Suchergebnisse

In recent decades, the translocation of European wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) has been a common strategy used by gamekeepers and conservationists to improve populations with low rabbit abundance. Using a non-spatial, mixed stochastic–deterministic model, we assessed the effects of the timing of restocking of rabbits on the persistence of wild rabbit populations, as well as the effects of extraction on donor populations. Different age-structured restocking strategies and extraction rates were tested. We also assessed the number of restocking batches that a donor population can supply while remaining stable. Our results indicate that the best months to introduce individuals are October–March, with the highest success in January. In contrast, the best timing for extraction is during summer, when the number of individuals is high. Authorities should therefore include the timing and number of rabbits released or captured in their management strategies, especially where these factors have been previously overlooked.

European rabbit fleas were released among Australian wild rabbits in the late 1960s to supplement mosquitoes as vectors of myxoma virus. Data from study sites across southern Australia in the 1960s and 1970s are reviewed to discern common elements of flea-borne myxomatosis epizootics and a simple model is proposed to explain how virus virulence and food quality interact to determine rabbit abundance. Low, stable populations of rabbits implied that, despite virus attenuation and increased rabbit disease resistance, flea-borne myxomatosis was extremely important in controlling rabbit populations. Despite the enhancement of myxomatosis, livestock producers benefitted little from the additional pasture because marketing difficulties were not conducive to industry growth. Native wildlife likely benefitted, nonetheless.

[EN]: This work evaluates the effectiveness of fox control as a method to improve the survival of red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa). We radio-tracked 89 adult partridges and their chicks (62 few days old chicks and 46 over one-month-old chicks) and monitored their nests (N = 45) on two hunting estates in northern Spain over two years. Generalist predators (red fox, Vulpes vulpes, and magpie, Pica pica) were selectively controlled on one half of each estate during the first year, and on the other half in the second year. We estimated the effect of predator control on survival rates. Predator control did not improve survival rates for adult partridges and nests, but it improved chick survival, especially for chicks over one-month old. ; [ES]: Evaluamos la efectividad del control selectivo de zorros como método para mejorar la supervivencia de la perdiz roja (Alectoris rufa). Para ello, radio–seguimos 89 perdices adultas y sus pollos (62 pollos de pocos días y 46 pollos de más de un mes de edad), e hicimos un seguimiento de sus nidos en dos cotos de caza del Norte de España durante dos años. En la mitad de la superficie de cada coto se controlaron de forma selectiva los depredadores generalistas (zorro, Vulpes vulpes, y urracas, Pica pica) durante el primer año, y los tratamientos se invirtieron entre zonas durante el segundo año. Estimamos el efecto del control de depredadores sobre las tasas de supervivencia. El control de depredadores no mejoró la supervivencia de los adultos y nidos de perdiz, pero sí mejoró la supervivencia de los pollos, especialmente para los pollos de más de un mes de edad. ; This study was funded by the Department of Environment of Navarre Government and the Spanish Research Council (CSIC). ; Peer Reviewed

The response of prey species to predator scent has been investigated in many mammalian species; however, there is little information about the responses of European wild rabbits at the population level. Therefore, we conducted a simple experiment to investigate the behavioural response of a rabbit population to native predator cues in the wild. We compared the response to the scent of a predator (red fox) in a wild rabbit population bred in semi-natural conditions and naïve to terrestrial predators with the response of a population in a similar environment where terrestrial predators were present. The response to predators was based on rabbit abundance, inferred from pellet counts and measured by the defecation rate per day (DRD). Our results indicate that rabbits responded to the odour of fox faeces in the treatment warrens, resulting in a lower DRD. The main anti-predator behaviour observed was spatial avoidance (warren abandonment), which seemed to be more accentuated for rabbits who had not previously had contact with foxes in the plot where terrestrial predators were excluded. In both the fenced and the unfenced plot, the differences in the effect of the predator odour between the control and treatment warrens disappeared after cessation of treatment, suggesting a flexible and adaptive behaviour of rabbits to predator cues. ; C. Rouco was supported by a postdoctoral grant from the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha and the European Social Fund. Funding was provided by the projects by Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir, by the Projects CGL2009-10741, CGL2009-11665, FAU2006-0014-C-02-02, POII09-0099-2557 and PEII09-0097-436. ; Peer Reviewed

