European rabbits versus native rodents in Central Chile: effects on shrub seedlings

The importance of the introduced rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus and of the native rodent Octodon degus (=degu) as browsers of shrub seedlings in the Central Chilean evergreen shrublands (=matorral) was experimentally assessed. Seedlings were planted in several spatial arrangements in two open successi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Oecologia 1983-06, Vol.58 (3), p.411-414
Main Authors: Fuentes, E.R, Jaksic, F.M, Simonetti, J.A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Browsing
Herbivores
Herbs
Matorral
Octodon degus
Oryctolagus cuniculus
Rabbits
Rodents
Seedling mortality
Seedlings
Shrubs
Vegetation
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Summary:The importance of the introduced rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus and of the native rodent Octodon degus (=degu) as browsers of shrub seedlings in the Central Chilean evergreen shrublands (=matorral) was experimentally assessed. Seedlings were planted in several spatial arrangements in two open successional stands and in two mature stands of different cover and exposure. The browsing impact of rabbits and degus was evaluated separately after about one year since the start of the experiments. It was found that degus cause important seedling mortality only within a 5 m-radius centered at the border of their retreats. Rabbits, on the other hand, cause heavier seedling mortality, forage more widely, and consequently have a greater impact than do degus. It is speculated that rabbits may be halting the secondary succession process, shifting the matorral composition toward less palatable shrub species, and/or broadening the spacing between shrub clumps.
ISSN:0029-8549
1432-1939
DOI:10.1007/BF00385244