Abundance indices: reliability testing is crucial - a field case of wild rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus

Marchandeau, Stéphane; Aubineau, Jacky; Berger, Francis; Gaudin, Jean-Charles; Roobrouck, Alain; Corda, Eve; Reitz, F.

doi:10.2981/0909-6396(2006)12[19:airtic]2.0.co;2

Cited by 22 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Villafuerte et al 1994;Ontiveros and Pleguezuelos 2000;Palomares 2001Palomares , 2003, this methodology is considered a controversial tool for evaluating the abundance or density of a species. Most critics of this approach cite variations in the detectability of animals over space and time as key problems (Thompson et al 1998;Anderson 2001;Marchandeau et al 2006), while others question its validity for density estimation (Engeman 2005). In our study, several factors should have contributed to the stability of rabbit detectability and the consistency of the observations: all censuses were carried out along the same 14.7-km transect; a small number of experienced observers performed the censuses; the censuses were made along firebreaks whose width was maintained over time; and the censuses were performed at dusk, when rabbit activity aboveground is least affected by environmental factors .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term decline of the European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in south-western Spain

Ayala

Quintero

et al. 2007

Wildl. Res.

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Abstract. The European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is a species native to the Iberian Peninsula, where it was once extremely abundant. It is considered the most important prey item for the peninsula's assemblage of Mediterranean vertebrate predators, which includes two endangered specialist rabbit feeders, the Spanish imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti) and the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus). However, rabbit population trends in Spain have not been accurately documented. In the present study, we analysed trends in a population of European rabbits monitored over 23 years in the Doñana National Park, home to one of the most diverse and densest predator communities in Europe. Rabbit abundance and population trends were estimated using roadside counts. Results show that the rabbit population declined sharply by ~60% during the first wave of epizootic rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD) in 1990. Since then, rabbit numbers have declined at a relatively constant rate and the species has become progressively scarcer in the area. The current population is less than 10% of that before the arrival of RHD. However, after the RHD epizootic we observed increasing intra-annual population recruitment. We hypothesise that density-dependent factors caused by enzootic viral diseases (myxomatosis, RHD) and higher predation of rabbits are the main factors preventing recovery of rabbit numbers. The effects of a decline in the prey species on the ecology of sympatric rabbit predators are discussed, and measures to improve ongoing rabbit conservation efforts are suggested.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term decline of the European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in south-western Spain

Ayala

Quintero

et al. 2007

Wildl. Res.

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“…In the unit, enumeration methods [20] (collection of cadavers) are used quite rarely for mortality estimations since they can contribute to bias results and underestimate mortality numbers as a consequence of pre-emergence death (before litters' emerge from the nest) and predation [21].…”

Section: Estimation Of Density and Mortality In 2016mentioning

confidence: 99%

A real time Taqman RT-PCR for the detection of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2)

Duarte

Carvalho

Barros

et al. 2015

Journal of Virological Methods

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“…Spotlight surveys were also utilized in many of the leporids studies and is also a reliable method (Ballinger and Morgan 2002;Caley and Morely 2002). Marchandeau et al (2006) and Barrio et al (2010) point out that rabbit behavior, depending upon weather and lunar phases impinge on the rabbit being above ground therefore, may play a big role in detectability and abundance estimates. The season and time of day may also be important to consider for the study because some rabbits are more active at dusk than they are at midnight (Barrio 2010;Ballinger and Morgan 2002) and detectability may impinge on when rabbits forage (Barrio et al 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This paper reviewed papers that came from a few European countries, but did not include all European countries.  Marchandeau et al (2006) points out that they completed their study under similar weather conditions and similar lunar phases. These factors may be important to consider for consistency in leporid studies.…”

Section: Conclusion and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Assessment of Leporid Research and Landscape Ecology Metrics in a European Landscape

Gilcrease¹

2013

Journal of Landscape Ecology

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Leporids play a dynamic role in the ecosystem and assessments must be undertaken in order to improve research efforts and methods. Landscape ecology metrics are used to quantify components of leporid habitat such as vegetation structure, vegetation cover, habitat type, and fragmentation; however, the degree to which the metrics are utilized in leporid research is relatively unknown. This paper assessed fifty-three published, peer reviewed papers on leporids from various European countries on where the study was done, the species of leporid that was studied, the content of the study (i.e. what the paper focused on), the length of the study, the size of the study area, and the method of study. The quantified landscape metrics within these papers were assessed. This study found that most of the studies occurred in Spain, the European rabbit and European hare were the most studied leporids, many papers were concerned with habitat relationships, many of the studies were conducted in a year or less, many papers utilized pellet surveys and trapping, and the most common landscape metric utilized was habitat type. This survey of research on leporids highlights that there is a lack of utilizing landscape structure and function metrics such as slope, fragmentation, and edge effect. These are important variables to help connect structure and function of ecological processes in the context of leporid habitat and landscapes. It is recommended that leporid researchers and landscape planners exchange research findings so that the best planning practices can occur on the ground for the leporids.

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Abundance indices: reliability testing is crucial - a field case of wild rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 22 publications

References 25 publications

Long-term decline of the European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in south-western Spain

Long-term decline of the European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in south-western Spain

A real time Taqman RT-PCR for the detection of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2)

An Assessment of Leporid Research and Landscape Ecology Metrics in a European Landscape

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