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Keeping an eye on the use of eye-lens weight as a universal indicator of age for European wild rabbits. Sci Rep 2021; 11:8711. [PMID: 33888785 PMCID: PMC8062486 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88087-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Accurate methods for age determination are critical to the knowledge of wildlife populations' age structure and, therefore, to their successful management. The reliability of age estimation may have profound economic and ecological consequences on the management of the European wild rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus, in its native and introduced range, where it is a keystone species and a major pest, respectively. As in other mammal species, European rabbits' age is often estimated using the Gompertz relationship between age and lens' weight. The growth rate formula has been developed based on data collected from European rabbits introduced in Australia, where a single subspecies (O. cuniculus cuniculus, Occ) is present. However, this curve has never been validated in the species native range, the Iberian Peninsula, where two subspecies (Occ, and O. c. algirus, Oca) coexist naturally. In this study, we tested the relationship between age and lens' weight using 173 Occ and 112 Oca wild rabbits that were surveyed in two experimental facilities in Spain. Our findings show that, in the native range, the published growth curve formula fits well Occ but not Oca data. Therefore, we recommend using the formula reported in this study to estimate the age of Oca (Lens dry weight = 240 × 10(-64.9/(Age+32))). This study supports Oca rabbits' distinctiveness revealed by previous studies, which suggests that management interventions should be applied to protect this subspecies whose distribution range is very narrow and whose populations seem to be declining. More broadly, our findings point to the importance of testing the suitability of growth curves defined for other species with different genetic forms as occurs in the European wild rabbit case.
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Lennon O, Wittmer HU, Nelson NJ. Modelling three‐dimensional space to design prey refuges using video game software. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ox Lennon
- School of Biological Sciences Victoria University of Wellington PO Box 600 Wellington 6140 New Zealand
| | - Heiko U. Wittmer
- School of Biological Sciences Victoria University of Wellington PO Box 600 Wellington 6140 New Zealand
| | - Nicola J. Nelson
- School of Biological Sciences Victoria University of Wellington PO Box 600 Wellington 6140 New Zealand
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Funosas G, Triadó-Margarit X, Castro F, Villafuerte R, Delibes-Mateos M, Rouco C, Casamayor EO. Individual fate and gut microbiome composition in the European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Sci Rep 2021; 11:766. [PMID: 33436896 PMCID: PMC7804928 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80782-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies connecting microbiome composition and functional performance in wildlife have received little attention and understanding their connections with wildlife physical condition are sorely needed. We studied the variation in gut microbiota (hard fecal pellets) between allopatric subspecies of the European wild rabbit in wild populations and in captured individuals studied under captivity. We evaluated the influence of environmental and host-specific factors. The microbiome of wild rabbit populations reduced its heterogeneity under controlled conditions. None of the host-specific factors tested correlated with the microbiota composition. We only observed significant intra-group dispersion for the age factor. The most diverse microbiomes were rich in Ruminococcaceae potentially holding an enriched functional profile with dominance of cellulases and xylanases, and suggesting higher efficiency in the digestion of fiber-rich food. Conversely, low diversity gut microbiomes showed dominance of Enterobacteriaceae potentially rich in amylases. We preliminary noticed geographical variations in field populations with higher dominance of Ruminococcaceae in south-western than in north-eastern Spain. Spatial differences appeared not to be subspecies driven, since they were lost in captivity, but environmentally driven, although differences in social structure and behavior may also play a role that deserve further investigations. A marginally significant relationship between the Ruminococcaceae/Enterobacteriaceae ratio and potential life expectancy was observed in captive rabbits. We hypothesize that the gut microbiome may determine the efficiency of feeding resource exploitation, and can also be a potential proxy for life expectancy, with potential applications for the management of declining wild herbivorous populations. Such hypotheses remain to be explored in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerard Funosas
- Microbial Community Ecology, Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes-Spanish Council for Research CEAB-CSIC, Accés Cala St Francesc, 14, 17300, Blanes, Spain
| | - Xavier Triadó-Margarit
- Microbial Community Ecology, Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes-Spanish Council for Research CEAB-CSIC, Accés Cala St Francesc, 14, 17300, Blanes, Spain
| | - Francisca Castro
- Departamento de Didácticas Específicas, Universidad de Córdoba, Sociedad, Ecología y Gestión del Medio Ambiente, UCO-IESA, Unidad Asociada al CSIC, 14004, Córdoba, Spain
| | - Rafael Villafuerte
- Institute of Advanced Social Studies-Spanish Council for Research (IESA-CSIC), 14004, Córdoba, Spain
| | - Miguel Delibes-Mateos
- Institute of Advanced Social Studies-Spanish Council for Research (IESA-CSIC), 14004, Córdoba, Spain
| | - Carlos Rouco
- Ecology Area, Faculty of Science, University of Cordoba, Sociedad, Ecología y Gestión del Medio Ambiente, UCO-IESA, Unidad Asociada al CSIC, 14071, Córdoba, Spain
| | - Emilio O Casamayor
- Microbial Community Ecology, Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes-Spanish Council for Research CEAB-CSIC, Accés Cala St Francesc, 14, 17300, Blanes, Spain.
