Evidence of autumn reproduction in female European hares (Lepus europaeus) from southern Europe |
| |
Authors: | Aglaia Antoniou Georgios Kotoulas Antonios Magoulas Paulo Célio Alves |
| |
Institution: | 1. Department of Biology, University of Crete, Irakleio, Crete, Greece 2. Department of Genetics and Molecular Biotechnology, Institute of Marine Biology and Genetics, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Thalassocosmos Gournes Pediados, 71500, Irakleio, Crete, Greece 3. CIBIO, Centro de investiga??o em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos & Departamento de Zoologia-Antropologia da Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Vair?o, Portugal
|
| |
Abstract: | Information on reproductive biology of the European hare (Lepus europaeus) in different environmental and landscape conditions comprises part of fundamental knowledge regarding species’ adaptive
responses as well as many aspects of its biology. Most of the studies conducted on European hare reproduction are confined
to midlatitude and northern populations, whereas no data exist on the indigenous southern populations. Here, we present information
on reproductive characteristics of European hares inhabiting Mediterranean ecosystems on the island of Crete, Greece for two
successive hunting seasons. Although the annual reproductive cycle of the species is well known, with an autumn sexual inactivity,
the duration of this period is subjected to fluctuations in different years and for different areas. According to our data,
hare populations of Crete present an autumn–early winter reproductive activity with high proportions of pregnant females observed
in all the months of the study. Furthermore, the estimated mean litter size (1.54 SE ± 0.07) while signed to the lowest values
ever observed for European hares is similar to values obtained in continuous breeding species of the same genus, Lepus granatensis, Lepus corsicanus, Lepus (capensis) mediterraneus, and Lepus capensis also inhabiting warm climates. In conclusion, our results suggest that Cretan European hare populations exhibit a reproductively
active period during autumn–early winter where proportions of pregnant females and litter size give a strong indication of
a continuous reproduction throughout the year. |
| |
Keywords: | Continuous reproduction Adaptation Mediterranean Greece Crete |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|