Abstract
We studied habitat use by the wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in a coastal sand dune system in the south–western Iberian peninsula. Our goals were to define the use of this habitat by rabbits in relation to food and shelter availability between seasons. Rabbit density, food availability and refuge abundance were analysed using multiple regression analyses. We found that, independently of season, habitat selection was principally related to cover by the woody shrub Retama monosperma which rabbits use both as a food resource and as protection against predators. Although it is an invasive native plant, the benefits that R. monosperma provides.
Highlights
Habitat selection is a vital decision for animals as it affects food, shelter and reproduction (Hargis & Mc Cullough, 1984; Pulliainen & Tunkkari, 1987; Morrison et al, 1998; Bond et al, 2002)
In this study we focused our research on the dune system of 'La Flecha de El Rompido' in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula
For summer we obtained 11 models with ∆Akaike information criterion (AIC) < 2 and each explaining a similar amount of variance
Summary
Habitat selection is a vital decision for animals as it affects food, shelter and reproduction (Hargis & Mc Cullough, 1984; Pulliainen & Tunkkari, 1987; Morrison et al, 1998; Bond et al, 2002). This decision can be influenced by species’ life history traits, individual cha racteristics such as age and sex, and environmental factors such as competition, predation pressure and seasonal food supply On the Iberian Peninsula, the rabbit has a wide distribution and it has been observed in diverse ecosystems, from Mediterranean scrublands to dehesa agroecosystems, mountainous areas, and coastal sand dunes The lack of interest could be because these coastal sand dunes hold no hunting interest and house no endangered predators
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