Population density and habitat use of the introduced eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) compared to the native European hare (Lepus europaeus)

Zoological Studies

Volumn 50, Issue 3, 2011, Pages 315-326

  Bertolino, Sandro ^a   Perrone, Aurelio ^b   Gola, Laura ^c   Viterbi, Ramona ^d  

^a DIVAPRA Dept of Protect and Exploitation of Agricultural Resources Entomology and Zoology   (Italy)

^b Wildlife Science   (Italy)

^c Parco Fluviale del Po e dell'Orba   (Italy)

^d Osservatorio faunistico regionale del Piemonte   (Italy)

Author keywords

Coexistence; Competition; Italy; Lagomorph; Resource partitioning

Indexed keywords

LAGOMORPHA; LEPUS; LEPUS EUROPAEUS; SYLVILAGUS; SYLVILAGUS FLORIDANUS;

EID: 79957760030     PISSN: 10215506     EISSN: 1810522X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (54)

1. Allen AW. 1984. Habitat suitability index models: eastern cottontail. Washington DC, Western Energy Land Use Team, Division of Biological Sciences, Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior. FWS/OBS 0197-6087.
2. Althoff DP, GL Storm, DR Dewalle. 1997. Daytime habitat selection by cottontails in central Pennsylvania. J. Wildl. Manage. 61: 450-459.
3. Angelici FM, M Spagnesi. 2008. Sylvilagus floridanus (J.A. Allen, 1890). In G Amori, L Contoli, A Nappi, eds. Mammalia II. Erinaceomorpha, Soricomorpha, Lagomorpha, Rodentia. Fauna d'Italia Vol. XLIV. Milano: Edizioni Calderini e Il Sole 24 Ore, pp. 305-313.
4. Arthur CP, JL Chapuis. 1983. L'introduction de Sylvilagus floridanus en France: historique, dangers et experimentation en cours. C.R. Soc. Biogéogr. 59: 333-356.
5. Atienza JC. 1994. La utilización de indices en el estudio de la seleción dé resursos. Ardeola 41: 173-175.
6. Beckwith SL. 1954. Ecological succession on abandoned farmlands and its relationship to wildlife management. Ecol. Monogr. 24: 349-376.
7. Bertolino S. 2008. The introduction of the American grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) in Europe: a case study in biological invasion. Curr. Sci. 95: 903-906.
8. Bertolino S. 2009. Animal trade and non-indigenous species introduction: the world-wide spread of squirrels. Divers. Distrib. 15: 701-708.
9. Bertolino S, N Cordero di Montezemolo, A Perrone. 2011a. Daytime habitat selection by introduced eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) and native European hare (Lepus europaeus) in northern Italy. Zool. Sci. 28. DOI:10.2108/zsj.28.000.
10. Bertolino S, L Hofmannova, M Girardello, D Modry. 2010. Richness, origin and structure of an Eimeria community in a population of Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) introduced into Italy. Parasitology 137: 1179-1186.
11. Bertolino S, B Ingegno, M Girardello. 2011b. Modelling the habitat requirements of invasive eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) introduced to Italy. Eur. J. Wildl. Res. 57: 267-274. DOI 10.1007/s10344-010-0422-9.
12. Biancotti A, G Bellardone, S Bovo, B Cagnazzi, L Giacomelli, C Marchisio. 1998. Regional distribution of rainfalls and temperatures. Series climatological studies in Piedmont Vol. 1. Torino, Italy: Regione Piemonte and Univ. degli Studi di Torino.
13. Bittner SL, JA Chapman. 1979. Reproductive and physiological cycles in an island population of Sylvilagus floridanus. In K Myers, CD MacInnes, eds. Proceedings World Lagomorph Conference. Guelph, Ontario, Canada, pp. 182-203.
