The paradox of endangered European rabbits regarded as pests on the Iberian Peninsula: Trends in subspecies matter
| Autor: | Vicente Piorno, Patricia H. Vaquerizas, Rafael Villafuerte, Francisca Castro, Beatriz Arroyo, Miguel Delibes-Mateos |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España) |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Oryctolagus cuniculus cuniculus Endangered species Zoology Subspecies 01 natural sciences 03 medical and health sciences Peninsula lcsh:Botany Oryctolagus cuniculus algirus lcsh:Zoology biology.domesticated_animal lcsh:QL1-991 Management strategies 030304 developmental biology Nature and Landscape Conservation 0303 health sciences geography geography.geographical_feature_category Ecology biology Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus humanities lcsh:QK1-989 010601 ecology European rabbit |
| Zdroj: | Endangered Species Research, Vol 43, Pp 99-102 (2020) Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC instname |
| Popis: | The European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus faces a paradoxical situation in its native range on the Iberian Peninsula. While many populations have declined sharply due to a new variant of the rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV-b), others remain healthy. The latter populations, which flourish mostly on farmland, cause significant crop damage. We explored if this difference could be related to the existence of the 2 rabbit subspecies (O. c. algirus and O. c. cuniculus) that coexist allopatrically on the Iberian Peninsula. Potential differences in population trends between rabbit subspecies may also be relevant in assisting the conservation of endangered rabbit-dependent predators which mainly occur in the distribution area of O. c. algirus. To test this, we assessed rabbit trends after the outbreak of RHDV-b by an online questionnaire to the senior administrative officers of all provincial official game departments throughout peninsular Spain (n = 47). A generalized negative trend was reported by officers in the distribution area of O. c. algirus, while a more stable or even positive trend was reported in the distribution area of O. c. cuniculus. We point to the need for establishing a long-term rabbit population monitoring programme on the Iberian Peninsula to further confirm the observed patterns, but also to contribute to evidence-based management decision-making. Our results suggest a need to apply different management systems for each rabbit subspecies. P.H.V. was supported by a grant (FPU17/04821) from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. This study was partially funded by Projects 201810I026 and 202010E004 financed by CSIC. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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