Diets of the Black-Tailed Hare in Steppe Vegetation

Abstract

Highlight: Thirteen species of plants were identified in fecal pellets of black-tailed hares collected from sagebrush and bitterbrush communities in southcentral Washington. Microscopic analysis of plant fragments indicated that yarrow was the most common food item in the diet, making up 25% of the overall diet. Other food items in decreasing order of importance were: turpentine cymopterus > hoary aster > needleandthread > and Jim Hill mustard. Preference indices indicated that needleandthread was the most preferred plant in the sagebrush community, while yarrow was the most preferred plant in the bitterbrush community. Although the communities were not similar in plant species frequency of Occurrence and cover, the hare diets were quite similar in both communities, indicating that hares were actively seeking preferred foods. Black-tailed hares (jackrabbits), Lepus californicus, are important herbivores on rangelands throughout the central and western United States (Hall and Kelson 1959). On many rangelands they can compete for forage with livestock and other wildlife. Hansen and Flinders (1969) have reviewed the known dietary habits of hares in North America. The objective of this investigation was to determine the dietary habits of black-tailed hares within sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) communities in southcentral Washington. The communities are utilized to some extent by mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and small mammals such as the ground squirrel (Spermophilus townsendi) but have not been grazed by livestock since 1943.