Lepus Species Research Articles

Ancient introgression of Lepus timidus mtDNA into L. granatensis and L. europaeus in the Iberian Peninsula

A 587 bp fragment of cytochrome b sequences from 90 individuals of 15 hare ( Lepus) species and two outgroups were phylogenetically analysed and compared to an analysis derived from 474 bp sequences of the nuclear transferrin gene. Mountain hare ( Lepus timidus) type mtDNA was observed in L. granatensis and L. europaeus from the Iberian Peninsula, far away from the extant distributional range of L. timidus. In addition to these two hare species, other hare species may also contain mtDNA from L. timidus. This species may have introgressed with other species of Lepus that occur within its present range, or where fossils indicate its historical presence during glacial periods. L. timidus mtDNA is common in the northern part of the L. granatensis range. Finally, we reassessed the phylogenetic relationships of the five European hare species based on both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences.

Evidence of self‐limitation in wild vertebrate populations

Whether animal populations are regulated by social behaviour at levels limited by their food supplies (Lack 1954) or safely below the threat of starvation (WynneEdwards 1962) is still in dispute. Prudent restraint (which Wynne-Edwards refers to as self-regulation or self-limitation) involves a degree of altruism that he thought unlikely to evolve under individual selection, so he invoked group selection (Wynne-Edwards 1962, 1986). The subsequent heated debate was largely defused by the recognition of kin selection and the everwidening concept of inclusive fitness (e.g. Mayr 1991, Bell 1997), and by the demonstration that at least some forms of altruism can arise under individual selection. However, the basic problem remains: does social behaviour regulate populations at, or prudently below, their food limits? This problem needs to be examined independently of its mechanism of evolution. A comparison of the population densities attained by species and their domesticated forms, whose social behaviour has been disrupted by long-term selection for tolerance to crowding given unrestricted food, could provide a measure of this effect of social behaviour. The remarkably different densities attained by European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.)) and brown hares (Lepus europaeus Pallas) are instructive. Rabbits often exceed densities of 100/ha, and can reach 200/ha on productive land and fertile islands (Thompson and King 1994). They have also been recorded to overeat their food supply and starve to death in enclosures (Gibb et al. 1978), on islands (Flux and Fullagar 1992), and on the mainland (Rolls 1969). Hares use the same grassland habitats as rabbits, and 78% of their diets overlap (Homolka 1987); yet hare populations seldom exceed 2/ha and the highest density ever reported, on a predator-free island with very favourable habitat, was 3.4/ha (Abildgard et al. 1972). As hares are only twice the weight of rabbits, they are obviously far below any significant food limit. This I demonstrated to my own satisfaction by keeping three pet hares in cages and feeding them for a year on vegetation collected from a 0.2-ha field, an effective density five times higher than any population has ever reached. Because rabbits and hares are important game animals, they have been introduced onto hundreds of islands, and frequently onto the same island in turn; so these highest density figures are based on a large data set (Flux and Fullagar 1992). The mean and range of the highest biomass recorded for each species of lagomorph listed by Chapman and Flux (1990) are as follows: for 12 species of Ochotona, 8.75 (0.7-38.0) kg/ha; for 14 species of Lepus, 8.96 (0.08-40.3) kg/ha; and for six species of rabbits excluding Oryctolagus, 6.28 (0.3-18.0) kg/ha. Clearly it is the European rabbit, with peak biomass reaching 330 kg/ha, which is exceptional rather than the brown hare at 13.6 kg/ha. The anomaly can be explained by Fitter's (1959) suggestion that the wild European rabbit was really a form, domesticated by monks for over 600 years, which is supported by recent DNA analyses (Thompson and King 1994). These rabbits were liberated on more than 800 islands (Flux and Fullagar 1992) and are the stock present in Australia, New Zealand, and South America, where their catastrophic effects on agriculture are well documented (Thompson and King 1994). A domestic animal is defined by Collins English Dictionary (1992) as one bred or kept by man as a pet or for purposes such as the supply of food; and feral as existing in a state, esp. after being domestic. A general review is outside the scope of this note, but ungulates seem to show the same pattern: goats on Macaulay Island, New Zealand, reached a biomass of 300 kg/ha (King 1990), while the biomass of all large herbivores combined in 24 African wildlife areas averaged 64.6 (4.1-199) kg/ha (Coe et al. 1976). The classic plague irruptions of species, such as lemmings,

Mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequence diversity in the Korean hare, Lepus coreanus Thomas (Mammalia, Lagomorpha).

Partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene of the Korean hare (Lepus coreanus) were analyzed to determine the degree of genetic diversity. Nine haplotypes were observed, and the maximum Tamura-Nei nucleotide distance among them was 2.8%, indicating that genetic diversity of L. coreanus is moderate. In order to clarify the Korean hare's taxonomic status and relationship with the Manchurian hare (L. mandshuricus) and the Chinese hare (L. sinensis), these nine haplotypes of the Korean hare were compared with 13 haplotypes from five other species of eastern Asian Lepus including L. mandshuricus and L. sinensis. The Korean hare was distinct in its cytochrome b gene, and it is confirmed that L. coreanus is a valid species, as noted by Jones and Johnson (1965, Univ. Kansas Publ. (Mus. Nat. Hist.) 16:357). Further analyses of mtDNA cytochrome b gene with additional specimens of L. coreanus from North Korea and other species of Lepus from eastern Asia are needed to clarify the taxonomic status of the divergent mtDNA clades of L. mandshuricus and L. sinensis.

