The Effect on a British Wild Rabbit Population (Oryctolagus cuniculus) of Manipulating Myxomatosis

1. Myxomatosis no longer has the dramatic impact on rabbit numbers of the original outbreaks in 1953-55. The influence of the disease on rabbit numbers 25-30 years later was investigated by twice reducing and then restoring the prevalence of myxomatosis in a farmland population. 2. Insecticide was u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of applied ecology 1992-01, Vol.29 (3), p.679-686
Main Authors: Trout, R. C., Ross, J., Tittensor, A. M., Fox, A. P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Biological and medical sciences
Disease outbreaks
Epidemiology
Flea infestations
Fleas
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Mortality
Myxoma virus
Oryctolagus cuniculus
Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection
Rabbits
Trout
Vertebrates
Virulence
Viruses
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Summary:1. Myxomatosis no longer has the dramatic impact on rabbit numbers of the original outbreaks in 1953-55. The influence of the disease on rabbit numbers 25-30 years later was investigated by twice reducing and then restoring the prevalence of myxomatosis in a farmland population. 2. Insecticide was used for 2 years to reduce the numbers of rabbit fleas, the main vector of the disease. Flea numbers were subsequently increased by systematic reintroductions over a further 2 years and the sequence was then repeated. 3. Changes in the prevalence of myxomatosis followed the changes in flea numbers. 4. Rabbit numbers increased by two- to threefold during the flea reduction periods, and fell in the reintroduction periods. 5. The results suggest that the disease still has a considerable influence on rabbit numbers.
ISSN:0021-8901
1365-2664
DOI:10.2307/2404476