Rabbits- how would we do without them?

[Wild-Woman]

As in many places, during the spring we have an explosion of rabbits followed by a crash in the population late summer and autumn, here in Kent. This doesn't appear to have much effect on the ecology of the area as annually the population is reasonably stable.
The crash- apart from the usual road casualities and predation, is evident by the increased cases of myximatosis. I have seen about half a dozen myxi cases already.
Rabbits, even though introduced, now form an important addition to food webs, so what would the effect be on the ecology of the countryside if something wiped out the population and what would fill that niche? Just curious.

[DorsetDunk]

they certainly have an effect on habitat here on the Dorset heaths where they make their warrens among the heather creating bare patches of sand which in turn is seeded by invasive grasses and the neighbouring acidic grassland resembles a bowling green
I know that the fringes of the warrens do create ideal habitats for sand lizards and such so it not all bad
It is a very interesting question regarding what would fill that niche would the great wild wood of England, before we started farming the lands existed if rabbits had been a native species
and do hares and rabbits compete for habitats

[Jackaroo]

I think that one guy in the nearby village would manage quite well without them. Last year he built a new hen-house about 3-4 metres from the bank of the river which run past his garden. This year it landed in the river. Luckily it happened before the spates and he managed to yank it back out. He's blaming the rabbits and one can see his point as the farmer across the river pointed out that the level of the track-bed of the disused railway embankment which runs across his land has dropped by almost two feet in the last 2-3 years just with the rabbit activity.
As to the effects on the food chain if rabbits were to disappear altogether, it's hard to see what would take their place, they've been so omnipresent for so long.

[STYRBJORN]

A lot of arable and market garden farmers would be very happy bunnies.

Ahem. Coat, hat, wellies . . .

[Johnny Redgate]

I have carried out rabbit surveys on motorway verges (no, really) and the amount of damage they can do is tremendous - to the point of undermining structures and embankments.

Ecologically, rabbits can be quite good a maintaining small areas of species-rich grassland that otherwise wouldn't be grazed, but are equally good at destroying them when numbers get too high. When myxi was first introduced many areas of grassland that were no longer grazed by livestock but were maintained by rabbits became scrubbed over or rank, often with a loss of botanical interest. Interestingly, it is thought that the Lulworth Skipper benefitted from this as previously grazed Tor Grass developed the tussocky structure the butterfly prefers; whereas very short vegetation species such as the Adonis Blue and Silver Spotted Skipper suffered.

[shenk1]

They make nice pets though

[STYRBJORN]

Originally Posted by shenk1

They make nice pets though

And good eating.

[DorsetDunk]

Originally Posted by STYRBJORN

And good eating.

rather a wasted food source i mean that's why we introduced them
same with squirrels too, to be honest i have tried neither but feel that i should

[fairplay]

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

As in many places, during the spring we have an explosion of rabbits followed by a crash in the population late summer and autumn, here in Kent. This doesn't appear to have much effect on the ecology of the area as annually the population is reasonably stable.
The crash- apart from the usual road casualities and predation, is evident by the increased cases of myximatosis. I have seen about half a dozen myxi cases already.
Rabbits, even though introduced, now form an important addition to food webs, so what would the effect be on the ecology of the countryside if something wiped out the population and what would fill that niche? Just curious.

I think man and woman would have to fill that niche, at least to maintain our heathlands. (don't know what they taste like though) !
Back in 1992 when Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD) was first noticed in Britain (having spread from Angora Rabbits in China) there were fears it would decimate our wild rabbit population - it was artificially introduced to New Zealand for this very reason.

It quickly spread from domesticated rabbits to our wild population and there were reports of many hundreds dying, but since 1996 all seems to have gone quiet. Have the rabbits built up their own resistance with Myxy remaining the number 1 killer still ?

Neil.

[STYRBJORN]

Back to the original question, I don't think rabbits would be replaced. When the Romans introduced them as a food source, there was a vacant ecological niche that rabbits were pre-adapted to fill. They don't really have any competition in that niche. The interesting question is the effect on their natural predators. Foxes do predate rabbits, but they are not a major part of foxes' diet. Badgers will dig out and eat kits, but, again, not as a major food item. The very fact that fox and badger populations were unaffected by the initial 95% crash in the rabbit population when myxomatosis was first introduced shows that rabbits are not an important item to these species. Mustelids might suffer more. Feral cats would also, I expect, be affected.

When myxomatosis reached Spain, the rabbit population crash resulted in the near-extinction of the Iberian lynx, for which rabbits were the major food item. There is no such dependency in the UK. Farmers, green-keepers, stablemen, village cricket captains, as well as the people aleady mentioned, would all be well pleased.

Ric