The volcano rabbit—a shrinking distribution and a threatened habitat

Hoth, Jürgen; Velázquez, Alejandro; Romero, Fredi Everardo Correa; León, Lino Díaz de; Aranda, Mario; Bell, Diana

doi:10.1017/s0030605300026600

Cited by 23 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…The total rabbit population appears to be declining and some small isolated local populations may become extinct if the distribution range shrinks further. The size of the geographic range of the Amami rabbit estimated here is close to that of the volcano rabbit (280 sq km) ( Hoth et al , 1987 ; Fa & Bell, 1990). Both of these species retain primitive morphological characteristics among lagomorph species ( Chapman & Flux, 1990) and their distribution appears to have been shrinking ( Velazquez, 1994).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Distribution and abundance of the Amami rabbit Pentalagus furnessi in the Amami and Tokuno Islands, Japan

Sugimura¹,

Sato

Yamada³

et al. 2000

Oryx

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The Amami rabbit Pentalagus furnessi is a rare forest‐dwelling form endemic to the Amami and Tokuno Islands in Japan. In order to estimate the distribution and abundance of the Amami rabbit we counted their faecal pellets along forest roads and streams as well as within the forests on Amami and Tokuno Islands during January 1993–March 1995. The number of pellets/km along a stream gave a practical index for measuring relative abundance. The rabbit was estimated to be distributed over about 370 sq km on Amami Island and 33 sq km on Tokuno Island. There was a large variance in faecal abundance among the survey routes. Some populations were completely isolated and thought to be very small. The size of a local population was positively correlated with those of neighbouring populations and the amount of mature forest relative to other seral stages. We compared the results of this survey with those of previous surveys to find that the total population of this species appears to be declining. Some conservation measures are proposed for forest habitat management, designed to avert the decline of the Amami rabbit and to ensure its preservation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Distribution and abundance of the Amami rabbit Pentalagus furnessi in the Amami and Tokuno Islands, Japan

Sugimura¹,

Sato

Yamada³

et al. 2000

Oryx

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“…3), coinciding with the limit of visibility and reduced audibility from the ranger station caused by a large east-west ridge. Previous studies have also identified the negative effect of hunting pressure on volcano rabbits (Hoth et al, 1987;Velazquez, 1989;Fa & Bell, 1990;Fa et al, 1992).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Factors affecting the distribution and abundance of the Endangered volcano rabbit Romerolagus diazi on the Iztaccihuatl volcano, Mexico

Hunter

Cresswell

2014

Oryx

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The volcano rabbit Romerolagus diazi is an Endangered species endemic to Mexico, with a range of , 400 km 2 . We investigated threats from destruction, fragmentation and degradation of habitat, hunting, and cattle grazing intensity in relation to the distribution and abundance of the volcano rabbit on the Iztaccihuatl volcano. Faecal pellet counts were taken as a proxy for rabbit abundance in 1,718 random 0.2 m 2 quadrats at 859 sampling points along 25 transects, covering an area of c. 100 km 2 at altitudes of 3,400-4,000 m. Presence of the species was significantly associated with absence of closed forest, absence of long grass types (not bunchgrass), shallow inclines, absence of cattle grazing, lower altitude, low hunting pressure (measured by proximity to ranger station), absence of bare ground and, contrary to previous findings, increased frequency of fire. The species was significantly more abundant in habitats with a greater percentage cover of zacaton (bunchgrass) and short grass types. It was significantly less abundant in areas with more hunting (measured by proximity to ranger station) and cattle grazing. Key conservation priorities are therefore the protection of the subalpine zacaton bunchgrass-dominated habitat type, strict enforcement of hunting laws and the removal of livestock from relevant national park boundary areas. However, the results suggest that frequent fires have a significant positive effect on the occurrence of the volcano rabbit as a result of habitat improvement and this is often a consequence of anthropogenic management of land for cattle grazing.

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“…The volcano rabbit is considered endangered (SEMARNAT, 2010;IUCN, 2017). It is threatened by the loss and fragmentation of its habitat (Hoth et al, 1987;Velázquez et al, 2011), introduced species (dogs and cats), hunting, and more recently, climate change (López et al, 1996;Anderson et al, 2009). The main causes for the loss of habitat are anthropogenic fires, livestock grazing, and logging (López et al, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…comm.). There is also anecdotal information regarding sightings in the 1980s, but no evidence was found during a field study in 1987 (Hoth et al, 1987). In 1998, Ceballos et al (1998 reported finding dung pellets attributable to the species but no further details were given.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nevado de Toluca: habitat for Romerolagus diazi?

Monroy‐Vilchis

Agramont

González

et al. 2020

Anim. Biodiv. Conserv.

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The volcano rabbit (Romerolagus diazi), also known as teporingo or zacatuche, is a small rabbit that is endemic to Mexico. In this study we characterized its potential habitat in the Area of Protection of Flora, and Fauna Nevado de Toluca, Mexico. Between April 2016 and November 2017, we sampled 1,807 units to determine the presence of this species using indirect evidence. We found dung pellets that could be attributed to R. diazi in 41 (2.27 %) of the sampled units. In 10 % of these units, we set up camera traps to confirm the presence of the species. Sites with presumed R. diazi pellets were characterised by rocky terrain, with Pinus hartwegii as the dominant tree species, and Festuca tolucensis as the dominant grass. Overall herbaceous cover was over 70 %. Sites observed to have a negative effect on the presence of the pellets were areas with livestock grazing and induced burning. The results of camera trapping did not reveal the presence of R. diazi in Nevado de Toluca.

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The volcano rabbit—a shrinking distribution and a threatened habitat

Cited by 23 publications

References 1 publication

Distribution and abundance of the Amami rabbit Pentalagus furnessi in the Amami and Tokuno Islands, Japan

Distribution and abundance of the Amami rabbit Pentalagus furnessi in the Amami and Tokuno Islands, Japan

Factors affecting the distribution and abundance of the Endangered volcano rabbit Romerolagus diazi on the Iztaccihuatl volcano, Mexico

Nevado de Toluca: habitat for Romerolagus diazi?

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