Rabbits, weeds and crops: Can agricultural intensification promote wildlife conflicts in semiarid agro-ecosystems?

Abstract

Agricultural intensification has led to the extreme simplification of agricultural landscapes. The subsequent impoverishment of farmland plant communities can drive dramatic changes in the associated food webs of agricultural systems, with potential implications for vertebrate pest management. Weeds may provide alternative food sources for damaging species and thus contribute to reducing their damage, which is particularly desirable if the species is a valuable resource in its own right. Wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are a game species of great conservation value in the Iberian Peninsula that cause frequent damage to crops. Here we describe the dynamics of non-crop plant communities over an annual cycle in a semiarid Mediterranean agro-ecosystem, and discuss the potential linkages and implications for rabbit damage management. Overall, the availability of alternative food for rabbits was very low, especially in the most extensive habitat types, i.e. olive groves and vineyards. The seasonal pattern in plant productivity, which coincides with the phenology of rabbits in Mediterranean areas was only detectable in the less intensively managed habitat types. Scarce natural vegetation remnants retained the highest richness, diversity and plant cover, potentially acting as a refuge for both, plants and rabbits. Our results indicate that intensive management practices, through reducing alternative food sources for rabbits, are likely to promote conflict between hunters, farmers and conservationists in semiarid agro-ecosystems of Southern Spain.