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Occupancy, colonization and extinction patterns of rabbit populations: implications for Iberian lynx conservation

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Abstract

In Mediterranean ecosystems, rabbits are a key prey species for many predators, such as the Iberian lynx, which is threatened with extinction and has gone extinct locally in several regions of its historical distribution range. One of these regions is Serra da Malcata Nature Reserve, Portugal, which is also currently proposed as a potential site for reintroduction. We intended to investigate annual variation, potential time trends and the effects of management practices on the rabbit population in Serra da Malcata as a model for future potential reintroduction areas. The rabbit population was monitored over 12 years (from 1997 to 2009) by counting latrines along linear transects. These data were used to estimate rabbit occupancy, colonization and extinction patterns using a likelihood-based method including habitat, population and topographic covariate effects. Our results suggest that initial occupancy, when management practices were absent, was driven by the presence of Erica spp. and Cistus ladanifer shrubs and by distance to summits. Site colonization was positively influenced by the presence of edges between shrubs and pastureland and by patterns of rabbit distribution in the previous sampling season. On the other hand, local extinction was negatively influenced by edges. We conclude that the increase in rabbit occupancy and local colonization patterns was clearly associated with management actions (particularly, the creation of pasturelands), although the recovery of the species was noticeably limited by previous patterns of spatial distribution.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to Piran White, Pelayo Acevedo and Pedro Tarroso for helpful comments and to our colleagues who helped in fieldwork. We also thank I. Barrio and two anonymous referees for providing helpful comments on a previous draft of this manuscript. Part of this research was supported by LIFE project B4-32000/99/006423 “Recovery of habitat and prey of Iberian lynx in Serra da Malcata”.

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  1. Joana Cruz

    Present address: Environment Department, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CESAM and Departamento de Biologia da Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    Pedro Sarmento, Anabela Paula, Catarina Eira, Marisa Capinha, Isabel Ambrósio & Carlos Fonseca

  2. Terra eTudo Consultoria e Gestão de Recursos Naturais, Unipessoal Lda., Quinta da Rebolosa EM 566, 6090-000, Aranhas, Portugal

    Joana Cruz

  3. Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC-CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo, s/n, 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain

    Isabel Ambrósio & Catarina Ferreira

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  1. Pedro Sarmento
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Correspondence to Pedro Sarmento.

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Communicated by C. Gortázar

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Sarmento, P., Cruz, J., Paula, A. et al. Occupancy, colonization and extinction patterns of rabbit populations: implications for Iberian lynx conservation. Eur J Wildl Res 58, 523–533 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0599-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0599-6

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