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Estimating the size of European rabbits consumed by predators: Relationship between body mass and tooth dimensions

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Abstract

A method for estimating body mass of European rabbitsOryctolagus cuniculus (Linnaeus, 1758) based on tooth dimensions is proposed. Regression models identified significant relationships between the body mass of 87 rabbits and individual tooth length, breadth, product of tooth length and breadth, and whether or not the individual was infected with myxomatosis. Dimensions of 10 of 14 different teeth explained over 80% of variation in body mass, and those teeth were selected as adequate predictors of rabbit body mass. Models were tested using teeth from 16 additional rabbits of known body mass. Body mass, predicted on the basis of 9 of the 10 selected teeth, was statistically indistinguishable from the observed values for all 16 individuals. When myxomatosis infection status of the rabbit was included in the model, all 10 selected teeth yielded predictions statistically indistinguishable from those observed. Prediction errors can be computed permitting statistical comparison of the average predicted value of body mass from different samples of rabbits. The model is useful in estimating rabbit body masses from teeth recovered from feces of predators and it will facilitate testing of hypotheses on size-selective predation. The method was applied to rabbit teeth found in fecal samples from the Iberian lynxLynx pardinus collected over a one-year period. Lynx preyed preferentially upon younger rabbits during the peak breeding period of this lagomorph.

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Author notes

  1. Javier Calzada

    Present address: Departamento de Biología Ambiental y Salud Pública, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Huelva, Campus Universitario de La Rábida, 21819, Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, Spain

  2. Daniel T. Haydon

    Present address: Department of Zoology, University of Guelph, N1G 2W1, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñnana, CSIC, Avda María Luisa s/n, Pabellón del Perú, 41013, Sevilla, Spain

    Javier Calzada & Francisco Palomares

  2. Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Easter Bush, EH25 9RG, Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland

    Daniel T. Haydon

Authors
  1. Javier Calzada
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  2. Daniel T. Haydon
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  3. Francisco Palomares
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Correspondence to Francisco Palomares.

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Calzada, J., Haydon, D.T. & Palomares, F. Estimating the size of European rabbits consumed by predators: Relationship between body mass and tooth dimensions. Acta Theriol 48, 101–111 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03194270

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03194270

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