Habitat overlap between sympatric European hares (Lepus europaeus) and Eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) in northern Italy

Acta Theriologica

Volumn 56, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 53-61

  Vidus Rosin, Anna ^a   Meriggi, Alberto ^a   Cardarelli, Elisa ^a   Serrano Perez, Sara ^b   Mariani, Maria Chiara ^a   Corradelli, Chiara ^a   Barba, Annalisa ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF PAVIA   (Italy)

^b UNIVERSITY OF EXTREMADURA   (Spain)

Author keywords

Habitat breadth; Habitat selection; Lepus europaeus; Northern Italy; Sylvilagus floridanus; Sympatry

Indexed keywords

LEPUS; LEPUS EUROPAEUS; SYLVILAGUS; SYLVILAGUS FLORIDANUS;

EID: 84866447071     PISSN: 00017051     EISSN: 21903743     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s13364-010-0005-x     Document Type: Article

References (61)

1. Abramsky Z. (1981) Habitat relationships and competition in two Mediterranean Apodemus spp. Oikos 36:219-225. doi:10.2307/ 3544450
2. Althoff D. P, Storm GL, Dewalle DR (1997) Daytime habitat selection by cottontails in central Pennsylvania. J Wildl Manag 61:450-459. doi:10.2307/3802603
3. Barbour M. S, Litvaitis JA (1993) Niche dimensions of New England cottontails in relation to habitat patch size. Oecol 95:321-327. doi:10.1007/BF00320983
4. Belovsky G. E (1984) Moose and snowshoe hare competition and a mechanistic explanation from foraging theory. Oecol 61:150-159. doi:10.1007/BF00396753
5. Bond B. T, Leopold BD, Burger LW Jr, Godwin KD (2001) Movements and home range dynamics of cottontail rabbits in Mississippi. J Wildl Manag 65:1004-1013. doi:10.2307/3803049
6. Bond B. T, Burger LW Jr, Leopold BD, Jones JC, Godwin KD (2002) Habitat use by cottontail rabbits across multiple spatial scales in Mississippi. J Wildl Manag 66:1171-1178. doi:10.2307/3802950
7. Bonesi L., Macdonald DW (2004) Differential habitat use promotes sustainable coexistence between the specialist otter and the generalist mink. Oikos 106:509-519. doi:10.1111/j.0030-1299.2004.13034.x
8. Bonesi L., Chanin P, Macdonald DW (2004) Competition between Eurasian otter Luta lutra and American mink Mustela vison probed by niche shift. Oikos 106:19-26. doi:10.1111/j.0030-1299.2004.12763.x
9. Bonino N., Sbriller A, Manacorda MM, Larosa F (1997) Food partitioning between the mara (Dolichotius patagonum) and the introduced hare (Lepus europaeus) in the Monte Desert, Argentina. Stud Neotrop Fauna & Environ 32:129-134
10. Brown J. S (1996) Coevolution and community organization in three habitats. Oikos 75:193-206. doi:10.2307/3546243
11. Buckland S. T, Anderson DR, Burnham KP, Laake JL, Thomas L (2001) Introduction to distance sampling: estimating abundance of biological populations. Oxford University press, Oxford
12. Burnham K. P, Anderson DR, Laake JL (1985) Efficiency and bias in strip and line transect sampling. J Wildl Manag 49:1012-1018. doi:10.2307/3801387
13. Chesson P. L (1978) Measuring preference in selective predation. Ecol 59:211-215. doi:10.2307/1936364
14. Cowan D., Bell DJ (1986) Leporid social behaviour and social organization. Mamm Rev 16:169-179. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.1986.tb00039.x
15. Dixon P. M (1993) The bootstrap and the jackknife: describing the precision of ecological indices. In: Scheiner SM, Gurevitch J (eds) Design and analysis of ecological experiments. Chapman and Hall, New York, pp 290-318
16. Fa J. A, Romero FJ, Paniagua LP (1992) Habitat use by parapatric rabbits in a Mexican high-altitude grassland system. J Anim Ecol 29:357-370. doi:10.2307/2404505
17. Feinsinger P., Spears EE, Poole RW (1981) A simple measure of niche breadth. Ecol 62:27-32. doi:10.2307/1936664
