Seasonal diet of rabbits and their browsing effect on juniper in Bugac Juniper Forest (Hungary)

Mátrai, Katalin; Altbäcker, Vilmos; Hahn, István

doi:10.4098/at.arch.98-8

Cited by 25 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Probably, they include in the diet some other species in other parts of the island, when these plants are more locally distributed. However, this reliance on a few species is in agreement with similar studies elsewhere in the world (Chapuis 1979, Crawley 1983, Wallage-Dress and Deinum 1986, Chapuis and Gaudin 1995, Matrai et al 1998.…”

Section: Dietsupporting

confidence: 75%

Seasonal variation in the diet of wild rabbitsOryctolagus cuniculus on a semiarid Atlantic island (Alegranza, Canarian Archipelago)

2003

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

P. and Nogales M. 2003. Seasonal variation in the diet of wild rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus on a semiarid Atlantic island (Alegranza, Canarian Archipelago). Acta Theriologica 48: 399-410.The diet of the wild rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus (Linnaeus, 1758) on Alegranza Island (Canary Islands) was studied by microhistological examination of faecal samples. We compared the presence of each food-plant species in the faeces across a year in comparison with plant availability. Two areas were studied, Llano de la Vega and La Caldera. At the first site, Suaeda vera and Chenoleoides tomentosa were the most common plants, while at the latter it was Euphorbia regis-jubae. In general, species belonging to the Chenopodiaceae were most commonly eaten by rabbits. Plants such as Chenoleoides tomentosa and Salsola vermiculata were most important in the diet in every season. Levin's niche-breadth was broader across the seasons in the study site of La Caldera than at Llano de la Vega. Furthermore, this parameter yielded the highest values (broadest niche) during the spring at both sites. Most important plants eaten by rabbits showed green vegetative parts through all seasons. Rabbits selected some plants independently of their availability, even in this reduced insular environment. The feeding behaviour of rabbits in Alegranza, selecting certain species, must have had important consequences on the composition and distribution of the vegetation over the years. This negative effect on island vegetation has been shown to occur on many oceanic islands of the world where rabbits have been introduced.

show abstract

Section: Dietsupporting

confidence: 75%

Seasonal variation in the diet of wild rabbitsOryctolagus cuniculus on a semiarid Atlantic island (Alegranza, Canarian Archipelago)

2003

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We also restricted the opportunity for the subjects to sample the offered food to experimental sessions (1.5 h every 10 days) because the shorter the opportunity for subjects to sample the offered foods, the longer the duration of any social influence on food preferences. Another issue that should be considered is mother diet composition, which might highly influence dietary preferences of young tuco-tucos (e.g., Bilkó et al 1994;Mátrai et al 1998;Shalev et al 2010). It could be possible that the mothers had been eating the study plants in equal proportions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of maternal odors on foraging behavior during postnatal development in a solitary subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum

Echeverría

Vassallo

2011

acta ethol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We investigated the role of maternal odors emanating from excretory deposits and/or glandular secretions during the postnatal development of foraging and related behaviors in young Los Talas' tuco-tucos (Ctenomys talarum), a solitary rodent, under seminatural conditions. During cafeteria tests, we offered them two of the grasses most preferred by adults of this species (bromegrass, Bromus unioloides and panicgrass, Panicum racemosum). We scent marked one dietary option in a treatment group, and the other option in a second treatment group, keeping a third group with no odors as control. Pups did not show to prefer a special grass in particular, and maternal odors showed no effect on the behavioral variables evaluated in this study. When they reached their weaning age, they showed an ontogenetic change in food preferences, where they preferred bromegrass, and maternal odors influenced negatively on the consumption of panicgrass. During dispersal, preference for bromegrass was expressed independently of the presence of maternal odors. Overall, their effect was less pronounced than age's effect, and it was evident in only a subset of the conducted experiments. This study shows that the influence of maternal odors is not essential for the establishment of feeding or site preferences in this species in seminatural conditions, contrarily to what was observed in other studies performed with social mammal species (i.e., rats and rabbits). It is suggested that other factors (e.g., individual learning) might influence the observed preferences.

show abstract

“…Although the faecal analysis is one of the most-used methods nowadays for every kind of mammals (e.g., Genovesi et al 1996;Haken and Batzli 1996;Massemin et al 1996;Wolfe et al 1996;Schulz and Wainer 1997;Guicho´n and Cassini 1998;Ma´trai et al 1998;Puig et al 1998;Van Horne et al 1998), some disadvantages are difficult to solve. The method requires the postulate that, in an opportunistic forager, the consumed foods are found in similar proportions in the faeces.…”

Section: Evaluation Of the Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The diet of the Alpine mouse Apodemus alpicola in the Swiss Alps

Reutter¹,

Bertouille²,

Vogel³

2005

Mammalian Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this study, we used faecal analysis to determine the diet of the alpine mouse Apodemus alpicola in the field for the first time. This species consumes mainly insects in spring and fruits and seeds of small herbaceous dicotyledons in summer and autumn. Compared to the two congeneric species A. flavicollis and A. sylvaticus, which also occur in the Alps, the diet of A. alpicola is rich in contrasts, with a very pronounced difference between spring and summer. The absence of tree seeds also suggests a mostly terrestrial behaviour. We explain these facts by the specificity of the habitat of A. alpicola: the extreme weather conditions produce great seasonal changes in the vegetation, and the rocky ground favours the adaptation to rock climbing rather than to arboreal living.

show abstract

Seasonal diet of rabbits and their browsing effect on juniper in Bugac Juniper Forest (Hungary)

Cited by 25 publications

References 13 publications

Seasonal variation in the diet of wild rabbitsOryctolagus cuniculus on a semiarid Atlantic island (Alegranza, Canarian Archipelago)

Seasonal variation in the diet of wild rabbitsOryctolagus cuniculus on a semiarid Atlantic island (Alegranza, Canarian Archipelago)

Role of maternal odors on foraging behavior during postnatal development in a solitary subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum

The diet of the Alpine mouse Apodemus alpicola in the Swiss Alps

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About