scholarly journals Habitat use and spatial behaviour in the European rabbit in three Mediterranean environments

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 453-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludgarda Lombardi ◽  
Néstor Fernández ◽  
Sacramento Moreno
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
Spatial Behaviour ◽  
Mediterranean Environments

Spatial distribution and habitat use of reed warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus during the autumn migration

Behaviour ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 151 (6) ◽  
pp. 799-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miren Andueza ◽  
Juan Arizaga ◽  
Emilio Barba ◽  
Ibon Tamayo-Uria
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Breeding Site ◽  
Autumn Migration ◽  
First Year ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Spatial Behaviour ◽  
Stopover Site ◽  
Stopover Sites ◽  
Acrocephalus Scirpaceus

Spatial behaviour and habitat selection at stopover sites have a strong influence on the foraging and fuelling performance of migrating birds and hence are important aspects of stopover ecology. The aim of this study was to analyse the spatial behaviour and habitat use of reed warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus during the autumn migration. We used radio tracking data from reed warblers surveyed at a stopover site in northern Iberia and assigned to three different groups: (1) local adult birds which were still at their breeding site, (2) migrating first-year birds (originating from beyond Iberian peninsula) and (3) migrating adult birds. Overall, migrating first-year birds tended to have larger home ranges than both local and migrating adults and to move more widely in the study area. They also showed lower fat deposition rates than adults. The proportion of habitats in home ranges (reed-beds and tidal flats being the most abundant habitats) was similar amongst groups. The spatial distribution and habitat use of organisms have been theorised to follow an ideal-free or ideal-despotic distribution. However, according to our results, other complex underlying mechanisms may play an important role in shaping the spatial behaviour of birds at stopover sites.

scholarly journals Seasonal habitat use by the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in a coastal dune system in SW Spain

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Dellafiore ◽  
◽  
C. Rouco ◽  
S. Muñóz Vallés ◽  
J. B. Gallego Fernández ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Oryctolagus Cuniculus ◽  
Sand Dune ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Coastal Sand Dune ◽  
Dune System ◽  
Coastal Dune System ◽  
Shelter Availability

We studied habitat use by the wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in a coastal sand dune system in the south–western Iberian peninsula. Our goals were to define the use of this habitat by rabbits in relation to food and shelter availability between seasons. Rabbit density, food availability and refuge abundance were analysed using multiple regression analyses. We found that, independently of season, habitat selection was principally related to cover by the woody shrub Retama monosperma which rabbits use both as a food resource and as protection against predators. Although it is an invasive native plant, the benefits that R. monosperma provides.

Habitat use under predation risk: hunting, roads and human dwellings influence the spatial behaviour of roe deer

2012 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadège Bonnot ◽  
Nicolas Morellet ◽  
Hélène Verheyden ◽  
Bruno Cargnelutti ◽  
Bruno Lourtet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Predation Risk ◽  
Roe Deer ◽  
Spatial Behaviour

Age and season determine European rabbit habitat use in Mediterranean ecosystems

2008 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Rueda ◽  
Salvador Rebollo ◽  
Lucía Gálvez Bravo
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Mediterranean Ecosystems ◽  
European Rabbit

Habitat use and spatial behaviour of the endangered Southern river otter (Lontra provocax) in riparian habitats of Chile: Conservation implications

2007 ◽  
Vol 140 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 329-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximiliano A. Sepúlveda ◽  
José Luis Bartheld ◽  
René Monsalve ◽  
Vicente Gómez ◽  
Gonzalo Medina-Vogel
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Spatial Behaviour ◽  
River Otter ◽  
Conservation Implications ◽  
Riparian Habitats ◽  
Lontra Provocax

Wild boar under fire: the effect of spatial behaviour, habitat use and social class on hunting mortality

2017 ◽  
Vol 303 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Merli ◽  
S. Grignolio ◽  
A. Marcon ◽  
M. Apollonio
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Wild Boar ◽  
Spatial Behaviour ◽  
Hunting Mortality

The influence of evolutionary history and body size on partitioning of habitat resources by mammalian herbivores in south-eastern Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi E. Davis ◽  
Ian R. Gordon ◽  
Graeme Coulson
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Introduced Species ◽  
Resource Partitioning ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Species Coexistence ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
Niche Complementarity ◽  
Mammalian Herbivores ◽  
Eastern Australia

Habitat use is the most common dimension along which sympatric species partition resources to reduce competition. We conducted faecal pellet counts at Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria, to examine habitat use by an assemblage of mammalian herbivores with disparate evolutionary histories and varying body size: introduced European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and hog deer (Axis porcinus), and native eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) and common wombat (Vombatus ursinus). Overlap in habitat use was low between four pairs of species, suggesting spatial partitioning of resources to reduce the potential for interspecific competition. More generally, however, overlap in habitat use was high, particularly between native and introduced grazers. These results indicate the potential for competition if resources were limiting and suggest that assemblages of species with independent evolutionary histories have inherently less resource partitioning to facilitate coexistence than assemblages of species with common evolutionary histories. Despite evidence of high overlap in habitat use between native and introduced species at a broad scale, and variation in the competitive ability of species, coexistence was likely facilitated by niche complementarity, including temporal and fine-scale partitioning of spatial resources. There was no relationship between body size and the diversity of habitats used. In contemporary assemblages of native and introduced species, evolutionary history is likely to have a strong influence on resource partitioning.

Vegetation management influences habitat use by mammalian herbivores in shrub-encroached grassy woodland

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi E. Davis ◽  
Julian Di Stefano ◽  
Graeme Coulson ◽  
Jim Whelan ◽  
John Wright
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Faecal Pellet ◽  
Vegetation Management ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
Faecal Pellets ◽  
Mammalian Herbivores ◽  
Herbivore Responses ◽  
Swamp Wallaby

Context Restoration of disturbed vegetation communities commonly involves altering vegetation composition and structure, attributes that can influence the suitability of habitat for fauna. Feedbacks may occur whereby changes to the vegetation affect mammalian herbivores, and unintended changes may prevent managers from achieving conservation goals. Aims To understand how vegetation management affects habitat use by five mammalian herbivores, namely eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor), common wombat (Vombatus ursinus), European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and hog deer (Axis porcinus). Methods A management experiment (mechanical slashing of the encroaching shrub Leptospermum laevigatum) at Wilsons Promontory National Park, Australia, created slashed swales in addition to untreated dune and scrub woodland. In each vegetation stratum, we estimated the cover of L. laevigatum and quantified herbivore abundance by counting the standing crop of faecal pellets. Key results Relative to untreated vegetation, mechanical slashing of L. laevigatum substantially reduced cover of this species above 200 cm, but increased its cover below 30 cm. On the basis of faecal-pellet counts, multispecies use of managed and unmanaged parts of the landscape differed substantially, with the differences principally driven by higher abundance of European rabbits and eastern grey kangaroos at slashed sites. Conclusions The responses of three grazing species (kangaroo, rabbits and wombats) to vegetation management were predicted well by prior knowledge of diet and habitat preferences. This was not the case for the browser (swamp wallaby), nor for the grazer that consumes substantial amounts of browse in the study area (hog deer), and additional knowledge of the processes underlying their responses to vegetation change is required. Implications Our findings highlighted that vegetation management can influence herbivore abundances in the managed system. An improved understanding of these associations will allow vegetation management plans to incorporate herbivore responses.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document