The diel activity pattern of mountain hare (Lepus timidus) on managed heather moorland in Scotland

The research presented in this paper provides an insight into the behavioral ecology of mountain hares on heather moorland in the Lammermuir Hills of southeast Scotland. We examine the seasonal and diel activity patterns using camera traps over a period of 12 months. The rate of camera detections was calculated for the different divisions of the 24‐hr cycle (daylight, dusk, night, and dawn). During autumn and winter (October–February), the activity pattern was crepuscular with greater activity at dusk than at dawn. Daylight activity was relatively low, and there was a regular pattern of small peaks of activity during the night. In spring and summer (March–September), peaks of crepuscular activity remained evident but daylight activity was much more prevalent than during autumn and winter, and night activity was lower. We discuss the problematic definition of twilight and present an explanation for seasonal changes in the pattern of diel activity that is linked to the reproductive cycle of the mountain hare.     

European hare (Lepus europaeus) invasion ecology: implication for the conservation of the endemic Irish hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus)

European hare Lepus europaeus populations have undergone recent declines but the species has successfully naturalised in many countries outside its native range. It was introduced to Ireland during the mid-late nineteenth century for field sport and is now well established in Northern Ireland. The native Irish hare Lepus timidus hibernicus is an endemic subspecies of mountain hare L. timidus and has attracted major conservation concern following a long-term population decline during the twentieth century and is one of the highest priority species for conservation action in Ireland. Little is known about the European hare in Ireland or whether it poses a significant threat to the native mountain hare subspecies by compromising its ecological security or genetic integrity. We review the invasion ecology of the European hare and examine evidence for interspecific competition with the mountain hare for habitat space and food resources, interspecific hybridisation, disease and parasite transmission and possible impacts of climate change. We also examine the impact that introduced hares can have on native non-lagomorph species. We conclude that the European hare is an emerging and significant threat to the conservation status of the native Irish hare. Invasive mammal species have been successfully eradicated from Ireland before and immediate action is often the only opportunity for cost-effective eradication. An urgent call is issued for further research whilst the need for a European hare invasive Species Action Plan (iSAP) and Eradication strategy are discussed.     

The effect of establishing native woodland on habitat selection and ranging of moorland mountain hares (Lepus timidus), a flexible forager

Mountain hares Lepus timidus L. typify species that occupy a broad geographic range and have flexible foraging and nutritional strategies. Such species may show a range of responses to habitat modification. This study aimed to provide a basis for prediction of the impact of mountain hares on woodland establishment, and of woodland establishment on mountain hare distribution. The selection of and the extent of incorporation of new woodland into the home range of mountain hares was investigated in an area where Scots pine Pinus sylvestris L. woodland was establishing within their usual habitat in Britain, upland heather moorland. Seasonal home, day and night-range sizes of radio-tracked mountain hares were determined using the multinuclear probability polygon technique and analysed using residual maximum likelihood (REML). Habitat selection was analysed using compositional analysis. Three main habitat types were available to hares: heather moorland with trees, heather moorland and grassland-mire. Mean home-range size of mountain hares in summer was 10.3 ha and in winter 9.6 ha. There were no significant seasonal or sex differences in home-range size. Females selected grassland-mire habitat in summer and showed no strong selection for any habitat in winter. Males selected heather moorland in both summer and winter. Heather moorland with trees was not selected preferentially by mountain hares of either sex in summer or winter. The absence of selection for areas of newly establishing-Scots pine woodland suggests that any browsing damage to trees by hares is most likely to be a function of the local abundance of mountain hares, rather than a result of active preference of hares for the modified habitat.     

