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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 34(1)

Seasonal changes in the diet of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) from three different Mediterranean habitats in south-western Australia

Gary R. Martin A C , Laurie E. Twigg A and Lina Zampichelli A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Vertebrate Pest Research Section, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, 100 Bougainvillea Avenue, Forrestfield, WA 6058, Australia.

B Present address: C.Y. O’Connor College of TAFE, PO Box 498, Northam, WA 6401, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: gmartin@agric.wa.gov.au

Wildlife Research 34(1) 25-42 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR06044
Submitted: 1 May 2006  Accepted: 17 November 2006   Published: 27 February 2007

Abstract

Abstract. Seasonal changes in the diet of rabbits from three temperate (Mediterranean) areas in south-western Australia were identified using microscopic determination of the percentage occurrence of various food groups in sampled stomachs. The sites differed in soil type and in the availability of summer perennials, native vegetation bush remnants (size of, and number of plant species), improved pastures, and summer rainfall, and hence, enabled a comparison of the diet of rabbits from the different vegetation communities. Although the diet of these rabbits was quite flexible, with some switching in food items occurring between seasons, there were marked differences in the proportion of monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous species eaten in each habitat. There was a strong reliance on seeds (1–5 species) during late spring and summer in all three habitats. Guildford grass (Romulea rosea) leaf and corms were a major component of the diet in the two habitats where this species was common. Further, as a result of the summer die-off of pasture species, there was a shift in where rabbits sourced food items during winter and summer. Pasture species were eaten during winter, but rabbits fed mainly on those dicotyledons found only in the surrounding scrub during summer. This suggests that rabbits may impact negatively upon such remnant vegetation at this time. Rabbits in all three habitats consumed several plant species with high water content (>54%) during summer, presumably to help maintain their water balance. Rabbits also consumed the seeds and foliage of several weed/nuisance species in each habitat, but any role of rabbits in weed dispersal was not determined.


Acknowledgements

We thank all those who helped with various parts of this study, particularly Stuart Wheeler, Mike Robinson, Tim Lowe, Alan Eastman and the late Denis King. Mike Calver, John Bruce, Tim Lowe, Peter Thomson and two anonymous referees provided helpful comments on earlier drafts. Live-trapping and euthanasia was undertaken in accordance with the Western Australian Department of Agriculture’s (Australian) Code of Practice for Animal Experimentation.


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Appendix 1.  Plant species list, and an indication of those species eaten by rabbits, for the three Mediterranean habitats studied
Note that the list for the Gibson habitat is not complete owing to the more limited opportunity for sample collection. A, alien species; W, recognised weed/nuisance species; CN, Cape Naturaliste; CH, Chidlow; GB, Gibson. *, species known to be eaten by rabbits at these sites. Species of Brachyscome, Stylidium and Hypericum were eaten but could not be distinguished from their conspecifics. Further, the list of plants eaten by rabbits represents the minimum number as not all plant fragments could be identified
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Appendix 1a. (continued)
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Appendix 1a. (continued)
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Appendix 1a. (continued)
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