Asset Details
Do you wish to reserve the book?
The use of faecal markers for the delimitation of the European rabbit’s social territories (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.)
Hey, we have placed the reservation for you!
By the way, why not check out events that you can attend while you pick your title.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place the reservation. Kindly try again later.
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
The use of faecal markers for the delimitation of the European rabbit’s social territories (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.)
Do you wish to request the book?
The use of faecal markers for the delimitation of the European rabbit’s social territories (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.)
Please be aware that the book you have requested cannot be checked out. If you would like to checkout this book, you can reserve another copy
We have requested the book for you!
Your request is successful and it will be processed during the Library working hours. Please check the status of your request in My Requests.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place your request. Kindly try again later.
Journal Article
The use of faecal markers for the delimitation of the European rabbit’s social territories (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.)
2013
Overview
Olfactory signalling is widespread among mammal inter- and intra-specific communication systems. Social mammals use latrines (faecal accumulations) as a communication system, which address the needs of individuals both inside and outside the social group. Latrines are commonly used as olfactory and visual signals for the delimitation of territories, and the location of these signals may thus provide useful clues for the study of the marking animals’ behaviour and the delimitation of a spatial framework for these studies. In this work, we have tested the application of indigestible faecal markers in order to define territorial boundaries marked by latrines in wild rabbit social groups. Different combinations of baits and markers were first tested on wild rabbits kept in captive conditions, and the best combinations were then applied to rabbits in semi-natural conditions in order to test their feasibility for use with wild populations. As one possible application of the method, Minimum Convex Polygons and Kernel density estimators were used to analyse the distribution of the latrines of three wild rabbit social groups in semi-natural conditions. The results of this showed that the marked bait method is a useful tool for exploring the territorial behaviour of social mammals that use latrines for communication. It can also provide useful information for the definition of spatial frameworks based on social structures, and is fast, straightforward, easy, cheap, and does not require specialised training.