塔里木兔种群遗传结构的初步探讨

塔里木兔作为中国特有种, 其种群遗传结构直到现在还未知。我们从采自于新疆维吾尔自治区3 个种群的25 号样品中扩增得到529 bp 线粒体DNA 控制区片段, 共发现存在76 个多态性位点。全部样品中定义了19 个单倍型, 每个种群都显示了很高的单倍型多态性。进一步分析表明, 3 个种群存在明显的遗传分化和较低的基因流。通过错配分布和Fu’s 中性检验分析发现, 阿克苏(AKS) , 若羌(RQ) 和疏勒(SL) 种群相对比较稳定。     

A preliminary study on the seasonal body temperature rhythms of the captive mountain hare (Lepus timidus)

The mountain hare (Lepus timidus) is a year-round active herbivore adapted to survive the boreal winter. Captive mountain hares (N = 4) were implanted with intraabdominal thermosensitive loggers to record their core body temperature (T_b) for a year and during food deprivation (8–48 h) in summer and winter. The average T_b was 38.7 ± 0.01 °C in summer and 38.3 ± 0.01 °C in winter. The yearly T_b correlated positively with the ambient temperature. The 24-h T_b was the highest from late scotophase to early photophase in summer and winter and the lowest during middle-late photophase in summer or during early-middle scotophase in winter. The range of the 24-h oscillations in T_b increased in three animals in winter. Food deprivation did not induce hypothermia in summer or winter. These preliminary data suggest that the mountain hare can spare a modest amount of energy with the wintertime reduction in T_b.     

The rise and fall of the mountain hare (Lepus timidus) during Pleistocene glaciations: expansion and retreat with hybridization in the Iberian Peninsula

The climatic fluctuations during glaciations have affected differently arctic and temperate species. In the northern hemisphere, cooling periods induced the expansion of many arctic species to the south, while temperate species were forced to retract in southern refugia. Consequently, in some areas the alternation of these species set the conditions for competition and eventually hybridization. Hares in the Iberian Peninsula appear to illustrate this phenomenon. Populations of Iberian hare (Lepus granatensis), brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and broom hare (Lepus castroviejoi) in Northern Iberia harbour mitochondrial haplotypes from the mountain hare (Lepus timidus), a mainly boreal and arctic species presently absent from the peninsula. To understand the history of this past introgression we analysed sequence variation and geographical distribution of mitochondrial control region and cytochrome b haplotypes of L. timidus origin found in 378 specimens of these four species. Among 124 L. timidus from the Northern Palaearctic and the Alps we found substantial nucleotide diversity (2.3%) but little differentiation between populations. Based on the mismatch distribution of the L. timidus sequences, this could result from an expansion at a time of temperature decrease favourable to this arctic species. The nucleotide diversity of L. timidus mtDNA found in Iberian L. granatensis, L. europaeus and L. castroviejoi (183, 70 and 1 specimens, respectively) was of the same order as that in L. timidus over its range (1.9%), suggesting repeated introgression of multiple lineages. The structure of the coalescent of L. granatensis sequences indicates that hybridization with L. timidus was followed by expansion of the introgressed haplotypes, as expected during a replacement with competition, and occurred when temperatures started to rise, favouring the temperate species. Whether a similar scenario explains the introgression into Iberian L. europaeus remains unclear but it is possible that it hybridized with already introgressed L. granatensis.     

Hares on ice: phylogeography and historical demographics of Lepus arcticus, L. othus, and L. timidus (Mammalia: Lagomorpha)

Phylogeographical investigations of arctic organisms provide spatial and temporal frameworks for interpreting the role of climate change on biotic diversity in high-latitude ecosystems. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted on 473 base pairs of the mitochondrial control region in 192 arctic hares (Lepus arcticus, Lepus othus, Lepus timidus) and two individual Lepus townsendii. The three arctic hare species are closely related. All L. othus individuals form one well-supported clade, L. arcticus individuals form two well-supported clades, and L. timidus individuals are scattered throughout the phylogeny. Arctic hare distribution was altered dramatically following post-Pleistocene recession of continental ice sheets. We tested for genetic signatures of population expansion for hare populations now found in deglaciated areas. Historical demographic estimates for 12 arctic hare populations from throughout their range indicate that L. arcticus and L. othus persisted in two separate North American arctic refugia (Beringia and High Canadian Arctic) during glacial advances of the Pleistocene, while the high genetic diversity in L. timidus likely reflects multiple Eurasian refugia.     