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Piorno V, Arroyo B, Delibes-Mateos M, Castro F, Villafuerte R. European rabbit hunting: Management changes and inertia in the governance system in a period of population fluctuations. J Nat Conserv 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jnc.2020.125832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Oxidative stress in wild European rabbits naturally infected with myxoma virus and rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-018-1203-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Pacios-Palma I, Santoro S, Bertó-Moran A, Moreno S, Rouco C. Effects of myxoma virus and rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus on the physiological condition of wild European rabbits: Is blood biochemistry a useful monitoring tool? Res Vet Sci 2016; 109:129-134. [PMID: 27892861 DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2016.09.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2016] [Revised: 07/07/2016] [Accepted: 09/30/2016] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Myxomatosis and rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD) are the major viral diseases that affect the wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). These diseases arrived in Europe within the last decades and have caused wild rabbit populations to decline dramatically. Both viruses are currently considered to be endemic in the Iberian Peninsula; periodic outbreaks that strongly impact wild populations regularly occur. Myxoma virus (MV) and rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) alter the physiology of infected rabbits, resulting in physical deterioration. Consequently, the persistence and viability of natural populations are affected. The main goal of our study was to determine if blood biochemistry is correlated with serostatus in wild European rabbits. We carried out seven live-trapping sessions in three wild rabbit populations over a two-year period. Blood samples were collected to measure anti-MV and anti-RHDV antibody concentrations and to measure biochemical parameters related to organ function, protein metabolism, and nutritional status. Overall, we found no significant relationships between rabbit serostatus and biochemistry. Our main result was that rabbits that were seropositive for both MV and RHDV had low gamma glutamyltransferase concentrations. Given the robustness of our analyses, the lack of significant relationships may indicate that the biochemical parameters measured are poor proxies for serostatus. Another explanation is that wild rabbits might be producing attenuated physiological responses to these viruses because the latter are now enzootic in the study area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Pacios-Palma
- Ethology and Biodiversity Conservation Department, Doñana Biological Station-CSIC, AméricoVespucio s/n, 41092 Seville, Spain.
| | - Simone Santoro
- Ethology and Biodiversity Conservation Department, Doñana Biological Station-CSIC, AméricoVespucio s/n, 41092 Seville, Spain.
| | - Alejandro Bertó-Moran
- Ethology and Biodiversity Conservation Department, Doñana Biological Station-CSIC, AméricoVespucio s/n, 41092 Seville, Spain.
| | - Sacramento Moreno
- Ethology and Biodiversity Conservation Department, Doñana Biological Station-CSIC, AméricoVespucio s/n, 41092 Seville, Spain.
| | - Carlos Rouco
- Ethology and Biodiversity Conservation Department, Doñana Biological Station-CSIC, AméricoVespucio s/n, 41092 Seville, Spain; Wildlife Ecology and Management Team, Landcare Research, PO Box 1930, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand; Department of Zoology, Campus de Rabanales, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain.
