History, control, epidemiology, ecology, and economy of the invasion of European rabbits in Chile: a comparison with Australia

Correa-Cuadros, Jennifer Paola; Gabriela, Flores-Benner,; Muñoz-Rodríguez, Manuel A; Briceño, Cristóbal; Díaz, Miguel Ángel; Strive, Tanja; Vásquez, Felipe; Jaksic, Fabián M.

doi:10.1007/s10530-022-02915-2

Cited by 10 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 173 publications

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“…Considering only Chile, currently the rabbit occupies ca. 8.9 million hectares (PNUD 2017) and has a discontinuous distribution from the Antofagasta to the Araucanía Regions, and then from Aysén to Magallanes Regions Camus et al 2008;Correa-Cuadros et al 2022.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Subsequently, the high rabbit population in Magallanes Region generated an economic income for their meat and skins (Iriarte and Jaksic 1986, Iriarte et al 1997, Camus et al 2008), but also had serious consequences for ranchers, by competing for food with sheep and transforming grasslands into wastelands (Pisano 1985;Camus et al 2008;Correa-Cuadros et al 2022. This led various control efforts, the most effective being that of 1953, when the myxoma virus was introduced to Tierra del Fuego Island (Arentsen 1954;Berríos 2005;Correa-Cuadros et al 2022 which --although reducing the rabbit population by 99% Correa-Cuadros et al 2022--it failed to eradicate it. The individuals that survived possibly developed viral resistance (Berríos 2005) and today rabbits are still found in both continental and insular areas of the Magallanes Region (Correa-Cuadros et al 2022.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This led various control efforts, the most effective being that of 1953, when the myxoma virus was introduced to Tierra del Fuego Island (Arentsen 1954;Berríos 2005;Correa-Cuadros et al 2022 which --although reducing the rabbit population by 99% Correa-Cuadros et al 2022--it failed to eradicate it. The individuals that survived possibly developed viral resistance (Berríos 2005) and today rabbits are still found in both continental and insular areas of the Magallanes Region (Correa-Cuadros et al 2022.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The rabbit in Chile is considered an invasive species that causes significant damage: Economically speaking, it generates a loss of 3.25 million US dollars per year (PNUD 2017, MMA 2017. Ecologically speaking, it causes numerous effects at the population, community, and ecosystem levels, summarized by Correa-Cuadros et al (2022. The long history of rabbit invasion means that it has become an integral part of the Magellanic/Fuegian ecosystem, interacting with species at different trophic levels, simultaneously being prey, competitor, and herbivore (Correa-Cuadros et al 2022.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Plants that are not consumed by rabbits spread and generate changes in the botanical composition of the ecosystem (Bonino 2006, Bonino andSoriguer 2009). In addition, rabbit burrows increase soil erosion (Silva and Saavedra 2008;Correa-Cuadros et al 2022. Rabbits also have negative impacts on sheep production by consuming the forage available for livestock, thus reducing the output of meat and wool for export (Bonino 2006;Bonino and Soriguer 2009;Correa-Cuadros et al 2022.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The ecological role of the European rabbit in the Magellanic/Fuegian ecosystem of southernmost Chile

Mann-Vollrath,

Correa-Cuadros,

Ávila-Thieme

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The European rabbit has invaded numerous ecosystems around the world, but rarely steppes. We studied the food web in the Magallanes region of southernmost Chile, where the rabbit is now a key player, interacting with species at different trophic levels. Because the rabbit is currently well embedded in the Magellanic/Fuegian ecosystem, especially in the steppe, any changes in its local abundance can spread out through trophic interactions and generate unwanted impacts in the regional food web. We used a multi-species trophic network approach and built the food web of the Magellanic/Fuegian steppe based on the rabbit interspecific relationships through a bibliographic review. We evaluated its topological properties and performed a species extinction analysis to assess the relative importance of the rabbit. The network has 222 nodes (64% native, 12% exotic, and 23% mixed), 576 links, and a connectance of 0.011. The rabbit was the most connected node of the network, had the second largest dietary breadth, and was the sixth with the highest number of predatory species. Our results suggest that rabbit control could trigger several ecological impacts on other regional species, such as releasing herbivory pressure on plants of various genera. In addition, by reducing or removing a staple prey resource for predators, they may decrease their abundance or change their diet to alternative prey, generating unexpected effects. The multi-species network approach could be a complementary tool to apply a more holistic management of the rabbit, which would allow the identification of non-target species that should be monitored when control is being applied, and thereby generate early warnings against unwanted impacts.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%