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When more is less: the negative effect of European rabbit release upon local warren occupancy

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Abstract

European rabbit translocation is an extended practice in Spain, France, and Portugal, for both conservation and hunting purposes. Some of these translocations are carried out with the aim of reinforcing existing rabbit populations. In these cases, some of the new rabbits are released into warrens already occupied by resident conspecifics. This could have a negative impact upon both the released and the resident individuals owing to the “dear enemy” effect and the territoriality of the resident rabbits. In this study, we evaluated the effect of rabbit release into occupied warrens, in small areas populated by low-density resident rabbit populations. We observed negative effects at two different levels: the number of active entrances per recipient warren and the number of active warrens per reinforced plot, in addition to a general lack of increase in rabbit abundance in the area and, therefore, the failure of the reinforcement actions. Our results strongly suggest that the release of European rabbits into warrens occupied by resident rabbits is contraindicated if the objective is to recover rabbit populations in the area.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Prometeo Project of the Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry of the Republic of Ecuador for its financial support, Dr. Sebastian Interlandi for his comments on the manuscript, and Scott Lowrey and Sally Newton for correcting the grammar and style.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biodiversity, Forests and Ecosystem Services Research Program, Dirección de Investigación, Universidad Nacional de Loja, La Argelia. EC, 110101, Loja, Ecuador

    Leire Ruiz-Aizpurua

  2. Departamento de Zoología, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071, Córdoba, Spain

    Francisco S. Tortosa

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  1. Leire Ruiz-Aizpurua
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  2. Francisco S. Tortosa
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Correspondence to Leire Ruiz-Aizpurua.

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Ruiz-Aizpurua, L., Tortosa, F.S. When more is less: the negative effect of European rabbit release upon local warren occupancy. acta ethol 21, 101–107 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-018-0286-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-018-0286-7

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