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D’Amico M, Tablado Z, Revilla E, Palomares F. Free housing for declining populations: Optimizing the provision of artificial breeding structures. J Nat Conserv 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jnc.2014.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Santoro S, Pacios I, Moreno S, Bertó-Moran A, Rouco C. Multi-event capture-recapture modeling of host-pathogen dynamics among European rabbit populations exposed to myxoma and Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Viruses: common and heterogeneous patterns. Vet Res 2014; 45:39. [PMID: 24708296 PMCID: PMC4021418 DOI: 10.1186/1297-9716-45-39] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2013] [Accepted: 03/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Host-pathogen epidemiological processes are often unclear due both to their complexity and over-simplistic approaches used to quantify them. We applied a multi-event capture-recapture procedure on two years of data from three rabbit populations to test hypotheses about the effects on survival of, and the dynamics of host immunity to, both myxoma virus and Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (MV and RHDV). Although the populations shared the same climatic and management conditions, MV and RHDV dynamics varied greatly among them; MV and RHDV seroprevalences were positively related to density in one population, but RHDV seroprevalence was negatively related to density in another. In addition, (i) juvenile survival was most often negatively related to seropositivity, (ii) RHDV seropositives never had considerably higher survival, and (iii) seroconversion to seropositivity was more likely than the reverse. We suggest seropositivity affects survival depending on trade-offs among antibody protection, immunosuppression and virus lethality. Negative effects of seropositivity might be greater on juveniles due to their immature immune system. Also, while RHDV directly affects survival through the hemorrhagic syndrome, MV lack of direct lethal effects means that interactions influencing survival are likely to be more complex. Multi-event modeling allowed us to quantify patterns of host-pathogen dynamics otherwise difficult to discern. Such an approach offers a promising tool to shed light on causative mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Carlos Rouco
- Ethology and Biodiversity Conservation Department, Doñana Biological Station-CSIC, Américo Vespucio s/n, 41092 Seville, Spain.
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Restocking a keystone species in a biodiversity hotspot: Recovering the European rabbit on a landscape scale. J Nat Conserv 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jnc.2013.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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10
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Experimental study on the effect of cover and vaccination on the survival of juvenile European rabbits. POPUL ECOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10144-013-0403-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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11
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Ferreira C, Touza J, Rouco C, Díaz-Ruiz F, Fernandez-de-Simon J, Ríos-Saldaña CA, Ferreras P, Villafuerte R, Delibes-Mateos M. Habitat management as a generalized tool to boost European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus
populations in the Iberian Peninsula: a cost-effectiveness analysis. Mamm Rev 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/mam.12006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Catarina Ferreira
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC-CSIC-UCLM-JCCM); Ronda de Toledo, s/n 13071 Ciudad Real Spain
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos; Universidade do Porto; Campus Agrário de Vairão 4485-661 Vairão Portugal
| | - Julia Touza
- Department of Applied Economics; University of Vigo; Campus Lagoas-Marcosende Vigo Spain
| | - Carlos Rouco
- Landcare Research; PO Box 282 9340 Alexandra New Zealand
| | - Francisco Díaz-Ruiz
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC-CSIC-UCLM-JCCM); Ronda de Toledo, s/n 13071 Ciudad Real Spain
| | - Javier Fernandez-de-Simon
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC-CSIC-UCLM-JCCM); Ronda de Toledo, s/n 13071 Ciudad Real Spain
| | - Carlos Antonio Ríos-Saldaña
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC-CSIC-UCLM-JCCM); Ronda de Toledo, s/n 13071 Ciudad Real Spain
- BioCórima A. C.; Blvd. Dr. Jesús Valdés Sánchez km 10, Col. Presa de las Casas 25350 Arteaga Coahuila México
| | - Pablo Ferreras
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC-CSIC-UCLM-JCCM); Ronda de Toledo, s/n 13071 Ciudad Real Spain
| | - Rafael Villafuerte
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC-CSIC-UCLM-JCCM); Ronda de Toledo, s/n 13071 Ciudad Real Spain
- Departamento de Zoología, Campus de Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba; 14071 Córdoba Spain
| | - Miguel Delibes-Mateos
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC-CSIC-UCLM-JCCM); Ronda de Toledo, s/n 13071 Ciudad Real Spain
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Occupancy, colonization and extinction patterns of rabbit populations: implications for Iberian lynx conservation. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-011-0599-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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13
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Rouco C, Villafuerte R, Castro F, Ferreras P. Responses of naïve and experienced European rabbits to predator odour. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-010-0443-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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