Invasion from the cold past: extensive introgression of mountain hare (Lepus timidus) mitochondrial DNA into three other hare species in northern Iberia

Mitochondrial DNA introgression from Lepus timidus into Lepus granatensis and Lepus europaeus was recently reported in Iberia, although L. timidus presumably retreated from this region at the end of the last ice age. Here we assess the extent of this ancient mtDNA introgression by RFLP analysis of 695 specimens representing the three hare species present in Iberia. The introgressed L. timidus lineage was found in 23 of the 37 populations sampled. It is almost fixed in L. europaeus across its Iberian range in the Pyrenean foothills, and in L. granatensis, which occupies the rest of the peninsula, it is predominant in the north and gradually disappears further south. We also found it in Lepus castroviejoi, a species endemic to Cantabria. Multiple hybridizations and, potentially, a selective advantage for the L. timidus lineage can explain the remarkable taxonomic and geographical range of this mitochondrial introgression.     

Excretion of corticosteroids in urine and faeces of hares (Lepus europaeus)

Increased production of glucocorticoids by the adrenal cortex is found in mammals under stress. As cortisol itself is absent in the faeces, an enzyme immunoassay (11-oxoaetiocholanolone) measuring 11,17-dioxoandrostanes has already been established to measure faecal cortisol metabolites in ruminants for non-invasive monitoring of adrenocortical activity. The aim of this study was to establish route and delay of excretion of glucocorticoids in hares and to determine whether a cortisol-, corticosterone- or this new enzyme immunoassay is best suited to detect faecal glucocorticoid metabolites. In the first experiment radioactive-labelled glucocorticoids (¹⁴C-cortisol and ³H-corticosterone) were administered intravenously to two groups of three hares in metabolic cages. All voided urine and faecal samples were collected for 4 days. Metabolites of both steroids were found predominantly in the urine (91 ± 4%). Peak concentrations were observed in the first urinary sample following infusion (13 ± 6 h) and in the faeces with a delay of about 1 day (23 ± 7 h). Most of the radioactivity was not extractable with diethylether, indicating that the metabolites excreted in urine and faeces are mainly conjugated or polar unconjugated ones. This was confirmed by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography separations of the metabolites, which also revealed marked differences concerning the metabolism of the two glucocorticoids injected. Compared with the cortisol and the corticosterone enzyme immunoassay, only the group-specific enzyme immunoassay for 11,17-dioxoandrostanes detected high quantities of immunoreactive metabolites. In a second experiment hares (n=20) were stressed by rousing them three times (5 min, 10 min and another 5 min) with a 20-min break in-between. Faecal samples were collected 2 days before until 4 days after stress and analysed using the 11-oxoaetiocholanolone enzyme immunoassay. After stress significantly (P < 0.001) increased 11,17-dioxoandrostane concentrations were found. Based on these results, measuring 11,17-dioxoandrostanes in faeces enables non-invasive monitoring of disturbances in hares and thus provides a tool for field investigations elucidating the role of stress in hare populations. Accepted: 24 November 1999     

Ethnic minority status and attitudes towards police powers: A comparative study of Great Britain,Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

It is one of the axioms of police research that the relationship between the police and ethnic minorities is, to say the least, problematic. There is now a growing body of empirical research which shows that the relationship is characterized by mutual antipathy. Using recent comparable data from Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, such conventional wisdom is tested in this article by means of ethnic responses to the power of the police in dealing with known criminals. Using multivariate regression analysis, the results suggest that not only is the relationship between ethnic minority status and attitudes towards the power of the police clearly different across these three countries, it also operated in unexpected ways which run directly counter to well‐accepted beliefs about the problematic relationship between the police and members of ethnic minority groups. In other words, for these three societies at least, occupying an ethnic minority group status does not automatically lead to a negative view of the powers that the police should be accorded in the pursuit of known criminals.     