From the time since the decline of the wild rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus in southern Europe, various techniques and methods have been explored with a view to restoring wild rabbit populations or increasing rabbit resilience, for both conservation and game purposesRabbit restocking and habitat management are among the measures most often appliedSome efforts have been made to increase refuges for wild rabbits, mainly through the construction of artificial warrensThe present study evaluates the response of a wild rabbit population introduced to artificial warrens of varying sizesThis involves comparisons of the density of rabbits in the warrens, rabbit density change between seasons of low and high rabbit population density and the productivity index for large and small warrens in rabbit populations living under semi-natural conditionsOur results show that large warrens had higher rabbit abundance than had small warrens, but significantly lower rabbit densityNo differences in density increase or productivity index were found with respect to warren sizeThe results suggest that it is preferable to build many small warrens for conservation of wild rabbit populations, but, in the event that only a few warrens are built, it is advisable that they be large. ; C. Rouco was supported by a postdoctoral grant from the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha (JCCM) and the European Social Fund. Funding was provided by the projects by Confederacion Hidrografica del Guadalquivir, by the Projects CGL2005-02340/BOS, CGL2009-11665, FAU2006-0014-C-02-02, POII09-0099-2557 and PEII09-0097-436. ; Peer Reviewed

Rabbit restocking is widely used in Spain for conservation and/or hunting purposes; however, the success of rabbit restocking is generally low. Thus, many studies have assessed ways to reduce this problem, one of which is the use of a ¿soft-release¿ procedure whereby rabbits are acclimated to their release site for a variable time period prior to release. This study assessed the short-term effects of two soft-release confinement periods on the survival of rabbits during an experimental restocking program carried out in southwest Spain. The post-release survival rate of rabbits confined at the release site for six nights was significantly higher than that of rabbits confined for three nights. The longer acclimation period after rabbit translocation minimized mortality while rabbits adapted to their new environment. ; C. Rouco was supported by a postdoctoral grant from the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha (JCCM), and the European Social Fund. Funding was provided by the projects by Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir, by the Projects CGL2005-02340/BOS, FAU2006-0014-C-02-02, PAI06-170, and PREG-05-022. ; Peer Reviewed

Context Thermal imaging has been shown to be a valuable technique for detecting a range of terrestrial mammals across different environments. The limited studies looking at its effectiveness in detecting arboreal mammals in rainforest ecosystems have had mixed success due to the complexity of the environment and limitations of the technology itself. Aims We investigated whether using a hand-held thermal imaging device would detect more individuals of six species of nocturnal arboreal mammal in tropical rainforests than the most-used detection method of spotlighting. We determined whether environmental variables effecting either equipment operation or mammal behaviour would influence these results. Methods We surveyed eight transects across the Wet Tropics of northern Queensland for six species of arboreal mammals using both a hand-held thermal imager and a spotlight. We used a measure of underestimation to compare counts of individual species, and then modelled total mammal counts with detection method and environmental variables to find the best approximating model. Key results Spotlighting underestimated the total number of each species by between 33 and 100% when compared with thermal imaging. Detection method alone without any environmental interaction term provided the best approximating model (AICc = 275.58, marginal pseudo R2 = 0.286), with thermal imaging technology detecting almost double the number of our target individuals (12.3 ± 1.76) compared with spotlighting (6.7 ± 1.02). Conclusions Despite recorded operational limitations, thermal imaging technology greatly improved our ability to locate both small and large nocturnal, arboreal mammals, including a species that is rarely observed in the wild. Implications The potential to not only improve detection of nocturnal, arboreal mammals but also improve cryptic species distribution and abundance measures suggests thermal imaging technology is an important tool for use globally across rainforests environments.

