A test of whether rabbit abundance increases following predator control in a rural landscape

IF 16.4 1区化学 Q1 CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Accounts of Chemical Research Pub Date : 2024-07-25 DOI:10.1071/wr24043

Mandy Barron, Natalie de Burgh, Grant Norbury

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Context

In New Zealand and Australia, rural landowners believe that local control of invasive predators aimed at protecting the indigenous biota exacerbates European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) problems on their land.

Aims

We tested this using rabbit index data collected in replicated areas with and without predator control in rural landscapes of the Hawke’s Bay region of New Zealand.

Methods

Spotlight data were available from two ecological restoration areas. For the Cape to City area, data were collected from 2016 to 2021, with three sites subjected to ongoing predator control (traps deployed in 2016 and 2017) and two sites untreated. For the Poutiri Ao ō Tāne area, data were collected from 2012 to 2021, with two sites subjected to ongoing predator control (beginning in 2012) and three sites untreated. Generalised linear mixed-effects models were used to assess whether predator control was a statistically significant predictor of rabbit counts. Cameras were also deployed annually, beginning in 2015, in the treatment and non-treatment areas in Cape to City. Mixed-effects models were fitted to the camera detection data using a ‘Before After Control Impact’ framework to assess whether camera detection rates of rabbits changed with predator control.

Key results

Contrary to landowner expectations, fewer rabbits were counted under spotlight at the predator control sites at Cape to City, although no effect was detected in the camera detection data. More rabbits were counted on the predator control sites at Poutiri Ao ō Tāne, but this effect was not statistically significant and only became apparent in the last 2 years of the 9-year monitoring period.

Conclusions

The effects of predator control on rabbit abundance indices in the Hawke’s Bay region were contradictory and inconclusive. This suggests that the influence of predators on rabbit populations is minor compared with other sources of population limitation or regulation, such as disease and poor food quality.

Implications

The absence of a definitive predator effect should reassure landowners concerned about potential rabbit population outbreaks following predator control.

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测试在农村地区控制捕食者后兔子的数量是否会增加

背景在新西兰和澳大利亚，农村土地所有者认为，在当地控制旨在保护本地生物群落的外来捕食者会加剧其土地上的欧洲兔（Oryctolagus cuniculus）问题。目的我们利用在新西兰霍克湾地区农村景观中对捕食者进行控制和未进行控制的重复区域收集的兔子指数数据，对这一观点进行了检验。方法我们从两个生态恢复区域获得了观测数据。在Cape to City地区，数据收集时间为2016年至2021年，其中三个地点持续进行了捕食者控制（2016年和2017年部署了捕猎器），两个地点未进行捕食者控制。对于普蒂里奥陶纳地区，数据收集期为 2012 年至 2021 年，其中两个地点持续进行捕食者控制（始于 2012 年），三个地点未进行处理。采用广义线性混合效应模型来评估捕食者控制是否在统计学上对兔子数量有显著的预测作用。此外，从 2015 年开始，每年都会在开普市的治疗区和非治疗区部署摄像头。采用 "控制影响前后 "框架对照相机检测数据进行了混合效应模型拟合，以评估兔子的照相机检测率是否随着捕食者控制而发生变化。主要结果与土地所有者的预期相反，在 Cape to City 的捕食者控制地点，聚光灯下计数到的兔子数量减少了，尽管在照相机探测数据中未发现任何影响。在 Poutiri Ao ō Tāne 的捕食者控制点，统计到的兔子数量更多，但这种影响在统计上并不显著，而且只在 9 年监测期的最后两年才显现出来。结论捕食者控制对霍克湾地区兔子丰度指数的影响是矛盾的，没有定论。这表明，与疾病和食物质量差等其他限制或调节兔子数量的因素相比，捕食者对兔子数量的影响很小。启示捕食者没有明确的影响，这让担心捕食者控制后兔子数量可能爆发的土地所有者放心了。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Accounts of Chemical Research 化学-化学综合

CiteScore

31.40

自引率

1.10%

发文量

312

审稿时长

2 months

期刊介绍： Accounts of Chemical Research presents short, concise and critical articles offering easy-to-read overviews of basic research and applications in all areas of chemistry and biochemistry. These short reviews focus on research from the author’s own laboratory and are designed to teach the reader about a research project. In addition, Accounts of Chemical Research publishes commentaries that give an informed opinion on a current research problem. Special Issues online are devoted to a single topic of unusual activity and significance. Accounts of Chemical Research replaces the traditional article abstract with an article "Conspectus." These entries synopsize the research affording the reader a closer look at the content and significance of an article. Through this provision of a more detailed description of the article contents, the Conspectus enhances the article's discoverability by search engines and the exposure for the research.