Habitat use by large and small herbivores in a fluctuating Mediterranean ecosystem: Implications of seasonal changes

Journal of Arid Environments

Volumn 72, Issue 9, 2008, Pages 1698-1708

  Rueda, M ^a   Rebollo, S ^a   Galvez Bravo L ^a   Escudero, A ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ALCALÁ   (Spain)

^b UNIVERSIDAD REY JUAN CARLOS   (Spain)

Author keywords

Different sized herbivores; Foraging habitat use; Oryctolagus cuniculus; Savannah like ecosystem; Seasonality; Structural equation modelling

Indexed keywords

FERTILITY; FOOD QUALITY; FORAGING BEHAVIOR; HABITAT AVAILABILITY; HABITAT SELECTION; HABITAT USE; HERBIVORE; LAGOMORPH; PREDATION RISK; REFUGE; SAVANNA; SEASONAL VARIATION; SEASONALITY; SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION; WATER AVAILABILITY;

ORYCTOLAGUS CUNICULUS; OVIS ARIES;

EID: 46149122277     PISSN: 01401963     EISSN: 1095922X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2008.03.006     Document Type: Article

References (58)

1. Bailey R.E., and Putman R.J. Estimation of fallow deer (Dama dama) populations from faecal accumulation. Journal of Applied Ecology 18 (1981) 697-702
2. Banks P.B., Hume I.D., and Crowe O. Behavioural, morphological and dietary response of rabbits to predation risk from foxes. Oikos 85 (1999) 247-256
3. Bartolomé J., Franch J., Plaixats J., and Seligman N.G. Diet selection by sheep and goats on Mediterranean heath-woodland range. Journal of Range Management 51 (1998) 383-391
4. Beaufoy G. The EU Habitats Directive in Spain: can it contribute effectively to the conservation of extensive agro-ecosystems?. Journal of Applied Ecology 35 (1998) 974-978
5. Belovsky G.E. Optimal foraging and community structure: the allometry of herbivore food selection and competition. Evolutionary Ecology 11 (1997) 641-672
6. Bentler, P.M., 1989. EQS structural equations program manual. BMDP Statistical Software.
7. Bhadresa R. Food preferences of rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus L. at Holkham sand dunes, Norfolk. Journal of Applied Ecology 14 (1977) 287-291
8. Chapuis J.L. Comparation of the diets of two sympatric lagomorphs, Lepus europaeus (Pallas) and Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.) in an agroecosystem of the Ile-de-France. Mammalian Biology 55 (1990) 176-185
9. Coleman S.W., Forbes T.D.A., and Stuth J.W. Measurements of the plant-animal interface in grazing research. In: Martin G.C. (Ed). Grazing Research Methods (1989), American Society of Agronomy 37-52
10. Cooke B.D. A shortage of water in natural pastures as a factor limiting a population of rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), in arid, north-eastern south Australia. Wildlife Research 9 (1982) 465-476
11. Cougenhour M.B. Spatial components of plant-herbivore interactions in pastoral ranching and native ungulate ecosystems. Journal of Range Management 44 (1991) 530-542
12. Cromsigt J.P.G.M., and Olff H. Resource partitioning among savanna grazers mediated by local heterogeneity: an experimental approach. Ecology 87 (2006) 1532-1541
13. Demment M.W., and Van Soest P.J. A nutritional explanation for body-size patterns of ruminant and nonruminant herbivores. American Naturalist 125 (1985) 541-672
14. Díaz M., Campos P., and Pulido F.J. The Spanish dehesas: a diversity of land-use and wildlife. In: Pain D., and Pienkowsky M. (Eds). Farming and Birds in Europe: The Common Agricultural Policy and its Implications for Bird Conservation (1997), Academic Press, New York 178-209
15. Figueroa M.E., and Davy A.J. Response of Mediterranean grassland species to changing rainfall. Journal of Ecology 79 (1991) 925-941
16. Gary R.M., Twigg L.E., and Zampichelli L. Seasonal changes in the diet of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) from the three different Mediterranean habitats in south-western Australia. Wildlife Research 34 (2007) 25-42
17. Gea-Izquierdo G., Muñoz-Igualada J., and San Miguel-Ayanz A. Rabbit warren distribution in relation to pasture communities in Mediterranean habitats: consequences for management of rabbit populations. Wildlife Research 32 (2005) 723-731
18. Gonçalvez H., Alves P.C., and Rocha A. Seasonal variation in the reproductive activity of the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus algirus) in a Mediterranean ecosystem. Wildlife Research 29 (2002) 165-173
19. Gross J.E., Zank C., Hobbs N.T., and Spalinger D.E. Movement rules for herbivores in spatially heterogeneous environments: responses to small scale pattern. Landscape Ecology 10 (1995) 209-218
20. Hayward J.S. The ability of the wild rabbit to survive conditions of water restriction. Wildlife Research 6 (1961) 160-175
21. Hirakawa H. Coprophagy in leporids and other mammalian herbivores. Mammal Review 31 (2001) 61-80
22. Holmes W.G. Predation risk affects foraging behaviour of pikas: observational and experimental evidence. Animal Behaviour 42 (1991) 111-119
23. Iason G.R., Manso T., Sim D.A., and Hartley F.G. The functional response does not predict the local distribution of European Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) on grass swards: experimental evidence. Functional Ecology 16 (2002) 394-402
24. Iborra O., and Lumaret J.P. Validity limits of the pellet group counts in wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Mammalia 61 (1997) 205-218
25. Illius A.W., and Gordon I.J. The allometry of food intake in grazing ruminants. Journal of Animal Ecology 56 (1987) 989-999
26. Iriondo J.M., Albert M.J., and Escudero A. Structural equation modelling. An alternative for assessing causal relationships in threatened plant populations. Biological Conservation 113 (2003) 367-377
