Diet Selection by the Italian Hare (Lepus corsicanus de Winton, 1898) in Two Protected Coastal Areas of Latium.

Pierangelo Freschi,Gabriella Rizzardini,Carlo Cosentino,Francesco Riga,Simonetta Fascetti,Marco Ragni,Rosanna Paolino,Mario Fortebraccio

doi:10.3390/ani12060687

Abstract

Simple SummaryIn order to better understand the ecological niche of the Italian hare, we evaluated the diet selection of the species in two protected areas of the Latium coastal environment. The main results emerging from our study were: the wide feeding spectrum of the Italian hare; the high incidence of grasses in dry and in wet season diets; the low number of plant species ingested at relatively high rates; the plastic feeding behaviour of this hare, as diet preferences changed with the variety and abundance of food species. These results highlighted the great adaptability of the species to different niches and the influence of the floristic composition on its feeding habits. In the Italian hare, the assessment of habitat suitability is of strategic importance for its conservation. In particular, feeding preferences of the species may lead to defining some food items as key plant species for identifying its elective habitat and, hence, planning effective re-introduction initiatives.This study was focused on the diet and feeding behaviour of Lepus corsicanus in two protected coastal areas of Latium, Castelporziano Presidential Estate (CPE) and Circeo National Park (CNP). Plant frequency was assessed by the quadrat method, while diet composition was determined by microhistological analysis of faecal samples. Over the year, the Italian hare fed on 185 of the 229 plant species identified in vegetation, with most of them ingested in low percentages (≤1%). During the dry season (DS), in both areas, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Cynodon dactylon, and Avena fatua were among the most consumed species. In the wet season (WS) the most common plant species in diet were B. sylvaticum, Poa trivialis, and Carex distachya in CPE and Dactylis glomerata, Cynosurus echinatus, and Spartium junceum in CNP. In both sites, considering the annual selection of life forms, grasses and leguminous forbs were preferred, while non-leguminous forbs and shrubs were used less than expected according to their availability. ANOSIM analysis showed significant differences between sites in DS and WS diets. Our study evidenced that the Italian hare behaved as generalist, revealing its capability for exploiting several plant species and to adapt its diet preferences to space-time variation of food availability.

Highlights

The areal extent of the Italian hare (Lepus corsicanus de Winton, 1898) covers central and southern Italy, Sicily, and Corsica but different size, density, and range of the Italian hare populations characterise each of these subareas [1]
In order to deepen this fundamental aspect of the trophic niche of L. corsicanus, we evaluated the effect of season on diet composition and feeding selection of the species in two protected areas of the Latium coastal environment in which there is no co-presence with L. europaeus [5]: Castelporziano Presidential Estate and Circeo National Park
The main results emerging from our study were: (a) the wide feeding spectrum of the species, since it fed annually on 185 of the 229 plant species identified in vegetation; (b) the prevalence of grasses in Castelporziano Presidential Estate (CPE) and in Circeo National Park (CNP), in dry season (DS) and in wet season (WS) diets, with the predominance of Poaceae, followed Cyperaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Asparagaceae, and Juncaeae, as other families of this life form; (c) the low number of plant species ingested at relatively high rates; (d) the plastic feeding behaviour of the Italian hare, as diet selectivity changed with the variety and abundance of food species

Summary

Introduction

The areal extent of the Italian hare (Lepus corsicanus de Winton, 1898) covers central and southern Italy, Sicily, and Corsica but different size, density, and range of the Italian hare populations characterise each of these subareas [1]. In the peninsular subareal the most critical risk factors for the species are identified in the fragmentation of the distribution area, isolation and low population density, deterioration of the habitat, the introduction of the European hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1788), and over-hunting [2]. The species occupies mainly Mediterranean environments, even if it has been observed up to altitudes close to 2000 m [5] In threatened species, such as the Italian hare, the assessment of habitat suitability is of strategic importance for their conservation. Studies on diet composition of the species, carried out in Sicily [8], Corsica [4], and in peninsular Italy [9–13], demonstrated that the Italian hare feeds on a large number of species of plants during the year, with a conspicuous presence of herbaceous ones (e.g., B. sylvaticum, Trifolium pratense, Lolium arundinaceum). Grasses and non-leguminous forbs represent the basis of the diet, with a higher incidence of Poaceae, Fabaceae, and Asteraceae in summer and of Rosaceae, Fagaceae, and Pinaceae (leaves, buds and barks) in the winter period [4,9–11]

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