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Stevens TK, Hale AM, Williams DA. Environmental and anthropogenic variables influence the distribution of a habitat specialist (
Sylvilagus aquaticus
) in a large urban forest. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.12882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas K. Stevens
- Department of Biology Texas Christian University Fort Worth Texas USA
| | - Amanda M. Hale
- Department of Biology Texas Christian University Fort Worth Texas USA
| | - Dean A. Williams
- Department of Biology Texas Christian University Fort Worth Texas USA
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Hillard EM, Crawford JC, Nielsen CK, Groninger JW, Schauber EM. Hydrogeomorphology Influences Swamp Rabbit Habitat Selection in Bottomland Hardwood Forests. J Wildl Manage 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M. Hillard
- Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory and Department of Forestry Southern Illinois University Carbondale IL 62901 USA
| | - Joanne C. Crawford
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Michigan State University East Lansing MI 48824 USA
| | - Clayton K. Nielsen
- Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory and Department of Forestry Southern Illinois University Carbondale IL 62901 USA
| | - John W. Groninger
- Department of Forestry Southern Illinois University Carbondale IL 62901 USA
| | - Eric M. Schauber
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute University of Illinois Champaign IL 61820 USA
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Hillard EM, Edmund AC, Crawford JC, Nielsen CK, Schauber EM, Groninger JW. Winter snow cover increases swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus) mortality at the northern extent of their range. Mamm Biol 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mambio.2018.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Crawford J, Nielsen C, Schauber E. Survival and habitat use of sympatric lagomorphs in bottomland hardwood forests. CAN J ZOOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2017-0066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Lagomorphs are important consumers and prey in ecosystems worldwide, but have declined due to land use changes and habitat loss, and such losses may be exacerbated for specialist species. We compared survival and habitat use of two closely related lagomorphs, the swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus (Bachman, 1837)), a bottomland hardwood (BLH) forest specialist, and the eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus (J. A. Allen, 1890)), a habitat generalist. We tested whether survival and habitat use differed between radio-collared swamp rabbits (n = 129) and eastern cottontails (n = 72) monitored during December 2009 – December 2013 in southern Illinois. We found interactive effects of species and season on survival rates: swamp rabbits had higher annual survival (0.37 ± 0.05 (estimate ± SE)) than did cottontails (0.20 ± 0.05), but this difference occurred primarily during the growing season. Swamp rabbits were located closer to watercourses in areas characterized by higher basal area and more mature BLH forest cover compared with eastern cottontails. Our results suggest that BLH forests may be marginal habitat for cottontails and indicate predation as the primary cause of mortality for both species. Swamp rabbits use of early-successional BLH forest suggests that restoration efforts have been successful. However, as specialists, swamp rabbits remain restricted to a narrow band of bottomlands near watercourses and may benefit from improved upland cover that serves as refugia from flooding.
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Affiliation(s)
- J.C. Crawford
- Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory and Department of Forestry, 251 Life Sciences II, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA
| | - C.K. Nielsen
- Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory and Department of Forestry, 251 Life Sciences II, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA
| | - E.M. Schauber
- Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory and Department of Zoology, 251 Life Sciences II, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA
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Berkman LK, Nielsen CK, Roy CL, Heist EJ. A landscape genetic analysis of swamp rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus) suggests forest canopy cover enhances gene flow in an agricultural matrix. CAN J ZOOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2017-0116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Habitat loss and fragmentation pose a continued and immediate threat to wildlife and create a persistent need for ecological information at the landscape scale to guide conservation efforts. Landscape features influence population connectivity for many species and genetic analyses can be employed to determine which of these features are most important. Because population connectivity through dispersal is important to the persistence of swamp rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus (Bachman, 1837)) at the northern edge of their range, we used a landscape genetic approach to relate gene flow to landscape features that may impact dispersal success. We tested resistance values for attributes of land cover, watercourse corridors, canopy cover, and roads and used causal modeling and redundancy analysis to relate these representations of landscapes to genetic distance for swamp rabbits in southern Illinois, USA. Models that included canopy cover had the strongest correlations with genetic distance and were supported by our methods whereas other models were not. We concluded that high tree canopy cover enhances gene flow and landscape connectivity for swamp rabbits in southern Illinois. Our study provides important empirical evidence that landscape variables may impact the habitat connectivity of swamp rabbits. Preserving dispersal routes for swamp rabbits should focus on improving canopy cover, in both bottomland and upland, to connect suitable habitat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leah K. Berkman
- Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901-6504, USA
| | - Clayton K. Nielsen
- Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Department of Forestry, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901-6504, USA
| | - Charlotte L. Roy
- Forest Wildlife Populations and Research Group, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Grand Rapids, MN 55744, USA
| | - Edward J. Heist
- Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901-6501, USA
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