14. Bonesi L, P Chanin, DW Macdonald. 2004. Competition between Eurasian otter Lutra lutra and American mink Mustela vison probed by niche shift. Oikos 106: 19-26.
15. Bresinski W, A Chlewski. 1976. Tree stands in fields and spatial distribution of hare populations. Proceedings Symposium on Ecology and Management of European Hare Populations, Warszawa, Poland, pp. 185-193.
16. Broekhuizen S, F Maaskamp. 1982. Movement, home range and clustering in the European hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas) in the Netherlands. Z. Saugetierkd. 47: 22-32.
17. Brown JS, BP Kotler, WA Mitchell. 1994. Foraging theory, patch use and the structure of a Negev desert granivore community. Ecology 75: 2286-2300.
18. Chapman JA, JG Hockman, M Magaly, C Ojeda. 1980. Sylvilagus floridanus. Am. Soc. Mammalog. Mamm. Species 136: 1-8.
19. Chapuis JL, F Forgeard, MC Didillon. 1985. Etude de Sylvilagus floridanus en region mediterraneenne dans des conditions de semi-liberte. Regime alimentaire au cours d'un cycle annuel par l'analyse micrographique des feces. Gibier Faune Savage 3: 5-31.
20. Cowan DP, DJ Bell. 1986. Leporid social behavior and social organization. Mamm. Rev. 16: 169-179.
21. DAISIE. 2008. DAISIE portal. Available at www.europe-aliens.org Accessed 6 June 2010.
22. Genovesi P, S Bacher, M Kobelt, M Pascal, R Scalera. 2008. Alien mammals of Europe. In W Nentwig, ed. DAISIE handbook of alien species in Europe. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, pp. 177-194.
23. Heydon MJ, JC Reynolds, MJ Short. 2000. Variation in abundance of foxes (Vulpes vulpes) between three regions of rural Britain, in relation to landscape and other variables. J. Zool. 251: 253-264.
24. Hulme PE, S Bacher, M Kenis, S Klotz, I Kühn, D Minchin et al. 2008. Grasping at the routes of biological invasions: a framework for integrating pathways into policy. J. Appl. Ecol. 45: 403-414.
25. Hutchings MR, S Harris. 1996. The current status of the brown hare (Lepus europaeus) in Britain. Bristol, UK: Joint Nature Conservation Committee, England.
26. Korschgen LJ. 1980. Food and nutrition of cottontail rabbits in Missouri. MO Dept. Conserv. Terrestr. Ser. 6: 1-16.
27. Langhein J, MR Hutchings, S Harris, C Stoate, C Tapper, S Wray. 1999. Techniques for assessing the abundance of brown hares Lepus europaeus. Mamm. Rev. 29: 93-116.
28. Lindström ER, H Andrén, P Angelstam, G Cederlund, B Hörnfeldt, L Jäderberg et al. 1994. Disease reveals the predator: sarcoptic mange, red fox predation, and prey populations. Ecology 75: 1042-1049.
29. Long JL. 2003. Introduced mammals of the world. Collingwood, Australia: CABI & CSIRO Publishing.
30. Ludden TM, SL Bea, LB Sheiner. 1994. Comparison of the Akaike information criterion, the Schwarz criterion and the F test as guides to model selection. J. Pharm. Biopharm. 22: 431-445.
31. Mack RN, D Simberloff, WM Lonsdale, H Evans, M Clout, FA Bazzaz. 2000. Biotic invasions: causes, epidemiology, global consequences, and control. Ecol. Appl. 10: 689-710.
32. Manly BFJ, LL McDonald, DL Thomas, TL McDonald, WP Erickson. 2002. Resource selection by animals. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
33. Marboutin E, NJ Aebischer. 1996. Does harvesting arable crops influence the behaviour of the European hare Lepus europaeus? Wildl. Biol. 2: 83-91.
34. Meriggi A. 2001. Sylvilagus floridanus (Allen J.A. 1890), Silvilago, Minilepre. In C Prigioni, M Cantini, A Zilio, eds. Atlante dei Mammiferi della Lombardia. Milano, Italy: Regione Lombardia, pp. 144-146.
