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European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) as seed disperser in arid ecotones of Argentina: non-native herbivore facilitation of native and non-native plants

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Abstract

The European rabbit plays a major role in seed dispersal in its native environment. We evaluated its ecological interactions with plants through the dispersal of seeds by endozoochory in two invaded arid ecotones of Argentina. We found 855 whole seeds in 1283 fecal pellets, belonging to one non-native (Sesuvium portulacastrum) and five native plants (Arjona sp., Fabiana denudata, Frankenia juniperoides, Lycium chilensis, Poa sp.). Our results indicate that the European rabbit is a legitimate disperser of F. juniperoides, L. chilensis, and S. portulacastrum by the consumption and dissemination of viable seeds. Contrastingly, the rabbit is an illegitimate disperser of Arjona sp., F. denudata, and Poa sp. Our study identifies new interactions between an invasive herbivore and sympatric plants in the arid ecosystems of Argentina. We put forth that the mutualistic interaction between the European rabbit and both native and non-native plants highlights the complexity of trophic networks in invaded environments.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to all the volunteers, students, and colleagues for helping us with the field work. Lucrecia Pearson assisted with the English version of this typescript. We are grateful to the staff of the Natural Reserve of Laguna de Llancanelo and that of the Natural Reserve Caverna de las Brujas-Bardas Blancas village. Diego Zeverini and Paula Cornejo provided advice and assistance with laboratory work and Lorena Bonjour assisted with botanical identification. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on this paper. We acknowledge the continuous support of our respective institutions: IADIZA-CONICET and CCT Mendoza of Argentina and the Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES) of Chile.

Funding

This study was supported by the Rufford Foundation (21499–1), Sociedad Argentina para el Estudio de los Mamíferos (Osvaldo Reig Postgraduate Award 2018), Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (PICT 4504/2017), and ANID PIA/BASAL FB0002.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecología de Mamíferos de Tierras Secas, Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de Zonas Áridas (IADIZA), CCT-Mendoza CONICET, Avenida Ruiz Leal S/N - Parque General San Martín, M5500, Mendoza, Argentina

    S. Yasmin Bobadilla, E. T. Olivares & M. F. Cuevas

  2. Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 8331150, Santiago, CP, Chile

    F. M. Jaksic

  3. Laboratorio de Filogeografía, Taxonomía Integrativa Y Ecología (LFTIE), IADIZA, CCT-Mendoza CONICET, Avenida Ruiz Leal S/N - Parque General San Martín, M5500, Mendoza, Argentina

    R. A. Ojeda

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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by S.Y. Bobadilla, E. T. Olivares, F. M. Jaksic, R. A. Ojeda, and M. F. Cuevas. The first draft of the manuscript was written by S.Y. Bobadilla and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Bobadilla, S.Y., Olivares, E.T., Jaksic, F.M. et al. European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) as seed disperser in arid ecotones of Argentina: non-native herbivore facilitation of native and non-native plants. Mamm Res 68, 625–635 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-023-00712-3

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