Mar

28

2007
 
 

Keystone hops



run rabbit runCritically endangered European species depend on rabbit prey

The humble European rabbit Oryctolgaus cuniculus should be a conservation priority, a recently published study suggests. Protecting the hoppy ones will provide much needed food for species such as the Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus – the world’s most endangered cat – and Spanish imperial eagle Aquila adalberti – Europe’s most endangered raptor. It makes a change to consider an animal like the rabbit as a keystone species, but according to Miguel Delibes-Mateos at the Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegé, and his international colleagues, the long-eared lagomorph fits the bill. The study, published in Biological Conservation, shows that where there are more rabbits there are more raptors, including the imperiled imperial eagle. So jump to it, conservationists, and save those rabbits!

Source: Delibes-Mateos M, Redpath SM, Angulo E, Ferreras P & Villafuerte R (2007) Rabbits as keystone species in southern Europe. Biological Conservation DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2007.01.024

Image © Jiri Castka

Filed Under Endangered species, Restoration, Monitoring | 

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