Abstract Context Some prey species can shift their daily activity patterns to reduce the risk of encountering predators, and, in turn, predators develop strategies to increase their chances of meeting prey. European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is a key species in Iberian Mediterranean ecosystems. It is the main prey for many vertebrate predators. It is also a game species and is often the target of management measures such as translocations. Aims To test whether rabbits adjust their activity patterns in response to differing predation regimes in a management context. Methods Rabbits were translocated from a donor area, with a high rabbit density, to a release area in central Spain, with a semi-permeable fenced plot and an unfenced plot, which had no rabbits before the translocation. We estimated daily activity patterns and relative abundance index (RAI) for mesocarnivores and rabbits by using camera-traps, and calculated Jacobs selection index (JSI) to classify each species in a diel period. Additionally, we calculated the activity overlap between prey and mesocarnivores in the different areas. Key results Rabbits were nocturnal in the donor area, where only two mesocarnivore species were detected, red fox (Vulpes vulpes, with a high RAI) and Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon, with a low RAI). However, in the unfenced area, where five mesocarnivore species were present, rabbits showed a crepuscular trend with two activity peaks, around sunrise and around sunset. In contrast, rabbits showed a nocturnal activity in the fenced plot, where four mesocarnivore species were detected but where only the Egyptian mongoose (strictly diurnal) had a high RAI value. Conclusions and implications The results suggest that rabbits in the fenced plot adapted their activity to avoid the diurnal mongooses. Conversely, rabbits in unfenced areas showed a trend towards day/twilight activity patterns as an adaptation to a diverse community of mesocarnivores. Rabbits can adapt their daily activity patterns to reduce predation risk depending on the pressure exerted by different predator species, with conservation and management implications. These adaptations would allow higher success of rabbit translocations despite the risk of predation by carnivores and could help in the management design of future translocations of this key species.

Context Scarcity of standardised data is one of the main obstacles in understanding the responses of wildlife to anthropogenic pressures. By assessing local people's knowledge, it is possible to generate valuable social-ecological data to fill this gap cost-effectively. Aims We present the Wildlife–Human Survey (WHS), a protocol for rapidly assessing information on medium and large-sized mammals, rural people, and the latter's interactions with these species. In a pilot study, we investigate the effectiveness of our tool to generate valuable information for wildlife research and management. Methods The survey consists of a structured interview protocol that can be used as a tool to generate information on (i) the occurrence and assemblage composition of medium and large mammalian species, (ii) the socioeconomic profile of rural populations and farming activities in the area, and (iii) people's perception of human–wildlife interactions (e.g. benefits, economic losses). To test the effectiveness of our tool, we conducted a total of 300 face-to-face interviews using this protocol in 30 rural landscapes (1250 ha each) in the Paraiba Valley region, São Paulo State, Brazil. We analysed the resulting data using descriptive statistics, random curves of species accumulation and maps of species distribution and richness. Key results We generated data on the occurrence and distribution of 32 species of medium and large mammals and on socioeconomic profile of the 300 surveyed households. We found that 95% of the species could be determined to occur in the region, with an effort ranging from 66 to 266 h; up to 611 h were necessary to find evidence of all species. Conclusions Our protocol can be an effective, fast and low-cost tool for appraising the occurrence of medium and large-sized mammals, the socioeconomic profile of people sharing rural landscapes with them and their interactions. Implications The WHS can generate information for mammal management by highlighting hotspot areas of human–wildlife interactions. This protocol can be especially useful when and where other methods are inadequate/unviable, and create the opportunity for rural people to contribute to wildlife management by allowing them to share their knowledge and concerns about their interactions with the local fauna.