CytochromebPhylogeny of North American Hares and Jackrabbits (Lepus,Lagomorpha) and the Effects of Saturation in Outgroup Taxa

Jackrabbits and hares, members of the genusLepus,comprise over half of the species within the family Leporidae (Lagomorpha). Despite their ecological importance, potential economic impact, and worldwide distribution, the evolution of hares and jackrabbits has been poorly studied. We provide an initial phylogenetic framework for jackrabbits and hares so that explicit hypotheses about their evolution can be developed and tested. To this end, we have collected DNA sequence data from a 702-bp region of the mitochondrial cytochromebgene and reconstructed the evolutionary history (via parsimony, neighbor joining, and maximum likelihood) of 11 species ofLepus,focusing on North American taxa. Due to problems of saturation, induced by multiple substitutions, at synonymous coding positions between the ingroup taxa and the outgroups (OryctolagusandSylvilagus), both rooted and unrooted trees were examined. Variation in tree topologies generated by different reconstruction methods was observed in analyses including the outgroups, but not in the analyses of unrooted ingroup networks. Apparently, substitutional saturation hindered the analyses when outgroups were considered. The trees based on the cytochromebdata indicate that the taxonomic status of some species needs to be reassessed and that species ofLepuswithin North America do not form a monophyletic entity.

Biometric and morphologic features of the species of the genus Lepus in Spain

Biometric and morphologic features of the species of the genus Lepus in Spain

Key to the South African Leporidae (Mammalia: Lagomorpha)

An identification scheme for the South African Leporidae based on results from detailed morphometric analyses, comparative karyology, interspecific variation in cross-sections through the principal upper incisors, sperm morphology, elec-trophoretic analyses of blood proteins and qualitative pelage characteristics is presented. The key provides for the identification of three species of Pronolagus; P. rupestris, P. crassicaudatus and P. randensis and two species of Lepus; L. capensis and L. saxatilis. Bunolagus is retained as a monotypic genus.

Mammals of the Duck Creek Local Fauna, Late Pleistocene of Kansas

The Duck Creek local fauna, recovered from a gravel pit near the Smoky Hill River, Ellis County, Kansas, contains the southwestern-most record of Synaptomys borealis and Clethrionomys gapperi . Other remains include species of Sorex, Sylvilagus, Lepus, Spermophilus, Geomys, Thomomys, Peromyscus, Microtus, Ondatra , and Mustela . A late Pleistocene age for the fauna is suggested by the evolutionary grade of Ondatra and Microtus , and preferred habitats and geologic ranges of extant species. Recovery of the fauna from the Pfeifer terrace (mapped as Illinoian) and a comparison with selected Pleistocene plains faunas indicates the Duck Creek local fauna is of Illinoian age. Habitat requirements of extant species in the fauna suggest there are two biotic communities present:—moist-riparian and upland.

Coccidia of the Leporidae.

SYNOPSISThirty‐six species of coccidia, all members of the genus Eimeria, have been described from 3 of the 9 genera and 11 of the more than 48 species in the lagomorph family Leporidae. All these are described briefly in the present paper and their synonymies are given. Coccidia have been described from the single species of Oryctolagus, from 4 of the 13 species of Sylvilagus and from 6 of the 26 species of Lepus. These genera have 12, 12, and 14 known species of Eimeria, of which only 2 are shared by Oryctolagus and Sylvilagus. Lepus has none of the coccidia of these genera. One species is known to occur in the bile ducts of the liver, 13 in the intestine, and the location of 22 is unknown. Life cycles have been determined for 9 of the species, of which 8 have been worked out in the domestic rabbit Oryctolagus and 1 in the cottontail Sylvilagus.

The Leaps of Lepus

WHILE rambling in the winter time over the snow-covered plains in this region, I have recently interested myself in ascertaining how far, on a level surface, a hare or rabbit may leap at each spring, at a time when either of these animals is put to its best speed. Two species of Lepus are quite abundant in this vicinity, viz. the Mexican hare (L. callotis callotis), and the sage hare, which is really a medium-sized rabbit (L. sylvaticus Nuttalli), while the first-mentioned is a big hare. It is not uncommon to find here, in certain localities, a stretch of perfectly level prairie extending for a distance of 3 or 4 miles, and when this is covered by an even layer of 1 inch or more of snow, it offers an admirable surface on which to take account of the distance which may separate any two tracks of one of these animals, either one made by a hare or one made by one of the rabbits. On such a prairie as I have just referred to, I have on numerous occasions fired at these animals when they have been running, and at the same time beyond the range of my fowling-piece; such a shot almost invariably has the effect of so alarming the game as to make it run at its very best rate of speed, and upon coming up with the tracks they have left on the snow at such times, I have been surprised at the distances they can clear at each individual leap. Under these conditions I once measured the spaces cleared by an old Mexican hare, and found the first two equalled 12 feet apiece, while the third effort was rather more than 13 feet, and I have never known this species to exceed this, although I have tested not a few of them. Of course the rabbit cannot compete with such magnificent gymnastics as this: it will, however, when thus frightened, make leaps of fully 6 feet; and on one occasion I measured one on the dead-level prairie, which was rather more than 7 feet. At their common rate of going, the hare rarely clears more than 4 feet at any single leap, while the rabbit is satisfied with rather more than 2 feet, and, when quietly feeding about the sagebrush, the tracks made by an individual of either species may actually overlap each other.