Lecture notes Biodiversity: Exploiters and Exploited Rabbits (BI2EEE4)
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Course
Biodiversity: Exploiters and Exploited (BI2EEE4)
Institution
University Of Reading (UoR)
These lecture notes are the ninth in a series from the module biodiversity: exploiters and exploited. This lecture covers everything about rabbits from their domestication to their irradication in Australia. A great way to start your understanding in this module (or help you get out of the lecture).
Gregarious, speciose (high number of species in genus),
1 species - Oryctolagus cuniculus (European rabbit)
o Order Lagomorpha
o Family Leporidae
o Gregarious, burrow-dwelling
o Genus Oryctolagus with 1 species and 350 domesticated subspecies
Sylvilagus (Genus)
o American/cotton-tails (12-13 species) - most speciose
o Surface-living.
Lepus (Genus)
o Hares and jackrabbits
Long ears and longer hind feet
o 2 species in UK
o surface-living
Warrens (burrows)
o Maze of stops, dens + tunnels interlinked to allow escape if predator enters.
Breeding:
o Coincides with availability of good food (spring in UK).
o Form into social groups (up to 7 adults)
o Establish territory – each member has overlapping home-range
o Males have linear dominance hierarchy, females have some hierarchy, established
via scent-marking.
o Doe makes nest in short blind tunnel (stop), closes tunnel mouth when absent
Ovulation induced by coitus.
Bucks wait for does at mouth of nesting burrow – mate upon emerging after
dropping litter
o Doe can be both pregnant and lactating – prolific breeding
o Females are typically monogamous, bucks are not
o Gestation (30-day period)
o 3-7 in litter, not all survive
o Does breed in 6-10 months, live for 8-9 years
o Under stress (e.g. lack of food, poor weather conditions) – resorption of embryos
o Dominant breeding pairs likely to have greatest success, access to best food
reserves
o With average mortality, 5X growth per year (w/losses included)
Domestication
o 1.6mil pet rabbits & 40mil wild
o Domesticated in last 1,500 years from single origin in southern France – originally
for food production
o ↓ genetic diversity relative to other domesticated mammals
o Native distribution – SW France, Spain + Portugal.
o Introduced to UK by Normans
Kept in artificial warrens (in otherwise useless areas – sand dunes)
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