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Key factors determining the seasonal population growth rate of European wild rabbits and their implications for management

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Abstract

Recently, the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) has received contrasting considerations due to its multidimensional role in the Mediterranean ecosystems. Within this framework, knowledge of factors determining its population size may have important consequences for designing an effective management plan. In this paper, we quantified the combined influence of the major demographic and mechanistic factors on seasonal population fluctuation of European rabbits on Lemnos Island (Greece), during 2007–2009. We developed a hypothetical model taking into account direct (productivity, predation, hunting pressure, food shortage, habitat treatment) and indirect factors (soil moisture, adverse weather conditions) using structural equation modeling. We tested for their influence on the seasonal population growth rate (spgr) as determined by line transects to estimate rabbit abundance. The productivity induced higher pgr. Food shortage, which is affected by low soil moisture during the late summer and early autumn, is demonstrated to be the most important negative factor followed by the hunting pressure and predation. Demographic and mechanistic factors highlighted in this analysis could be used either for conservation or for controlling populations of the species.

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Acknowledgments

This research is part of a Ph.D. thesis, and supported partly financially by the Prefecture of Lesbos. Thanks are given to Professors N. Papageorgiou, C. Vlachos, and V. Papanastasis for their valuable comments during this research. We are most grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their insightful suggestions for the improvement of the manuscript. Furthermore, we would like to thank Mrs Margaret Gallacher for her linguistic assistance and Dr P. Xofis for his fruitful comments on this article. The Ministry of Rural Development and Food is also acknowledged for the permission to collect data. The study was conducted according to the Greek and EU laws.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wildlife Management and Freshwater Fisheries, School of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54006, Thessaloniki, Greece

    V. J. Kontsiotis, D. E. Bakaloudis & A. C. Tsiompanoudis

  2. Department of Forestry and Management of Natural Environment, Technological Educational Institute of Kavala, 1st km Drama-Mikrohori, 661 00, Drama, Greece

    D. E. Bakaloudis

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  1. V. J. Kontsiotis
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  2. D. E. Bakaloudis
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  3. A. C. Tsiompanoudis
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Correspondence to D. E. Bakaloudis.

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Communicated by C. Gortazar

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Kontsiotis, V.J., Bakaloudis, D.E. & Tsiompanoudis, A.C. Key factors determining the seasonal population growth rate of European wild rabbits and their implications for management. Eur J Wildl Res 59, 495–503 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-013-0697-8

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