Winter Relative Abundance and Habitat Associations of Swamp Rabbits in Eastern Arkansas

Fowler, Allison; Kissell, Robert E.

doi:10.1656/1528-7092(2007)6[247:wraaha]2.0.co;2

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…We recorded microhabitat variables that characterized small-scale vegetation structure and composition, and had been identified as potentially important to swamp rabbits (Zollner et al 2000b;Fowler and Kissell 2007;Scharine et al 2009Scharine et al , 2011. We characterized vegetation at D r a f t each study site during 15 May -15 Aug 2012, focusing on the portion of each site occupied by radiocollared individuals of each rabbit species.…”

Section: Habitat Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We quantified macrohabitat characteristics (i.e., those that involve aspects of land cover types) previously identified as potentially important to swamp rabbits (Zollner et al 2000a;Fowler and Kissell 2007;Scharine et al 2009;2011). We characterized macrohabitat within 1km and 2-km radii around the center of each study site because previous studies suggested swamp rabbits were restricted to sites located ≤2 km of a water source (Terrel 1972;Scharine et al 2009).…”

Section: Habitat Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Survival and habitat use of sympatric lagomorphs in bottomland hardwood forests

2018

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Lagomorphs are important consumers and prey in ecosystems worldwide, but have declined due to land use changes and habitat loss, and such losses may be exacerbated for specialist species. We compared survival and habitat use of two closely related lagomorphs, the swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus (Bachman, 1837)), a bottomland hardwood (BLH) forest specialist, and the eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus (J. A. Allen, 1890)), a habitat generalist. We tested whether survival and habitat use differed between radio-collared swamp rabbits (n = 129) and eastern cottontails (n = 72) monitored during December 2009 – December 2013 in southern Illinois. We found interactive effects of species and season on survival rates: swamp rabbits had higher annual survival (0.37 ± 0.05 (estimate ± SE)) than did cottontails (0.20 ± 0.05), but this difference occurred primarily during the growing season. Swamp rabbits were located closer to watercourses in areas characterized by higher basal area and more mature BLH forest cover compared with eastern cottontails. Our results suggest that BLH forests may be marginal habitat for cottontails and indicate predation as the primary cause of mortality for both species. Swamp rabbits use of early-successional BLH forest suggests that restoration efforts have been successful. However, as specialists, swamp rabbits remain restricted to a narrow band of bottomlands near watercourses and may benefit from improved upland cover that serves as refugia from flooding.

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Section: Habitat Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Habitat Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival and habitat use of sympatric lagomorphs in bottomland hardwood forests

2018

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“…Henson () reported basic habitat features (e.g., understory vegetation height, presence of swamp or river) could identify occupied swamp rabbit habitat 70% of the time. Fowler and Kissell () found that the presence of swamp rabbits related to density of crossvine ( Bignonia capreolata ) and grass cover. Scharine et al () found a significant positive relationship between the density of swamp rabbit latrines and the density of stumps in Illinois.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Microhabitat comparison of swamp rabbit sites between periphery and core of the species range

Dumyahn¹,

Zollner²,

Smith

2015

J Wildl Manag

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Swamp rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus) inhabit bottomland hardwood forests and rely on key microhabitat features found in this forested wetland system. Research comparing key features of swamp rabbit habitat across the species' geographic range is lacking. In this study, we compared 13 microhabitat characteristics at sites associated with 2 distinct behaviors (form and latrine) of swamp rabbits at the northern extent of their distribution (southwest Indiana, northwest Kentucky) with sites from the species' core distribution (Arkansas). There were significant differences in vegetation structure including canopy cover, basal area, stand density, and stem density between Indiana, Kentucky, and Arkansas sites for both form and latrine locations. At the northern periphery, where swamp rabbit populations are of conservation concern, we found that habitat is composed of fewer key components that are ecologically important to swamp rabbits such as canopy gaps, downed woody material, and cover. Wildlife managers interested in providing swamp rabbit habitat should recognize microhabitat components (i.e., canopy gaps, downed woody material) that are favorable for swamp rabbits and attempt to supply these elements through management actions such as uneven-aged silvicultural practices. Ó 2015 The Wildlife Society.

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“…Although the methods used to develop the National Land Cover Database tree canopy cover data distinguished forest canopy from nonforest cover types (Huang et al 2001), these methods did not distinguish early successional from mature forest and understory structure was not considered. Habitat use studies of swamp rabbits that were able to separate the influence of mature forest canopy cover from understory vegetation concluded that early successional forest and canopy gaps in mature forest that allow thick understory growth promoted swamp rabbit use (Zollner et al 2000a;Fowler and Kissell 2007;Smyth et al 2007;Scharine et al 2009;Vale and Kissell 2010). However, there is also a positive relationship between canopy closure and swamp rabbit latrine sites (Zollner et al 2000a) and detection probabilities of swamp rabbits in the northern fringe of their range (Scharine et al 2011; but see Smyth et al 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A landscape genetic analysis of swamp rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus) suggests forest canopy cover enhances gene flow in an agricultural matrix

et al. 2018

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Habitat loss and fragmentation pose a continued and immediate threat to wildlife and create a persistent need for ecological information at the landscape scale to guide conservation efforts. Landscape features influence population connectivity for many species and genetic analyses can be employed to determine which of these features are most important. Because population connectivity through dispersal is important to the persistence of swamp rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus (Bachman, 1837)) at the northern edge of their range, we used a landscape genetic approach to relate gene flow to landscape features that may impact dispersal success. We tested resistance values for attributes of land cover, watercourse corridors, canopy cover, and roads and used causal modeling and redundancy analysis to relate these representations of landscapes to genetic distance for swamp rabbits in southern Illinois, USA. Models that included canopy cover had the strongest correlations with genetic distance and were supported by our methods whereas other models were not. We concluded that high tree canopy cover enhances gene flow and landscape connectivity for swamp rabbits in southern Illinois. Our study provides important empirical evidence that landscape variables may impact the habitat connectivity of swamp rabbits. Preserving dispersal routes for swamp rabbits should focus on improving canopy cover, in both bottomland and upland, to connect suitable habitat.

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Winter Relative Abundance and Habitat Associations of Swamp Rabbits in Eastern Arkansas

Cited by 14 publications

References 8 publications

Survival and habitat use of sympatric lagomorphs in bottomland hardwood forests

Survival and habitat use of sympatric lagomorphs in bottomland hardwood forests

Microhabitat comparison of swamp rabbit sites between periphery and core of the species range

A landscape genetic analysis of swamp rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus) suggests forest canopy cover enhances gene flow in an agricultural matrix

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