New England cottontail
New England cottontail[1] | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Lagomorpha |
Family: | Leporidae |
Genus: | Sylvilagus |
Species: | S. transitionalis
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Binomial name | |
Sylvilagus transitionalis (Bangs, 1895)
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New England cottontail range |
The New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis), also called the gray rabbit, brush rabbit, wood hare, wood rabbit, or cooney, is a species of cottontail rabbit represented by fragmented populations in areas of New England and the state of New York, specifically from southern Maine to southern New York.[2][4][5] This species bears a close resemblance to the eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), which has been introduced in much of the New England cottontail home range. The eastern cottontail is now more common in it.[6]
Litvaitis et al. (2006) estimated that the current area of occupancy in its historic range is 12,180 km2 (4,700 sq mi) - some 86% less than the occupied range in 1960.
Rabbits require habitat patches of at least 12 acres to maintain a stable population. In New Hampshire, the number of suitable patches dropped from 20 to 8 in the early 2000s. The ideal habitat is 25 acres of continuous early successional habitat within a larger landscape that provides shrub wetlands and dense thickets. Federal funding has been used for habitat restoration work on state lands, including the planting of shrubs and other growth critical to the rabbit's habitat. Funding has also been made available to private landowners who are willing to create thicket-type brush habitat which doesn't have much economic value.[6]
Description
The New England cottontail is a medium-sized rabbit almost identical to the eastern cottontail.
The New England cottontail weighs between 995 and 1,347 grams (2.194 and 2.970 lb) and is between 398 and 439 millimetres (15.7 and 17.3 in) long, with dark brown coats with a "penciled effect" and tails with white undersides.[8] They are sexually dimorphic, with females larger than males.[8]
Distribution
New England cottontails live in
- As recently as 1960, New England cottontails were found east of the Hudson River in New York, across all of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, north to southern Vermont and New Hampshire, and into southern Maine. Today, this rabbit's range has shrunk by more than 75 percent. Its numbers are so greatly diminished that it can no longer be found in Vermont and has been reduced to only five smaller populations throughout its historic range.[11]
According to at least one study, the cottontails' historic range also included a small part of southern Quebec, from which it is extirpated.[2]
The major factor in the decline of the New England cottontail population and the restriction of its range is habitat destruction from the reduced
Various other factors also contributed to the decline of New England cottontails:
- The introduction of more than 200,000 eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) in the early 20th century, mostly by hunting clubs, greatly harmed the New England cottontail because the eastern cottontails are a generalist species are able to survive in a wide variety of habitats (fields, farms and forest edges) and have a slightly better ability to avoid predators. The competition from the eastern cottontail led to the displacement of the New England cottontail.[11][13]
- The introduction of autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) in the 20th century may have also displaced many native species that the New England cottontail relied upon for food.[11]
- An increase in the population and density of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the same range as the New England cottontail also damaged populations, because deer eat many of the same plants and damage the density of understory plants providing vital thicket habitat.[11]
In 2011, researchers from the University of Rhode Island reported that a survey found that the New England cottontail was on the verge of extirpation from Rhode Island, because of habitat loss, competition from eastern cottontails, and increased predator populations. The URI study collected nearly one thousand pellet samples from more than one hundred locations; DNA testing of the samples showed that only one contained the DNA of the New England cottontail.[13] A habitat analysis was conducted on an island in Narragansett Bay with no known past population by either cottontail species, as a possible refugium for the New England cottontail.[13]
The
According to the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, the New England cottontail occurs on
Habitat
The New England cottontail is a habitat
New England cottontails prefer woodlands with higher elevation or northern latitudes.[8] They create nests in depressions, some 12 cm (4.7 in) deep by 10 cm (3.9 in) wide, lining them with grasses and fur.[8] According to studies, New England cottontails "rarely venture more than 5 m from cover."[8]
Predation
Known predators of New England cottontails include
Reproduction and development
New England cottontails breed two to three times a year.
During the mating season, "male New England cottontails form breeding groups around dominant females in areas of the habitat with plentiful food and good cover."
Like all cottontails, the New England cottontail has a short lifespan, typically surviving no more than three years in the wild.[8] Moreover, an average of only 15 percent of young survive their first year.[8] New England cottontails reach sexual maturity early, at no more than one year old, and many juvenile New England cottontails will breed in their first season.[8]
Young are born naked with their eyes closed.[8] Parental investment is minimal: there is no investment by male cottontails, and female cottontails nurse their young in the nest for about 16 days, often having mated again by the time the juveniles have left the nest.[8]
Diet
New England cottontails are herbivores whose diet varies based on the season and local forage opportunities. In the spring and summer, the New England cottontails primarily eats herbaceous plants (including leaves, stems, wood, bark, flowers, fruits, and seeds) from grasses and forbs. Beginning in the fall and continuing into the winter, New England cottontails transition to mostly woody plants.[2][8]
Conservation
The New England cottontail has been listed as vulnerable on the
The New England cottontail is listed as "vulnerable" because of its decreasing population and reduction in suitable habitat. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is surveying suitable habitat for this species. Due to its rarity, elusiveness, and the fact that it is nearly identical to the Eastern cottontail, DNA analysis of fecal pellets one of the best ways to identify New England cottontail populations. New England cottontails are listed as "endangered" in New Hampshire and Maine, "Extirpated" in Vermont and Quebec, "species of special concern" in New York and Connecticut, and a "species of special interest" in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Surveys are being conducted to identify areas for creating suitable habitat and to identify areas with suitable habitat that may contain remnant populations. Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Connecticut are primary areas that may hold populations of the species. The USFWS has discovered populations in Nantucket and Eastern Connecticut. Additional surveys are being done to find more remnant populations in New England and New York.
In 2013, the
References
- OCLC 62265494.
- ^ . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ^ "New England Cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus transitionalis)". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
- JSTOR 3783166.
- ^ a b Keefe, Jennifer (April 24, 2011). "Cottontail gets help with habitat restoration". Foster's Daily Democrat. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ "Hunting: Small game, furbearers, other species". New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. Archived from the original on 2007-10-14.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Berenson, Tessa. "Sylvilagus transitionalis (New England cottontail)". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.
- ^ a b c d e f "New England Cottontail Survey". New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
- ISBN 0811733092.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "New England Cottontail". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2011.
- ^ New England Cottontail, Rabbit at risk - Frequently asked questions, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
- ^ a b c "URI, DEM researchers: New England cottontail on verge of disappearing from Rhode Island". University of Rhode Island. September 14, 2011.
- ^ Beattie, Karen C. (November 22, 2013). "Update: New England Cottontails Documented on Nantucket!". Nantucket Conservation Foundation.
- ^ "Breeding and Lifespan". newenglandcottontail.org. Saving the New England Cottontail. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ^ Wood, Wiley. "It's Only Natural". Norfolk Now.
External links
- Red List detailed distribution map
- Massachusetts Cottontail Research surveys
- Website of the New England Cottontail Conservation Initiative - habitat projects