Responses of eastern cottontails to intensive row-crop farming

Abstract

We studied responses of 25 transmitter-equipped eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) to intensive farming disturbances in Illinois from June 1990 to April 1993. Home ranges during the row-crop growing season (June-October) averaged 2.3 times larger than during the nongrowing season and 7-8 times larger than those reported in previous studies. There were no differences between sexes in size of home ranges or use of cover in either season. Habitat composition within home ranges of cottontails was not different than from the entire study area during the growing season. During the nongrowing season, cover type of the farmstead was a key element in home ranges of rabbits; it represented <2% of the study area but comprised 23% of home ranges and 40% of locations of rabbits. Fifty-five percent of rabbit locations during the nongrowing season were located in harvested row crop fields. Our study demonstrated how rabbits respond to spatial and temporal environmental changes caused by intensive agriculture where expansive row crops is the primary cover type.