The ecology of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in coastal southern Western Australia

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie E. Twigg ◽  
Tim J. Lowe ◽  
Gary R. Martin ◽  
Amanda G. Wheeler ◽  
Garry S. Gray ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Adult Female ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Oryctolagus Cuniculus ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
Demographic Changes ◽  
High Rainfall ◽  
Nonbreeding Season ◽  
Exponential Rates ◽  
Free Ranging

Demographic changes in three free-ranging rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) populations were monitored over 4 years in southern Western Australia. Peak densities followed periods of high rainfall and pasture biomass. The breeding season was prolonged, often extending from at least April to November, with some pregnancies occurring outside this period. Fecundity, determined by the autopsy of pregnant offsite rabbits and the known length of each breeding season, appeared to be relatively high, with the potential for 34–39 kittens doe-1 year-1; however, because not all females are pregnant in all months, the overall productivity of these populations was estimated at 25–30 kittens adult female-1 year-1. Exponential rates of increase varied from 0.13 to 0.30 during the breeding periods and –0.05 to –0.14 during the nonbreeding season. Kitten survival was generally low whereas some adults lived for more than 5 years. Two patterns of myxomatosis were observed: annual epizootics of the disease (3 of 4 years) and an epidemic that slowly spread over many months. European rabbit fleas were most abundant during winter–spring and attained highest densities on adult female rabbits.

scholarly journals Myxomatosis: the occurrence of antibody to a soluble antigen of myxoma virus in wild rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), in Victoria, Australia

1978 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Edmonds ◽  
Rosamond C. H. Shepherd ◽  
I. F. Nolan
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Infection Rate ◽  
Oryctolagus Cuniculus ◽  
Myxoma Virus ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
Soluble Antigen ◽  
Relative Timing ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Semi Arid

SummaryThe occurrence of antibody to myxoma virus in wild rabbits following epizootics is highest in the semi-arid north-west of Victoria and lowest in temperate southern Victoria. Occurrence ranges up to about 90% in the north-west and to about 70% in the south except on the Western Plains where epizootics are rare and antibody occurrence seldom exceeds 30%.The establishment of the European rabbit flea may be changing the pattern of occurrence of antibody in the north-west by causing spring outbreaks of myxomatosis. It is suggested that the effects of the replacement of a simple recurring system of epizootic and breeding season several months apart by the occurrence of myxomatosis twice in the same year, once coincident with the breeding season, will be complex. The occurrence of detectable antibody may be less dependent on the infection rate and may be dependent to some extent on the relative timing of spring myxomatosis and the breeding season.

The European Rabbit in South- Western Australia II. Reproduction

1985 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 197 ◽  
Author(s):  
SH Wheeler ◽  
DR King
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
Female Reproduction ◽  
Early Peak ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Second Peak ◽  
Winter Breeding ◽  
Coastal District

'The reproduction of the European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), at two intensive study sites in south-western Australia is compared with reproductive data from rabbits taken throughout the coastal and inland districts of the south-west region. South-western Australia has hot, arid summers and cool wet winters. Rabbit breeding in the region is characteristic of that in Mediterranean climates, with a winter breeding season which begins when pastures germinate with the initial winter rainfall (April-May) and ceases when the pastures dry out at the end of the year. Unseasonal cyclonic rain can promote pasture growth in summer, leading to limited breeding. At all times of year there were some fertile males, with fewest at the height of summer, followed by an increase before the winter breeding season. Near the coast, male fertility increased more rapidly than further inland. At our two study sites at Cape Naturaliste (on the coast) and Chidlow (55 km inland) the pattern was similar to that in the coastal district. Production of kittens was greater near the coast than further inland, because near the coast there was a high early peak in incidence of pregnancy, a second peak late in the year, and litters remained large throughout the breeding season. In the inland district, the early incidence of pregnancy was lower, there was no second peak, and litter sizes fell at the end of the year. Female reproduction at Cape Naturaliste was typical of that in the coastal district, but that at Chidlow was typical of the inland. The second peak of pregnancy at Cape Naturaliste was due to intensive breeding by subadults born earlier in the year. The differences in female reproduction and productivity between the coastal and inland districts are probably because pasture growth begins earlier and is better in the more fertile coastal areas than in the inland. That nutrition is better for rabbits in the coastal areas than in the inland is reflected in higher growth rates of kittens at Cape Naturaliste than at Chidlow. It is postulated, on the basis of the literature and the results of our studies, that the factor which determines whether rabbits will breed is the presence of growing vegetation, and that the intensity of breeding is influenced by a seasonal cycle in fertility.

The Establishment and Spread of Spilopsyllus Cuniculi (Dale) and Its Location on the Host, Oryctolagus Cuniculus (L.), In the Mallee Region of Victoria.

1976 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
RCH Shepherd ◽  
JW Edmonds
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Oryctolagus Cuniculus ◽  
Myxoma Virus ◽  
The Body ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
Initial Release ◽  
Breeding Seasons

European rabbit fleas (Spilopsyllus cuniculi) (Dale)) were released into a population of wild rabbits at 7 sites on Pine Plains in the Mallee district of Victoria, Australia, and their establishment and distribution observed monthly for 4 years. After 12 months, including one breeding season, the fleas were found on some rabbits up to 0.8 km from some release sites. By the end of the second breeding season, the distance of spread had doubled, and 4 years after the initial release, including 5 breeding seasons, about 95% of rabbits caught carried S. cuniculi. The furthest spread was about 13 km. When the initial release was made during the summer months, the non-breeding season, spread was slow; in one area, it took 2 years for S. cuniculi to become firmly established. When examples of S. cuniculi infected with myxoma virus were released, no establishment of the disease was observed. The numbers of S. cuniculi per rabbit were low during the first breeding season, but they were high, up to 500/rabbit, after 4 years. In most cases, the fleas were seen on the ears, pinnae and head of the rabbit and occasionally in the body fur. The highest numbers were usually found on pregnant lactating does about to litter, but some bucks also carried a large number.

