Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) on Islands: A Case-Study of Successful Colonization

Armstrong, Patrick

doi:10.2307/2844722

Cited by 16 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Species have been colonizing new areas as long as they have existed, but the rate of colonization has increased markedly through man's peripatetic nature (Simberloff 1986, di Castri 1989. New species have been introduced as game, for biological control, for aesthetic purposes, or unintentionally as stowaways (Mayr 1964, Roots 1976, Armstrong 1982, den Hartog and van der Velde 1987, Le Hénaff and Crête 1989. However, most introductions fail (Berry et al 1982, den Hartog andvan der Velde 1987), often due to nonoptimal design or being performed in a way unsuitable for successful colonization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colonization Success in Roesel's Bush-Cricket Metrioptera roeseli: The Effects of Propagule Size

Berggren¹

2001

Ecology

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Assessing the colonizing ability of a species is important for predicting its future distribution or for planning the introduction or reintroduction of that species for conservation purposes. The best way to assess colonizing ability is by making experimental introductions of the species and monitoring the outcome. In this study, different-sized propagules of Roesel's bush-cricket, Metrioptera roeseli, were experimentally introduced into 70 habitat islands, previously uninhabited by the species, in farmland fields in southeastern Sweden. The areas of introduction were carefully monitored for 2-3 yr to determine whether the propagules had successfully colonized the patches. The study showed that large propagules resulted in larger local populations during the years following introduction. Probability of colonization for each propagule size was measured and showed that propagule size had a significant effect on colonization success, i.e., large propagules were more successful in colonizing new patches. If future introductions were to be made with this or a similar species, a propagule size of at least 32 individuals would be required to establish a viable population with a high degree of certainty.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colonization Success in Roesel's Bush-Cricket Metrioptera roeseli: The Effects of Propagule Size

Berggren¹

2001

Ecology

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“…Loope, Hamann and Stone (1988) attempted an interesting comparison of the conservation biology of the Hawaiian and Galapagos archipelagos, emphasising particularly the effects of introduced organisms. Armstrong (1982) attempted this for the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), Coblenz (1978) for the goat (Capra hircus). A slightly different approach is to compare the invasion history and ecological effects of the same species on many different islands.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Human impacts on Australia's Indian Ocean tropical island ecosystems: A review

Armstrong

1992

Environmentalist

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“…The final number of rabbits in an enclosure were not correlated with the initial abundance or area of each enclosure. The enclosure areas ranged from 6 to 10 ha and are in the range for island rabbit populations described by Armstrong (1982;cited in Flux 1993) as having unstable rabbit populations with high probability of extinction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An experimental study of declining populations

2005

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Wildlife population declines have been attributed to predation, habitat change, and other agents of decline. An experimental study applied predation (at three levels) and habitat (at two levels) treatments over two years and measured the patterns of decline of populations of a medium-sized mammal (European rabbits). A model of population dynamics and effects of the treatments predicted negative effects of both treatments and an interaction of the treatments. All populations declined during the study including the experimental controls. During the first seven months (first phase of the study) the rate of decline, as estimated by the observed monthly instantaneous rate of increase (r), was more negative (P < 0.05) with increasing predation levels but there was no effect (P > 0.05) of habitat manipulation on r. There were no significant effects of treatments on rabbit abundance, or density, during the first phase of the study. During the second phase of the study, of 12 months’ duration, there were no significant (P > 0.05) effects of treatments on rabbit abundance, density, or r. There were no significant (P > 0.05) interactions of treatments on any response variable during either phase of the study. The interaction predicted by the theoretical model was not supported. Estimated abundance at the end of the study was not related (P > 0.05) to initial abundance (correlation = 0.023). The implications of the results are that such experimental studies can be used to evaluate theoretical models, though such studies may require a larger number of treatment replicates, and treatments at more extreme levels, to more clearly detect the effects of agents of population decline and their interactions.

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Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) on Islands: A Case-Study of Successful Colonization

Cited by 16 publications

References 36 publications

Colonization Success in Roesel's Bush-Cricket Metrioptera roeseli: The Effects of Propagule Size

Colonization Success in Roesel's Bush-Cricket Metrioptera roeseli: The Effects of Propagule Size

Human impacts on Australia's Indian Ocean tropical island ecosystems: A review

An experimental study of declining populations

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