18. Fretwell S. D, Lucas HL (1970) On the territorial behaviour and other factors influencing habitat distribution in birds. I Theoretical Development Acta Biotheor 19:16-36. doi:10.1007/BF01601953
19. Hayward M. W, Kerley GIH (2008) Prey preferences and dietary overlap amongst Africa's large predators. South African J Wildl Res 38:93-108. doi:10.3957/0379-4369-38.2.93
20. Hayward M. W, Slotow R (2009) Temporal partitioning of activity in large African carnivores: tests of multiple hypotheses. South African J Wildl Res 39:109-125. doi:10.3957/056.039.0207
21. Hurlbert S. T (1978) The measurement of niche overlap and some relatives. Ecol 59:67-77. doi:10.2307/1936632
22. Katona K., Biro Z, Hahn I, Kertesz M, Altbacker V (2004) Competition between European hare and European rabbit in a lowland area, Hungary: a long-term ecology study in the period of rabbit extinction. Folia Zool 53:255-268
23. Kie J. G (1999) Optimal foraging and risk of predation: effects on behavior and social structure in ungulates. J Mamm 80:114-1129. doi:10.2307/1383163
24. Krebs C. J (1999) Ecological methodology, 2nd edn. Addison-Welsey, Canada
25. Langbein J., Hutchings MR, Harris S, Stoate C, Tapper SC, Wray S (1999) Techniques for assessing the abundance of Brown Hares Lepus europaeus. Mamm Rev 29:93-116. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2907.1999.00040.x
26. Litvaitis A. J, Sherburne JA, Bissonette JA (1985a) A comparison of methods used to examine snowshoe hare habitat use. J of Wildl Manag 49:693-695. doi:10.2307/3801696
27. Litvaitis A. J, Sherburne JA, Bissonette JA (1985b) Influence of understory characteristics on snowshoe hare habitat use and density. J Wildl Manag 49:866-873. doi:10.2307/3801359
28. Mankin P. C, Warner RE (1999) Responses of Eastern cottontails to intensive row-crop farming. J Mamm 80:940-949. doi:10.2307/ 1383264
29. Manly B. FJ, Miller P, Cook LM (1972) Analysis of a selective predation experiment. Am Nat 106:719-736. doi:10.1086/282808
30. Manly B. FJ, McDonald LL, Thomas DL, McDonald TL, Erickson WP (1993) Resource selection by animals: statistical design and analysis for field studies. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht
31. Manor R., Saltz D (2008) Conservation implications of competition between generalist and specialist rodents in Mediterranean afforested landscape. Biodivers Conserv 17:2513-2523. doi:10.1007/s10531-008-9397-1
32. Meriggi A. (2001) Sylvilagus floridanus (Allen, 1890), Silvilago, Minilepre. In: Prigioni C, Cantini M, Zilio A (eds) Atlante dei mammiferi della Lombardia. Regione Lombardia e Università degli Studi di Pavia, Milano, pp 144-146
33. Meriggi A., Alieri R (1989) Factors affecting brown hare density in northern Italy. Ethol, Ecol and Evolut 1:255-264. doi:10.1080/ 08927014.1989.9525515
34. Meriggi A., Verri A (1990) Population dynamics and habitat selection of European hare on poplar monocultures in northern Italy. Acta Theriol 35:69-76
35. Meriggi A., Ferloni M, Geremia R (2001) Studio sul successo dei ripopolamenti di Lepre. Università degli Studi di Pavia, Pavia
36. Mitchell-Jones A. J, Amori G, Bodganowicz W, Krystufek B, Reijnder PJK, Spitzenberger F, Stubbe M, Thissen JBM, Vohralik V, Zima J (1999) Atlas of European mammals. Academic, London
37. Morgan K. A, Gates JE (1983) Use of forest edge and strip vegetation by eastern cottontails. J Wildl Manag 47:259-264. doi:10.2307/ 3808081
38. Morris D. W (1996) Coexistence of specialist and generalist rodents via habitat selection. Ecol 77:2352-2364
39. Norusis M. J (1992) SPSS/PC+Base system user's guide, Vers. 5.0. SPSS Inc, Chicago
40. Norusis M. J (1999) SPSS/PC+advanced models, Vers. 9.0. SPSS Inc, Chicago
41. Partridge L. (1978) Habitat selection. In: Krebs JR, Davies NB (eds) Behavioural ecology. An evolutionary approach. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, pp 351-376
