Rabbit Oryctolagus Cuniculus Habitats in Mediterranean Scrubland: The Role of Scrub Structure and Composition

Beja, Pedro; Pais, Miguel Pessanha; Palma, Luís

doi:10.2981/0909-6396(2007)13[28:rochim]2.0.co;2

Cited by 56 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…European wild rabbits prefer areas covered with vegetation (e.g. bushes) because they are safer from birds of prey (Virgó s et al, 2003;Beja et al, 2007). The area under the platform is similar to the burrow that European wild rabbits dig for safety from predators (Lombardini et al, 2003 andPalomeras, 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of different areas of pen by growing rabbits depending on the elevated platforms’ floor-type

Szendrő

Matics

Odermatt³

et al. 2012

Animal

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The addition of platforms to rabbit cages increases their accessible area and provides rabbits greater freedom and mobility. Different types of platforms enable rabbits to situate themselves where they are most comfortable. The objective of this experiment was to analyse preference of growing rabbits between different areas of the pen depending on the elevated platforms' floor-type. Pens with a basic area of 0.84 m 2 were equipped with platforms of 0.42 m 2 . Three types of flooring of the elevated platforms were used as treatments: deep-litter floor and an open wire-net floor (Experiment 1), and a deep-litter floor and a wire-net floor with a manure tray beneath it (Experiment 2). Growing rabbits (n 5 168; 42 per treatment) between the ages of 5 and 11 weeks were studied, based on 24 h video recordings from infra-red cameras (one recording per week) applying scan sampling method with a frequency of 30 min. When the platform was deep-litter, significantly (P , 0.001) more rabbits used the area under the platform (53.7% and 54.3% in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively) than stayed on the platform (16.7% and 7.6%). In treatments of wire-net platform with and without tray beneath the platform also significantly (P , 0.001) more rabbits stayed under the platform (43.7% and 34.7%, respectively) than on the platform (19.5% and 29.9%, respectively). The differences from the expected 33.3% staying on the platform or under the platform were significant at least at the level of P , 0.05. The results show that the wire-net platform with the manure tray provides the optimal environment as it leads to the rabbits spreading themselves more evenly in the pen (i.e. the platform expands available floor area) without the risk of soiling from above, and without adverse effects on heat dissipation, and with the possibility of seeking cover when desired.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of different areas of pen by growing rabbits depending on the elevated platforms’ floor-type

Szendrő

Matics

Odermatt³

et al. 2012

Animal

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“…scrubs) for European wild rabbits (Lombardini et al, 2003(Lombardini et al, , 2007Palomeras, 2003;Beja et al, 2007). At the same time, rabbits stayed on the plasticmesh platforms more frequently than on the wire-mesh ones, probably because the plastic-mesh floors are more comfortable for the growing rabbits Szendrő and McNitt et al, 2012;Gerencsér et al, 2014, Dal Bosco et al, 2015.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carcass traits and meat quality of growing rabbits in pens with and without different multilevel platforms

et al. 2016

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The aim of this trial was to determine the effect of the presence of wire or plastic mesh elevated platforms on carcass traits and meat quality characteristics, with particular attention to the oxidative status of growing rabbits. A total of 174 five-week old rabbits were randomly divided into 3 groups with 2 replications (6 pens; 29 rabbits/pen): pens without platforms (NoP) with a stocking density of 16 rabbits/m 2 and pens with wire-mesh platforms (WP) or plastic-mesh platforms (PP) that were placed on 2 levels, with a stocking density of 16 rabbits/m 2 on the floor or 9.14 rabbits/m 2 when the platform were included. At 84 d rabbits were slaughtered. The slaughter traits and Longissimus lumborum (LL) physical and chemical compositition were not affected by treatments. Rabbits from the PP group showed the highest retinol and γ-tocotrienol content on LL muscle, whereas the NoP ones showed a higher α-tocotrienol and α-tocopherol level. The absence of platforms led to decreased (P<0.001) thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances values and induced an improvement in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Levels of linoleic, linolenic and docosahexaenoic acids were equal to those of the WP group (23.45, 3.75, 0.64% in NoP and 22.6, 4.14, 0.53% in WP, respectively) but higher than in PP rabbits (20.86, 3.05, 0.45%, respectively). It can be concluded that the pens with elevated platforms provide greater possibilities for movement, which is beneficial from the viewpoint of animal welfare. However, this greater activity influences the oxidative status of the meat, decreasing the antioxidant content and worsening the lipid oxidation of rabbit meat.

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“…For example, in some places in Europe, the European rabbit is abundant (Petrovan et al 2011); however, native to the Iberian Peninsula, the status of the European rabbit is of concern in Spain because of the declining population (e.g. Beja et al 2007;Delibes-Mateos et al 2009). This decreasing population status is echoed with the brown hare .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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Rabbit Oryctolagus Cuniculus Habitats in Mediterranean Scrubland: The Role of Scrub Structure and Composition

Cited by 56 publications

References 32 publications

Use of different areas of pen by growing rabbits depending on the elevated platforms’ floor-type

Use of different areas of pen by growing rabbits depending on the elevated platforms’ floor-type

Carcass traits and meat quality of growing rabbits in pens with and without different multilevel platforms

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

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