中国兔属动物的分类现状和分布

兔属 (Lepus)动物是一类广泛分布、彼此差异较小的哺乳动物 ,属于兔形目 (Lagomorpha)、兔科(Leporidae)。本文根据目前的分类现状 ,列出中国兔属种、亚种名录和分布区 ;对中国兔属动物的研究历史进行了综述 ;并针对蒙古兔、华南兔、云南兔、中亚兔和东北黑兔分类地位存在的争议进行了讨论     

A single multiplex of twelve microsatellite markers for the simultaneous study of the brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and the mountain hare (Lepus timidus)

The management of hunted species is challenging, as it must conciliate the conservation of species and their sustainable exploitation. Nongenetic tools are widely used in this context but they may present limitations notably when species can hybridize or when large‐scale spatial monitoring is required to establish optimal management actions. This is why genetic tools have been more and more integrated in wildlife management practices. However, the markers proposed are often amplified in small multiplexes when larger ones could allow to better cope with the small quantities of DNA obtained with noninvasive sampling methods. Here, we propose a unique multiplex of 12 autosomal microsatellite markers for the study of two hare species that exist in sympatry in some areas in Europe and are hunted notably in France: the brown hare Lepus europaeus and the mountain hare L. timidus. We tested 17 markers previously used in these two species or other lagomorph species, from which 12 were included in this single multiplex. Diversity was between 4 and 30 alleles per locus totaling 126 alleles, and we showed that these markers possess appropriate genetic resolution for individual and species identification for the populations under study. This multiplex panel represents the largest number of microsatellites amplified in one reaction proposed for these two hare species and provides a cost‐effective and valuable tool for further hybridization studies and the management of hares.     

The effects of elevated CO2 and temperature on the resistance of winter-dormant birch seedlings (Betula pendula) to hares and voles

The effects of elevated CO₂ and temperature on the resource allocation pattern and resistance against mammalian herbivores of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) were studied. Birch seedlings were grown through two growing seasons in closed‐top chambers exposed to four different treatments: ambient CO₂ and temperature, elevated atmospheric CO₂ (700 ppm) and ambient temperature, elevated temperature (+3°C above ambient) and ambient CO₂, and a combination of elevated CO₂ and temperature. After winter hardening of the seedlings, the growth of the seedlings was measured and the concentration of secondary compounds such as phenolics and papyriferic acid determined. The top parts of the stem were fed to hares, and the basal parts of the same stems were offered to voles. Elevated CO₂ increased the height and basal diameter of the shoots, shoot biomass and total biomass of the seedlings but did not have any effect on secondary chemistry. Elevated temperature increased the height and shoot biomass, but did not have a significant effect on the total biomass of the seedlings. Elevated temperature decreased the concentration of condensed tannins and their precursor, (+)‐catechin, in the top part of the stems, but only the concentration of (+)‐catechin in the basal part of the stems. There were no significant interactive effects between CO₂ and temperature on phenolics in the stems, while the concentration of papyriferic acid showed significant interaction in the top part of the stems. This indicates high accumulation of papyriferic acid in ambient CO₂ under increased temperature. Consequently, elevated temperature increased the resistance of birch against hares, but did not affect the resistance of the basal parts of the same birches to voles. Our results indicate that the predicted climatic change will not necessarily lead to increased browsing damage by the mountain hare and the field vole to silver birch.     

Diet of the Iberian hare (Lepus granatensis) in a mountain ecosystem

The diet of the Iberian hare (Lepus granatensis) was studied through microhistological pellet analysis in two areas from a mountain ecosystem in Central Portugal. Fecal pellets were collected monthly in 24 plots spatially distributed throughout the two study areas. For each period, a sample of 15 to 20 pellets was milled and 400 epidermal fragments were identified, by comparison with a reference collection. A wide range of plant species was observed in hare’s diet. Grasses represent the basis of the Iberian hare diet, with frequencies always higher than 50% in both study areas (annual average = 69.98%). Most of the 35 species of grasses assembled for the reference collection (91.43%) were identified in the pellets. Nevertheless, only six of these were consumed in proportions greater than 5%, being Anthoxanthum odoratum, Secale cereale and Agrostis spp. the species ingested in higher frequencies. The rate of grasses consumption reached 80.69% in winter but decreased in summer to around 55%. In this season, a concurrent rise in the ingestion of other plant groups, like herbs and shrubs, and of plant inflorescences was observed. This work provides the first results on the Iberian hare’s diet on mountain ecosystems, and suggests that the Iberian hare diet in a mountain ecosystem is similar to the observed in L. europaeus and L. timidus.