42. Pépin D., Angibault JM (2007) Selection of resting sites by the European hare as related to habitat characteristics during agricultural changes. Eur J Wildl Res 53:183-189. doi:10.1007/ s10344-007-0087-1
43. Pianka E. R (1981) Competition and niche theory. In: May RM (ed) Theoretical ecology. Principles and applications. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, pp 167-196
44. Pimm S. L, Rosenzweig ML (1981) Competitors and habitat use. Oikos 37:1-6. doi:10.2307/3544067
45. Reichlin T., Klansek E, Hacklander K (2006) Diet selection by hares (Lepus europaeus) in arable land and its implications for habitat management. Eur J Wildl Res 52:109-118. doi:10.1007/s10344-005-0013-3
46. Roedenbeck I. A, Voser P (2008) Effects of roads on spatial distribution, abundance and mortality of brown hare (Lepus europaeus) in Switzerland. Eur J Wildl Res 54:425-437. doi:10.1007/s10344-007-0166-3
47. Rosenzweig M. L (1981) A theory of habitat selection. Ecol 62:327-335. doi:10.2307/1936707
48. Rosenzweig M. L (1991) Habitat selection and population interactions: the search for mechanism. Am Nat 137:S5-S28. doi:10.1086/ 285137
49. Santilli F., Galardi L (2006) Factors affecting Brown hare (Lepus europaeus) hunting bags in Tuscany region (central Italy). Hystrix-It J Mammal 17:143-153
50. Silvano F., Acquarone C, Cucco M (2000) Distribution of the eastern cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus in the Province of Alessandria. Hystrix-It J Mammal 11:75-78
51. Smith D. F, Litvaitis JA (2000) Foraging strategies of sympatric lagomorphs: implications for differential success in fragmented landscapes. Can J Zool 78:2134-2141. doi:10.1139/cjz-78-12-2134
52. Smith R. K, Jennings NV, Robinson A, Harris S (2004) Conservation of European hares Lepus europaeus in Britain: is increasing habitat heterogeneity in farmland the answer? J Appl Ecol 41:1092-1102. doi:10.1111/j.0021-8901.2004.00976.x
53. Smith R. K, Jennings NV, Harris S (2005) A quantitative analysis of the abundance and demography of European hares Lepus europaeus in relation to habitat type, intensity of agriculture and climate. Mamm Rev 35:1-24. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.2005.00057.x
54. Spagnesi M. (2002) Silvilago, Sylvilagus floridanus. In: Spagnesi M, De Marinis A. M (eds) Mammiferi d'Italia. Quaderni di Conservazione della Natura. Ministero Ambiente-Istituto Nazionale della fauna Selvatica, Bologna, pp 144-146
55. Swihart K. R (1986) Home range-Body mass allometry in rabbits and hares (Leporidae). Acta Theriol 31:139-148
56. Swihart R. K, Yahner RH (1982) Habitat features influencing use of farmstead shelterbelts by Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus). Am Midl Nat 107:411-414. doi:10.2307/2425395
57. Swihart R. K, Yahner RH (1984) Winter use of insular habitat patches by the Eastern cottontail. Acta Theriol 29:45-56
58. Tapper S., Barnes RFW (1986) Influence of farming practice on the ecology of the Brown hare (Lepus europaeus). J Appl Ecol 23:39-52. doi:10.2307/2403079
59. Vance D. R (1976) Changes in land use and wildlife populations in southeastern Illinois. Wildl Soc Bul 4:11-15
60. Vaughan N., Lucas E, Harris S, White PCL (2003) Habitat associations of European hares Lepus europaeus in England and Wales: implications for farmland management. J Appl Ecol 40:163-175. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2664.2003.00784.x
61. Vidus Rosin A., Gilio N, Meriggi A (2008) Introduced Lagomorphs as a threat to "native" Lagomorphs: the case of the Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) in northern Italy. In: Alves PC, Ferrand N, Hacklander K (eds) Lagomorph biology. Evolution, ecology and conservation. Springer, Eidenberg, pp 153-165