IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Calvete, C. | |
| Status and trends of rabbit populations in the Iberian Peninsula | |
| 2009 Book Chapter | |
The European wild rabbit (_Oryctolagus cuniculus L._) is a keystone species in Mediterranean ecosystems of the Iberian Peninsula. During the last decades wild rabbit populations have suffered a dramatic decline because of habitat loss and especially due to the incidence of myxomatosis and Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD). Currently, enhancement of rabbit populations is a primary concern in conservation; however, the impact of RHD in rabbit population dynamics seems to be one of the major challenges to rabbit recovery. Under the theoretical insights obtained in a previous RHD epidemiology modelling approach, we evaluated the possible outcomes of several rabbit management strategies. Following model assumptions, habitat improvement was the best way -alone or in combination with other management strategies- to permanently increase rabbit densities in populations at equilibrium with RHD. The enhancement of rabbit populations in areas that had not yet reached equilibrium with RHD seemed to be more complex, likely due to possible interactions of disease with other factors like predation. The misuse of translocations arose as an added obstacle to rabbit enhancement because of underlying mechanisms, such as apparent disease-mediated competition, that could yield harmful effects on native populations. More research is needed in order to evaluate the implications of RHD on rabbit biology and to provide novel approaches to rabbit management. |
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