27. Jarman P.J., and Sinclair A.R.E. Feeding strategy and the pattern of resource partitioning in African ungulates. In: Sinclair A.R.E., and Norton-Griffiths M. (Eds). Serengeti: Dynamics of an Ecosystem (1979), University of Chicago Press 130-164
28. Jofree R., Rambal S., and Ratte J.P. The dehesa of Southern Spain and Portugal as a natural ecosystem mimic. Agroforestry System 45 (1999) 57-59
29. Kolb H.H. Use of burrows and movements by wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in an area of hill grazing and forestry. Journal of Applied Ecology 28 (1991) 892-905
30. Kotler B.P., Brown J.S., and Hasson O. Factors affecting gerbil foraging behaviour and rates of owl predation. Ecology 72 (1991) 2249-2260
31. Krebs C.J., Sinclair A.R.E., Boonstra R., Boutin S., Martin K., and Smith J.N.M. Community dynamics of vertebrate herbivores: how can we untangle the web?. In: Olff H., Brown V.K., and Drent R.H. (Eds). Herbivores: Between Plants and Predator (1999), Blackwell Science, Oxford 447-473
32. Lynch J.J., Hinch G.N., and Adams D.B. The behavior of sheep. Biological principles and implications for production (1992), CAB International
33. Martins H., Milne J.A., and Rego F. Seasonal and spatial variation in the diet of the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.) in Portugal. Journal of Zoology 258 (2002) 395-404
34. Mitchell R.J. Testing evolutionary and ecological hypothesis using path analysis and structural equation modelling. Functional Ecology 6 (1992) 123-129
35. Moro M.J., Pugnaire F.I., Haase P., and Puigdefébregas J. Effects of the canopy of Retama sphaerocarpa on its understory in a semiarid environment. Functional Ecology 11 (1997) 425-431
36. Morrison M.L., Marcot B.G., and Mannan R.W. Wildlife-habitat relationships. Concepts and applications. In: Morrison M.L., Marcot B.G., and Mannan R.W. (Eds). Measurement of Wildlife Habitat: What to Measure and How to Measure (1998), University of Wisconsin Press 139-167
37. Mysterud A., Langvatn R., Yoccoz N.G., and Stenseth N.Chr. Plant phenology, migration and geographical variation on body weight of a large herbivore: the effect of a variable topography. Journal of Animal Ecology 70 (2001) 915-923
38. Olff H., and Ritchie M.E. Effects of herbivores on grassland plant diversity. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 13 (1998) 261-265
39. Olff H., Ritchie M.E., and Prins H.H.T. Global environmental controls of diversity in large herbivores. Nature 415 (2002) 901-904
40. Owen-Smith R.N. Megaherbivores: The Influence of Very Large Body Size on Ecology (1988), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
41. Palomares F. Comparison of three methods to estimate rabbit abundance in a Mediterranean environment. Wildlife Society Bulletin 29 (2001) 578-585
42. Palomares F. The negative impact of heavy rains on the abundance of a Mediterranean population of European rabbits. Mammalian Biology 68 (2003) 224-234
43. Palomares F., and Delibes M. Predation upon European rabbits and their use of open and closed patches in Mediterranean habitats. Oikos 80 (1997) 407-410
44. Parer I., and Libke J.A. Distribution of rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus, warrens in relation to soil type. Wildlife Research 12 (1985) 387-405
45. Pérez Corona M.E., Vázquez de Aldana B.R., García Criado B., and García Ciudad A. Variations in nutritional quality and biomass production of semiarid grasslands. Journal of Range Management 51 (1998) 570-576
46. Peters R.H. The Ecological Implications of Body Size (1983), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
47. Rebollo, S., 1996. Análisis de la estrategia de pastoreo de pequeños rumiantes domésticos considerando distintas escalas espaciales. Ph.D. Thesis, Universidad de León.
48. San Miguel A. Pastos Naturales Españoles (2001), Mundi-Prensa, Madrid
49. SAS Institute, 1990. SAS/STAT user's guide. Release 6.04. SAS Institute.
50. Schwartz C.C., and Ellis J.E. Feeding ecology and niche separation in some native and domestic ungulates on the shortgrass prairie. Journal of Applied Ecology 18 (1981) 343-353
51. Sinclair A.R.E. The resource limitation of trophic levels in tropical grassland ecosystems. Journal of Animal Ecology 44 (1975) 497-520
52. Stuth J.W. Foraging behaviour. In: Heitschmidt R.K., and Stuth J.W. (Eds). Grazing Management: An Ecological Perspective (1991), Timber Press 65-83
53. Traill L.W. Seasonal utilization of habitat by large grazing herbivores in semi-arid Zimbabwe. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 34 (2004) 13-24
54. Van de Koppel J., Huisman J., Van der Wal R., and Olff H. Patterns of herbivory along a gradient of primary productivity: an empirical and theoretical investigation. Ecology 77 (1996) 736-745
55. Vázquez de Aldana B.R., García-Ciudad A., Pérez-Corona M.E., and García-Criado B. Nutritional quality of semi-arid grassland in western Spain over a 10-year period: changes in chemical composition of grasses, legumes and forbs. Grass Forage Science 55 (2000) 209-220
56. Virgós E., Cabezas-Díaz S., and Lozano J. Is the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) a threatened species in Spain? Sociological constrains in the conservation of species. Biodiversity and Conservation 16 (2007) 3489-3504
57. Wheeler S.H., King D.R., and Robinson M.H. Habitat and warren utilization by the European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), as determined by radio-tracking. Wildlife Research 8 (1981) 581-588
58. Wilmshurst J.F., Fryxell J.M., and Bergman C.M. The allometry of patch selection in ruminants. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences 267 (2000) 345-349