Aim of study: Monitoring and control the hunting activity is primordial to guarantee its sustainability. However, the governmental agencies responsible to manage hunting commonly are unable to adequately do this job because the thousands of small private hunting states, associated exclusively by political-administrative criteria. In this work, we provided a new management tool through the establishment of a hunting regions system.Area of study: Castilla-La Mancha region, central Spain.Material and methods: We used a two-stage procedure to establish the environmental units than, afterwards, were characterized on a set of hunting variables.Main results: We generate a hunting regionalization with 12 hunting regions and proposed regional hunting yields for each of the hunting regions.Research highlights: The use of hunting regions will permit to define the game management practices more appropriately on a large scale, but also, will facilitate the tasks of assessment, management and monitoring of game of the number hunting states included in each hunting region. ; Aim of study: Monitoring and control the hunting activity is primordial to guarantee its sustainability. However, the governmental agencies responsible to manage hunting commonly are unable to adequately do this job because the thousands of small private hunting states, associated exclusively by political-administrative criteria. In this work, we provide a new management tool through the establishment of a hunting regions system.Area of study: This study was conducted at the Castilla-La Mancha region, in central Spain.Material and methods: We used a two-stage procedure to establish the environmental units than, afterwards, were characterized on a set of hunting variables.Main results: We generate a hunting regionalization with 12 hunting regions and proposed a regional hunting yields for each of the hunting regions.Research highlights: The use of hunting regions will permit to define the game management practices more appropriately on a large scale, but also, will facilitate the tasks of assessment, management and monitoring of game of the number hunting states included in each hunting region

1. Conflicts over the management of wildlife species that impact human livelihoods are increasingly frequent. In Spanish farmland areas, the European rabbit, one of the most important game species, can cause considerable crop damage. Tensions typically emerge between farmers who advocate rabbit reduction and hunters who are responsible for controlling populations when crop damage occurs but wish for healthy rabbit populations for shooting. 2. In this study, we used in-depth interviews and small group discussions with farmers, hunters and representatives of the governmental environmental and agricultural agencies to assess their positions in this conflict. 3. Our results showed tensions between and within groups, and that the conflict is influenced by leadership, distrust and past decision-making issues, and by differences in beliefs among groups. Positions of farmers and hunters are also relatively rigid, which may make difficult their engagement in collaborative processes. To be effective, such processes would demand that local leaders were empowered and likely also that external neutral mediators were involved. 4. Our study highlights the complexity and dynamic nature of the conflicts associated with wildlife species causing damage to human livelihoods and provides new insights that may be useful to facilitate dialogue and negotiation between stakeholders and to aid management and governance. ; This study was funded by projects CGL2013‐43197‐R (Ministerio de Economía y Competetividad) and PII‐201810I026 (CSIC) and contributes to the project RTI2018‐096348‐R‐C21/C22 (MCI/AEI/FEDER, UE).

[Aim of study]: Monitoring and control the hunting activity is primordial to guarantee its sustainability. However, the governmental agencies responsible to manage hunting commonly are unable to adequately do this job because the thousands of small private hunting states, associated exclusively by political-administrative criteria. In this work, we provided a new management tool through the establishment of a hunting regions system. [Area of study]: Castilla-La Mancha region, central Spain. [Material and methods]: We used a two-stage procedure to establish the environmental units than, afterwards, were characterized on a set of hunting variables. [Main results]: We generate a hunting regionalization with 12 hunting regions and proposed regional hunting yields for each of the hunting regions. [Research highlights]: The use of hunting regions will permit to define the game management practices more appropriately on a large scale, but also, will facilitate the tasks of assessment, management and monitoring of game of the number hunting states included in each hunting region. ; Funding was provided by project CGL2013-43197-R, cofounded by EUFEDER funds; National Council on Science and Technology of Mexico, CONACyT (doctoral grant to CARS). ; Peer Reviewed

et al. ; In Mediterranean ecosystems, the European rabbit is a keystone species that has declined dramatically, with profound implications for conservation and management. Predation and disease acting on juveniles are considered the likely causes. In the field, these processes are managed by removing predators, increasing cover to reduce predation risk and by vaccinating against myxomatosis. These manipulations can be costly and, when protected predators are killed, they can also be damaging to conservation interests. Our goal was to test the effectiveness of cover and vaccination on juvenile survival in two large enclosures, free of mammalian predators, by adding cover and vaccinating juveniles. Rabbit warrens were our experimental unit, with nine replicates of four treatments: control, cover, vaccination, and cover and vaccination combined. Our results showed that improved cover systematically increased juvenile rabbit survival, whereas vaccination had no clear effect and the interactive effect was negligible. Our experimental data suggest that improved cover around warrens is an effective way of increasing rabbit abundance in Mediterranean ecosystems, at least when generalist mammalian predators are scarce. In contrast the vaccination programme was of limited benefit, raising questions about its efficacy as a management tool. ; Funding was provided by Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir and the projects CGL2009-11665/BOS, PEII 09-0097-4363, POII09-0099-2557. C.F. was supported by a PhD grant (Ref. SFRH/BD/22084/2005) funded by the Fundaçao para a Ciência e Tecnologia of the Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior, Portuguese government. S.R. was supported by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and a grant from NERC. ; Peer Reviewed

