mateos, Redpath, Angulo, Ferreras, & Villafuerte, 2007) entering the diet of more than 40 predator species (Delibes-Mateos, Delibes, Ferreras, & Villafuerte, 2008;Delibes & Hiraldo, 1981), is one of the most notorious examples. The edge between natural or cultivated herbaceous and broken rock pieces covered with bush favours wild rabbit habitat quality (Godinho, Mestre, Ferreira, Machado, & Santos, 2013). The high abundance of this species attracts threatened predators to the area such as the booted eagle (Aquila pennata).…”