Aspects of the biology of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) in coastal eastern Australia

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 398 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Richardson ◽  
S. Phillips ◽  
R. A. Hayes ◽  
S. Sindhe ◽  
B. D. Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Population Biology ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
High Rainfall ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease ◽  
High Rainfall Area

A population of wild rabbits in a high-rainfall area near Sydney, New South Wales, was studied for 8 years to investigate the population biology of the rabbit in a high-rainfall area, to examine factors affecting the length of the breeding season, and to describe the biology of RHDV and a RHDV-like virus in the population. The breeding season was short, starting in June and ending in October, though some conceptions occurred in every month of the year. Supplementary feeding with grain, germinated wheat or high-protein rabbit pellets did not extend the breeding season, so predictions that the length of the breeding season and occurrence of anaemia were influenced by a lack of protein in the diet were not upheld. Myxomatosis appeared in late summer each year as in inland southern Australia. Studies of the immunostatus of the population showed that, even in the years before RHDV was released in Australia, 80–100% of adult animals were seropositive when tested with ELISA specifically designed to detect antibodies to RHDV, arguably owing to the presence of a RHDV-like virus. The proportion of seropositive animals fell when annual rainfall was below 600 mm and rose when it was above 700 mm. Presumably, in areas where rainfall is usually low the proportion of the population infected with the putative RHDV-like virus would slowly drop to a low level, providing a possible basis for the different epidemiological patterns found for RHDV in different parts of Australia.

Observations on Variations in the Sex Ratios of Wild Rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), in Victoria

1981 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 361 ◽  
Author(s):  
RCH Shepherd ◽  
JW Edmonds ◽  
IF Nolan
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Oryctolagus Cuniculus ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
Male Preponderance

There was a preponderance of females in wild rabbits collected in Victoria before 1974. This preponderance was established in subadults; in adults the sex ratio tended towards equality or a preponderance of males. The preponderance of females was most marked after the breeding season. A change to male preponderance in the Mallee region coincided with the establishment of the European rabbit flea.

The European Rabbit in South-Western Australia. III. Survival.

1985 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 213 ◽  
Author(s):  
SH Wheeler ◽  
DR King
Keyword(s):  
Population Size ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Oryctolagus Cuniculus ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
Live Trapping

The survival of Oryctolagus cuniculus was investigated at 2 sites in the southern part of Western Australia using live-trapping. Winter myxomatosis appears to have been a major factor in determining the changes in population size, through its effect on the survival of young rabbits.

Observations on the dispersal of the European rabbit flea, Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale), through a natural population of wild rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.)

1971 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 129 ◽  
Author(s):  
RT Williams ◽  
I Parer
Keyword(s):  
Natural Population ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Oryctolagus Cuniculus ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
Previous Suggestion ◽  
Rabbit Population ◽  
Data Support ◽  
Breeding Seasons ◽  
Time Away

The dispersal of the European rabbit flea, S. cuniculi, through a population of wild rabbits in a 550-acre enclosure was studied. It took 18 months (June 1968 until November 1969), and two rabbit breeding seasons before S, cuniculi was found throughout the population. The number of fleas observed on individual rabbits was much higher during each rabbit bieeding season than in the non-breeding periods. In most cases, the spread of fleas into the various social groups of rabbits occurred during the rabbit breeding season, and appeared to take the form of fleas from an infested group of rabbits being dispersed to a neighbouring uninfested one. This dispersal of S, cuniculi coincided with the dispersal of juvenile rabbits, which were most heavily infested with rabbit fleas at the end of each rabbit breeding season. Three instances of fleas being dispersed to non-neighbouring social groups of rabbits were observed, and these occurred between the 1968 and 1969 rabbit breeding seasons. It is possible that in these cases the fleas were introduced by the dispersal of adult rabbits from warrens infested with S, cuniculi. The data support a previous suggestion that these fleas, on a non-breeding rabbit population, spend most of their time away from the host. in the rabbit burrows.

Habitat and Warren Utilization by the European Rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.),as Determined by Radio-Tracking

1981 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 581 ◽  
Author(s):  
SH Wheeler ◽  
DR King ◽  
MH Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Oryctolagus Cuniculus ◽  
European Rabbit ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Radio Tracking ◽  
Radio Transmitters ◽  
Below Ground

'Rabbits equipped with miniature radio transmitters were located when at rest during the day at Cape Naturaliste, W.A. The study site was open pasture with numerous warrens, surrounded by and containing patches of native vegetation in which there were few warrens. Rabbits for instrumentation were live-trapped on the pasture and were located by radio once per day during each of four tracking periods in February, March-April (non-breeding season), May, and June (breeding season). A total of 31 individuals provided 284 locations, 263 (93%) of which were in the scrub. Of 216 locations in the scrub where the position of the rabbit (above or below ground) was known, 164 (765%) were above ground. Individual rabbits were found at several places within their resting areas, some of which were over 100 m into the scrub. The relevance of these results to current methods of rabbit control is discussed.

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