Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Wildlife Research Wildlife Research Society
Ecology, management and conservation in natural and modified habitats
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Rabbit conservation: models to evaluate the effects of timing of restocking on recipient and donor populations

Irene Cotilla A B and Rafael Villafuerte A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM),
Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13071 – Ciudad Real, Spain.

B Corresponding author. Email: Irene.Cotilla@uclm.es

Wildlife Research 34(4) 247-252 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR06154
Submitted: 16 November 2006  Accepted: 18 May 2007   Published: 28 June 2007

Abstract

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.


Acknowledgements

We thank the Netlogo users for their help with the rabbit population model. We are especially grateful to Dr Elena Angulo for her comments on this manuscript. We thank English Manager Science Editing for the revision of the English. This work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. Funding was partially provided by the project grants REN 2001–0448, PAI 06–170, and CLG 2005–02340.


References

Angulo, E. , and Villafuerte, R. (2004). Modelling hunting strategies for the conservation of wild rabbit populations. Biological Conservation 115, 291–301.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Delibes M. , and Hiraldo F. (1981). The rabbit as prey in the Iberian Mediterranean ecosystems. In ‘Proceedings of the World Lagomorph Conference’. (Eds K. Myers and C. D. MacInnes.) pp. 614–622. (University of Güelph and Wildlife Research. Ministry of Natural Resources: Ontario.)

Delibes-Mateos M. , Ramírez E. , Ferreras P. , and Villafuerte R. (in press). Translocations as a risk for the conservation of European wild rabbit lineages. Oryx.

Edwards, G. P. , Dobbie, W. , and Berman, D. M. (2002). Warren ripping: its impacts on European rabbits and other wildlife of central Australia amid the establishment of rabbit haemorrhagic disease. Wildlife Research 29, 567–575.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Gibb J. A. (1990). The European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus. In ‘Rabbits, Hares and Pikas: Status Survey and Conservation’. (Eds J. A. Chapman and E. C. Flux.) pp. 116–120. (UICN: Gland, Switzerland.)

Gonçalves, H. , Alves, P. C. , and Rocha, A. (2002). Seasonal variation in the reproductive activity of the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus algirus) in a Mediterranean ecosystem. Wildlife Research 29, 165–173.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | IUCN (1998). ‘Guidelines for Re-introductions.’ Prepared by the IUCN/SSC Re-introduction Specialist Group. (IUCN: Gland, Switzerland & Cambridge, UK.)

Letty, J. , Marchandeau, S. , Clobert, J. , and Aubineau, J. (2000). Improving translocation success: an experimental study of antistress treatment and release method for wild rabbits. Animal Conservation 3, 211–219.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Villafuerte R. (1994). Riesgo de predación y estrategias defensivas del conejo, Oryctolagus cuniculus, en el Parque Nacional de Doñana. Ph.D. Thesis, Universidad de Córdoba.

Villafuerte, R. , Calvete, C. , Gortázar, C. , and Moreno, S. (1994). First epizootic of rabbit hemorrhagic disease in free living populations of Oryctolagus cuniculus at Doñana National Park, Spain. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 30, 176–179.
PubMed |

Villafuerte, R. , Calvete, C. , Blanco, J. C. , and Lucientes, J. (1995). Incidence of viral hemorrhagic disease in wild rabbit populations in Spain. Mammalia 59, 651–659.


Watson, J. , Warman, C. , Todd, D. , and Laboudallon, V. (1992). The Seychelles magpie robin Copsychus sechellarum: ecology and conservation of an endangered species. Biological Conservation 61, 93–106.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Williams, D. , Acevedo, P. , Gortázar, C. , Escudero, M. A. , Labarta, J. L. , Marco, J. , and Villafuerte, R. (2007). Hunting for answers: rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) population trends in northeastern Spain. European Journal of Wildlife Research 53, 19–28.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Wood, D. H. (1980). The demography of a rabbit population in an arid region of New South Wales, Australia. Journal of Animal Ecology 49, 55–79.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |