Population responses to sterility imposed on female European rabbits

Journal of Applied Ecology

Volumn 44, Issue 2, 2007, Pages 291-301

  Williams, C K ^a,b   Davey, C C ^a   Moore, R J ^a   Hinds, L A ^a   Silvers, L E ^a   Kerr, P J ^a   French, N ^a   Hood, G M ^a   Pech, R P ^a   Krebs, C J ^a  

^a CSIRO   (Australia)

^b NONE   (Australia)

Author keywords

Compensation; Cost of reproduction; European rabbit; European rabbit flea; Immunocontraception; Management; Myxoma virus; Population; Sterility; Survival

Indexed keywords

COMPENSATION; FLEA; IMMUNOCONTRACEPTION; INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT; LAGOMORPH; NATIVE SPECIES; POPULATION DYNAMICS; POPULATION SIZE; REPRODUCTIVE COST; REPRODUCTIVE POTENTIAL; STERILITY; SURVIVAL; VIRUS;

AUSTRALASIA; AUSTRALIA;

LEPTOPSYLLIDAE; MYXOMA VIRUS; ORYCTOLAGUS CUNICULUS; SIPHONAPTERA (FLEAS); SPILOPSYLLUS CUNICULI;

EID: 33947305076     PISSN: 00218901     EISSN: 13652664     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2006.01264.x     Document Type: Article

References (53)

1. Cooke, B.D. (1981) Food and dynamics of rabbit populations in inland Australia. Proceedings of the World Lagomorph Conference, Guelph, Ontario, 1979 (eds K. Myers & C.D. MacInnes), pp. 633-647. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
2. Cooke, B.D. (1982) A shortage of water in natural pastures as a factor limiting a population of rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), in arid north-eastern South Australia. Australian Wildlife Research, 9, 465-476.
3. Cooke, B.D. (1984) Factors limiting the distribution of the European rabbit flea Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) (Siphonaptera) in inland South Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology, 32, 493-506.
4. Cooke, B.D. (1990) Notes on the comparative reproductive biology and the laboratory breeding of the rabbit flea, Xenopsylla cunicularis Smit (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae). Australian Journal of Zoology, 38, 527-534.
5. Cooke, B.D., McPhee, S., Robinson, A.J. & Capucci, L. (2002) Rabbit haemorrhagic disease: does a pre-existing RHDVlike virus reduce the effectiveness of RHD as a biological control in Australia? Wildlife Research, 29, 673-682.
6. Denham, A.J. & Auld, T.D. (2004) Survival and recruitment of seedlings and suckers of trees and shrubs of the Australian arid zone following habitat management and the outbreak of rabbit calicivirus disease (RCD). Austral Ecology, 29, 585-599.
7. Fenner, F. & Fantini, B. (1999) Biological Control of Vertebrate Pests. The History of Myxomatosis, an Experiment in Evolution. CABI Publishing, New York, NY.
8. Fenner, F. & Ross, J. (1994) Myxomatosis. The European Rabbit: The History and Biology of a Successful Colonizer (eds H.V. Thompson & C.M. King), pp. 205-239. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
9. Gaines, S.D. & Rice, W.R. (1990) Analysis of biological data when there are ordered expectations. American Naturalist, 135, 310-317.
10. Garson, P.J. (1986) Intraspecific influences on juvenile recruitment rate in rabbits: observational and experimental evidence from a study in coastal duneland habitat. Mammal Review, 16, 195-196.
11. Gibb, J.A. (1977) Factors affecting population density in the wild rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), and their relevance to small mammals. Evolutionary Ecology (eds B. Stonehouse & C. Perrins), pp. 33-46. The Macmillan Press, London and Basingstoke, UK.
12. Hamilton, P.B., Stevens, J.R., Holz, P., Boag, B., Cooke, B. & Gibson, W.C. (2005) The inadvertent introduction into Australia of Trypanosoma nabiasi, the trypanosome of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and its potential for biocontrol. Molecular Ecology, 14, 3167-3175.
13. Holland, M.K. & Jackson, R.J. (1994) Virus-vectored immunocontraception for control of wild rabbits: identification of target antigens and construction of recombinant viruses. Reproduction, Fertility and Development, 6, 631-642.
14. Hood, G.M. (2000) Spatial host-parasite models: application to biological control of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.) using immunocontraceptive viruses. PhD Thesis. Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
15. Jackson, R.J., Maguire, D.J., Hinds, L.A. & Ramshaw, I.A. (1998) Infertility in mice induced by a recombinant ectromelia virus expressing mouse zona pellucida glycoprotein 3. Biology of Reproduction, 58, 152-159.
16. Jewell, P.A. (1997) Survival and behaviour of castrated Soay sheep (Ovis aries) in a feral island population on Hirta, St Kilda, Scotland. Journal of Zoology (London), 243, 623-636.
17. Kerr, P.J. (1997) An ELISA for epidemiological studies of myxomatosis: persistence of antibodies to myxoma virus in European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Wildlife Research, 24, 53-65.
18. Kerr, P.J. & Jackson, R.J. (1995) Myxoma virus as a vaccine vector for rabbits: antibody levels to influenza virus haemagglutinin presented by a recombinant myxoma virus. Vaccine, 13, 1722-1726.
19. Kerr, P.J., Jackson, R.J., Robinson, A.J., Swan, J., Silvers, L., French, N., Clarke, H., Hall, D.F. & Holland, M.K. (1999) Infertility in female rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) alloimmunized with the rabbit zona pellucida protein ZPB either as a purified recombinant protein or expressed by recombinant myxoma virus. Biology of Reproduction, 61, 606-613.
20. Kerr, P.J., Perkins, H.D., Inglis, B., Stagg, R., McLaughlin, E., Collins, S.V. & van Leeuwen, B.H. (2004) Expression of rabbit IL-4 by recombinant myxoma viruses enhances virulence and overcomes genetic resistance to myxomatosis. Virology, 324, 117-128.
21. Kerr, P.J., Twigg, L.E., Silvers, L., Lowe, T.J. & Forrester, R.I. (1998) Serological monitoring of the epidemiology of myxoma virus to assess the effects of imposed fertility control of female rabbits on myxomatosis. Wildlife Research, 25, 123-131.
22. Kovaliski, J. (1998) Monitoring the spread of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus as a new biological agent for control of wild European rabbits in Australia. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 34, 421-428.
23. Krebs, C.J. (1995) Two paradigms of population regulation. Wildlife Research, 22, 1-10.
24. Mead-Briggs, A.R. (1964) The reproductive biology of the rabbit flea Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) and the dependence of this species upon the breeding of its host. Journal of Experimental Biology, 41, 371-402.
25. Mead-Briggs, A.R. & Vaughan, J.A. (1975) The differential transmissibility of myxoma virus strains of differing virulence by the rabbit flea Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale). Journal of Hygiene Cambridge, 75, 237-247.
26. Merchant, J.C., Kerr, P.J., Simms, N.G., Hood, G.M., Pech, R.P. & Robinson, A.J. (2003b) Monitoring the spread of myxoma virus in rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus populations on the southern tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. III. Release, persistence and rate of spread of an identifiable strain of myxoma virus. Epidemiology and Infection, 130, 135-147.
27. Merchant, J.C., Kerr, P.J., Simms, N.G. & Robinson, A.J. (2003a) Monitoring the spread of myxoma virus in rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus populations on the southern tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. I. Natural occurrence of myxomatosis. Epidemiology and Infection, 130, 113-121.
28. Mutze, G., Bird, P., Kovaliski, J., Peacock, D., Jennings, S. & Cooke, B. (2002) Emerging epidemiological patterns in rabbit haemorrhagic disease, its interaction with myxomatosis, and their effects on rabbit populations in South Australia. Wildlife Research, 29, 577-590.
29. Myers, K. (1964) Influence of density on fecundity, growth rates, and mortality in the wild rabbit. CSIRO Wildlife Research, 9, 134-137.
30. Myers, K. & Bults, H.G. (1977) Observations on changes in the quality of food eaten by the wild rabbit. Australian Journal of Ecology, 2, 215-229.
31. Myers, K. & Poole, W.E. (1962) A study of the biology of the wild rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.) in confined populations. III. Reproduction. Australian Journal of Zoology, 10, 225-267.
32. Norton, G.A. & Pech, R.P. (1988) Vertebrate Pest Management in Australia. A Decision Analysis/Systems Analysis Approach. Project Report No. 5. CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology, Canberra, Australia.
33. Parer, I. (1982) European rabbit (Australia). CRC Handbook of Census Methods for Terrestrial Vertebrates (ed. D.E. Davis), pp. 136-138. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
34. Parer, I. & Libke, J.A. (1991) Biology of the wild rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales. Wildlife Research, 18, 327-341.
35. Pollock, K.H., Nichols, J.D., Brownie, C. & Hines, J.E. (1990) Statistical inference for capture-recapture experiments. Wildlife Monographs, 107, 1-97.
36. Poole, W.E. (1960) Breeding of the wild rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), in relation to the environment. CSIRO Wildlife Research, 5, 21-43.
37. Ramsay, D. (2005) Population dynamics of brushtail possums subject to fertility control. Journal of Applied Ecology, 42, 348-360.
38. Richardson, B.J. & Osborne, P.G. (1982) Experimental ecological studies on a subalpine rabbit population. II. The effect of sodium and nutritional supplementation on breeding and physiological condition. Australian Wildlife Research, 9, 451-463.
39. Richardson, B.J. & Wood, D.H. (1982) Experimental ecological studies on a subalpine rabbit population. I. Mortality factors acting on emergent kittens. Australian Wildlife Research, 9, 443-450.
40. Rödel, H.G., Bora, A., Kaetzke, P., Khaschei, M., Hutzelmeyer, H. & von Holst, D. (2004) Over-winter survival in subadult European rabbits: weather effects, density dependence, and the impact of individual characteristics. Oecologia, 140, 566-576.
41. Roff, D.A. (1992) The Evolution of Life Histories: Theory and Analysis. Chapman & Hall, New York, NY.
42. Sobey, W.R. & Conolly, D. (1971) Myxomatosis: the introduction of the European rabbit flea Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) into wild rabbit populations in Australia. Journal of Hygiene Cambridge, 69, 331-346.
43. Stodart, E. & Myers, K. (1966) The effects of different foods on confined populations of wild rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.). CSIRO Wildlife Research, 11, 111-124.
44. Tavecchia, G., Coulson, T., Morgan, B.J.T., Pemberton, J.M., Pilkington, J.C., Gulland, F.M.D. & Clutton-Brock, T.H. (2005) Predictors of reproductive cost in female Soay sheep. Journal of Animal Ecology, 74, 201-213.
45. Twigg, L.E., Lowe, T.J., Martin, G.R., Wheeler, A.G., Gray, G.S., Griffin, S.L., O'Reilly, C.M., Robinson, D.J. & Hubach, P.H. (2000) Effects of surgically imposed sterility on freeranging rabbit populations. Journal of Applied Ecology, 37, 16-39.
46. Tyndale-Biscoe, C.H. (1994) Virus-vectored immunocontraception of feral mammals. Reproduction, Fertility and Development, 6, 281-287.
47. White, T.C.R. (1978) The importance of a relative shortage of food in animal ecology. Oecologia, 33, 71-86.
48. White, T.C.R. (1993) The Inadequate Environment: Nitrogen and the Abundance of Animals. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany.
49. White, T.C.R. (2004) Limitation of populations by weather-driven changes in food: a challenge to density-dependent regulation. Oikos, 105, 664-666.
50. Williams, C.K. (1996) Ecological challenges to controlling wild rabbits in Australia using virally vectored immunocontraception. Proceedings of the 17th Vertebrate Pest Conference (eds R.M. Timm & A.C. Crabb), pp. 24-30. University of California, Davis, CA.
51. Williams, C.K. (1997) Development and use of virus-vectored immunocontraception. Fertility, Reproduction and Development, 9, 169-178.
52. Williams, C.K. & Moore, R.J. (1995) Effectiveness and cost-efficiency of control of the wild rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), by combinations of poisoning, ripping, fumigation and maintenance fumigation. Wildlife Research, 22, 253-269.
53. Williams, C.K., Parer, I., Coman, B.J., Burley, J. & Braysher, M.L. (1995) Managing Vertebrate Pests: Rabbits. Bureau of Resource Sciences and CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, Australia.