35. Mitchell WA, Z Abramsky, BP Kotler, B Pinshow, JS Brown. 1990. The effect of competition on foraging activity in desert rodents: theory and experiments. Ecology 71: 844-854.
36. Mussa PP, G Meineri, B Bassano. 1996. Il Silvilago in Provincia di Torino. Habitat 61: 5-11.
37. Panek P, R Kamieniarz. 1999. Relationships between density of brown hare Lepus europaeus and landscape structure in Poland in the years 1981-1995. Acta Theriol. 44: 67-75.
38. Reynolds JC, SC Tapper. 1995. Predation by foxes Vulpes vulpes on brown hares Lepus europaeus in central southern England, and its potential impact on annual population growth. Wild. Biol. 1: 145-158.
39. Rice WR. 1989. Analyzing tables of statistical tests. Evolution 43: 223-225.
40. Rosenzweig ML. 1981. A theory of habitat selection. Ecology 62: 327-335.
41. Schoener TW. 1983. Field experiments on interspecific competition. Am. Nat. 122: 240-285.
42. Silvano F, C Acquarone, M Cucco. 2000. Distribution of the eastern cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus) in the province of Alessandria. Hystrix It. J. Mamm. 12: 75-78.
43. Smith RK, NV Jennings, A Robinson, S Harris. 2004. Conservation of European hares Lepus europaeus in Britain: Is increasing habitat heterogeneity in farmland the answer? J. Appl. Ecol. 41: 1092-1102.
44. Spagnesi M, V Trocchi. 2002. Lepre comune o europea Lepus europaeus pallas, 1778. In M Spagnesi, AM De Marinis, eds. Mammiferi d'Italia. Rome: Quaderni Conservazione Natura 14, Ministero Ambiente, Istituto Nazionale per la Fauna Selvatica, pp.146-148.
45. SPSS. 2001. SPSS for Windows, Release 13.0.1. Chicago, IL: SPSS.
46. Stephens PA, SW Burkirk, GD Hayward, MC Del Rio. 2005. Information theory and hypothesis testing: a call for pluralism. J. Appl. Ecol. 42: 4-12.
47. Swihart RK, RH Yahner. 1982. Habitat feature influencing use of farmstead shelterbelts by the eastern cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus. Am. Midl. Nat. 107: 411-414.
48. Tapper SC, RFW Barnes. 1986. Influence of farming practice on the ecology of the brown hare Lepus europaeus. J. Appl. Ecol. 23: 39-52.
49. Tizzani P, A Lavazza, L Capucci, PG Meneguz. 2002. Presence of infectious agents and parasites in wild populations of cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) and consideration on its role in the diffusion of pathogens infecting hares. European Association of Zoo- and Wildlife Veterinarians (EAZWV) 4th scientific meeting, joint with the annual meeting of the European Wildlife Disease Association (EWDA), Heidelberg, Germany.
50. Trent TT, OS Rongstat. 1974. Home range and survival of cottontail rabbits in southwestern Wisconsin. J. Wildl. Manage. 38: 459-472.
51. Vaughan N, EA Lucas, S Harris, PCL White. 2003. Habitat associations of European hares Lepus europaeus in England and Wales: implications for farmland management. J. Appl. Ecol. 40: 163-175.
52. Vidus-Rosin A, N Gilio, A Meriggi. 2008. Introduced lagomorphs as a threat to"native"lagomorphs: the case of the eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) in northern Italy. In PC Alves, N Ferrand, H Hackländer, eds. Lagomorph biology. Evolution, ecology and conservation. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, pp. 153-165.
53. Vidus-Rosin A, A Montagna, A Meriggi, S Serrano Perez. 2009. Density and habitat requirements of sympatric hares and cottontails in northern Italy. Hystrix It. J. Mamm. 20: 101-110.
54. Zar JH. 1996. Biostatistical analysis. Upple Sadle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.