The European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is a species native to the Iberian Peninsula, where it was once extremely abundant. It is considered the most important prey item for the peninsula's assemblage of Mediterranean vertebrate predators, which includes two endangered specialist rabbit feeders, the Spanish imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti) and the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus). However, rabbit population trends in Spain have not been accurately documented. In the present study, we analysed trends in a population of European rabbits monitored over 23 years in the Doñana National Park, home to one of the most diverse and densest predator communities in Europe. Rabbit abundance and population trends were estimated using roadside counts. Results show that the rabbit population declined sharply by ~60% during the first wave of epizootic rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD) in 1990. Since then, rabbit numbers have declined at a relatively constant rate and the species has become progressively scarcer in the area. The current population is less than 10% of that before the arrival of RHD. However, after the RHD epizootic we observed increasing intra-annual population recruitment. We hypothesise that density-dependent factors caused by enzootic viral diseases (myxomatosis, RHD) and higher predation of rabbits are the main factors preventing recovery of rabbit numbers. The effects of a decline in the prey species on the ecology of sympatric rabbit predators are discussed, and measures to improve ongoing rabbit conservation efforts are suggested.

We compared movement patterns and rhythms of activity of a top predator, the Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus, a mesopredator, the red fox Vulpes vulpes, and their shared principal prey, the rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus, in relation to moon phases. Because the three species are mostly nocturnal and crepuscular, we hypothesized that the shared prey would reduce its activity at most risky moon phases (i.e. during the brightest nights), but that fox, an intraguild prey of lynx, would avoid lynx activity peaks at the same time. Rabbits generally moved further from their core areas on darkest nights (i.e. new moon), using direct movements which minimize predation risk. Though rabbits responded to the increased predation risk by reducing their activity during the full moon, this response may require several days, and the moon effect we observed on the rabbits had, therefore, a temporal gap. Lynx activity patterns may be at least partially mirroring rabbit activity: around new moons, when rabbits moved furthest and were more active, lynxes reduced their travelling distances and their movements were concentrated in the core areas of their home ranges, which generally correspond to areas of high density of rabbits. Red foxes were more active during the darkest nights, when both the conditions for rabbit hunting were the best and lynxes moved less. On the one hand, foxes increased their activity when rabbits were further from their core areas and moved with more discrete displacements; on the other hand, fox activity in relation to the moon seemed to reduce dangerous encounters with its intraguild predator. ; This study was funded by six research projects of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PB90-1018, PB94-0480, PB97-1163, CGL2004-02780/ BOS, CGL2004-00346/BOS and CGL2008-02871/BOS; with FEDER co-financing) and one of the Spanish Ministry of the Environment, National Parks Research Programme (project 17/2005), a grant of the Ministry of Education and Science–C.S.I.C. (Proyectos Intramurales Especiales, DG-2606-PC), and the Junta of Andalucía (Excellence Project, RNM-5090). V. P. was the recipient of a grant from the Spanish Secretaría General de Universidades, Ministry of Education (Salvador de Madariaga Program); A. K. received a postdoctoral grant (no. 132828) from the Academy of Finland. M. M. D. received a post-doctoral fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and a post-doctoral grant (no. 140367) from the Academy of Finland, and J. V. L. B. received a post-doctoral fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education. The Regional Government of Andalucía partly funded the supplementary feeding programme of lynx (LIFE-02NAT/8609). ; Peer reviewed