Suchergebnisse

The recreational use of natural resources requires the implementation of sustainable management systems. However, the existence of socioeconomic interests and the difficulty involved in applying evidence-based criteria often hinder this implementation. The European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is an appropriate case with which to study the recreational hunting governance systems. This species has, in recent decades, undergone important population changes in its native area, the Iberian Peninsula, where it plays a triple role as a game, pest and key ecological species. The rabbit is consequently intensively managed for hunting purposes, for the conservation of rabbit-dependent predators and in order to mitigate damage to crops. In this paper, we study the governance system of rabbit hunting through the use of questionnaire surveys distributed to managers working for Spanish regional governments. We repeated the survey in 2001 and 2016 in order to evaluate how the system had evolved over a 15-year period of important changes in rabbit population abundance. We found two different responses to these changes. The growth of rabbit populations in provinces in which rabbits cause crop damage in farmland areas has been dealt with an increase in hunting pressure, derived from both administrative decisions and hunters' management. However, in provinces where rabbit populations have sharply declined in natural vegetation (non-farmland) areas, the management seems to be driven mostly by inertia, with a high influence of tradition and little use of evidence on administrative decisions. Hunters in these provinces have changed their management practices to little or no extent, where even the high importance of rabbit hunting and its (moderate) economic importance do not appear to provide an incentive for the change required.

Context
Humans have introduced lagomorph species in areas outside their native ranges for their meat, fur or value as game species. Assessing the rate of success of lagomorph introductions is vital to address the ecological damage they may cause. Cases of failed lagomorph introductions in apparently suitable areas may also shed light on mechanisms that may deter invasion, which are useful in developing strategies for population control. In Spain, it has been suggested that hunters introduced the non-native eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) to compensate for the recent drastic declines of the native European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus).

Aims
Our main goals were to investigate (1) whether Sylvilagus rabbits have indeed been introduced by hunters across Spain, and (2) whether the species has become established in Spanish ecosystems.

Methods
We interviewed 311 hunters or naturalists across Spain. The questionnaires inquired about the characteristics of game management in each locality, including the frequency of rabbit restocking, and particularly whether Sylvilagus rabbits had been released in the surveyed localities. In addition, we sampled 192 rabbit populations (n=3974 individuals) across Spain by using molecular analysis to determine whether Sylvilagus rabbits were present in these areas.

Key results
Our interview results suggest that Sylvilagus rabbits may have been released in 6% of the 311 localities surveyed. However, molecular analyses failed to confirm their persistence, because all samples belonged to O. cuniculus.

Conclusions
We infer that Sylvilagus rabbits failed to establish themselves in Spain, although interviewees reported their introduction. Several reasons may explain the unsuccessful establishment of this species, such as a low propagule pressure, competition with native species, predation, inability to cope with local pathogens and unsuitable climatic conditions.

Implications
The risk of future introductions of non-native game species can be reduced through the implementation of stricter regulations of animal releases into the wild. Long-term monitoring networks should be developed to help identify non-native game species before they become established and spread to neighbouring areas, thereby preventing any ecological or economic impacts these species may cause.