| New England cottontail[1] | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Lagomorpha |
| Family: | Leporidae |
| Genus: | Sylvilagus |
| Species: | S. transitionalis |
| Binomial name | |
| Sylvilagus transitionalis (Bangs, 1895) | |
 | |
| New England cottontail range | |
TheNew England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis), also known as thegray rabbit,brush rabbit,wood hare,wood rabbit, orcooney, is aspecies ofcottontail rabbit that appears in fragmented populations acrossNew England and the state ofNew York, specifically from southernMaine to southern New York.[2][4][5] This species bears a close resemblance to theeastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), which has beenintroduced in much of the New England cottontail home range. The eastern cottontail is now more common in it.[6]
In 2006, it was estimated that the current area of occupancy in its historic range is 12,180 km2 (4,700 sq mi) - some 86% less than the occupied range in 1960.[2] Because of this decrease in this species' numbers and habitat, the New England cottontail is a candidate for protection under theEndangered Species Act. Cottontail hunting has been restricted in some areas where the eastern and New England cottontail species coexist in order to protect the remaining New England cottontail population.[7]
Rabbits require habitat patches of at least 12acres (4.9hectares) to maintain a stable population. In New Hampshire,the number of identified patches dropped from 20 to eight in the early 2000s.[citation needed] The ideal habitat is 25 acres (10 hectares) of continuous early successional habitat within a larger landscape that provides shrubwetlands and densethickets. Federal funding has been used for habitat restoration work on state lands, including the planting of shrubs and other growth critical to the rabbit's habitat. Funding has also been made available to private landowners who are willing to create thicket-type brush habitat which does not have much economic value.[6]
The New England cottontail is a medium-sized rabbit almost identical to the eastern cottontail.[8][9] The two species look nearly identical, and can only be reliably distinguished bygenetic testing oftissue, throughfecal samples (i.e., of rabbit pellets), or by an examination of the rabbits' skulls, which shows a keymorphological distinction: the frontonasalskull sutures of the eastern cottontail are smooth lines, while the New England cottontail's are jagged or interdigitated.[9][10] The New England cottontail also typically has black hair between and on the rear surface of the ears, which the eastern cottontail lacks.[8]
The New England cottontail is identical in fur patterns andmorphology to the closely relatedAppalachian cottontail (Sylvilagus obscurus), though theirranges do not overlap. Individuals can only be distinguished by their differing numbers ofchromosomes and subtle differences in skeletal size.[11]
The New England cottontail weighs between 2.194 and 2.970 pounds (995 and 1,347 g) and is between 15.7 and 17.3 inches (398 and 439 mm) long. It has a dark brown coat with a "penciled effect", and atail with white on the underside. It issexually dimorphic, with females being larger than males.[8]
The New England cottontail lives in theNew England region of the United States.Habitat destruction has limited its modern range to less than 25 percent of its historic range.[8] TheUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) wrote in 2011 that:
According to a 2019 study, the New England cottontail's historic range also included a small part of southernQuebec, from which it is extirpated.[2]
The major factor in the decline of the New England cottontail population and the restriction of its range is habitat destruction leading to reducedthicket habitat.[12] BeforeEuropean settlement, New England cottontails likely were found alongriver valleys, where disturbances in the forest—such asbeaver activity,ice storms,hurricanes, andwildfires—promoted thicket growth. The clearing of much of the New England forest, as well as economic development, has eliminated a large portion of New England cottontail habitat.[12] Other species that depend on thickets — including some birds (such as theAmerican woodcock,eastern towhee,golden-winged warbler,blue-winged warbler,yellow-breasted chat,brown thrasher,prairie warbler andindigo bunting) and reptiles (such as theblack racer,smooth green snake, andwood turtle) — have also declined.[13]
Various other factors also contributed to the decline of New England cottontails:
In 2011, researchers from theUniversity of Rhode Island (URI) reported that a survey found that the New England cottontail was on the verge oflocal extinction in Rhode Island, because of habitat loss, competition from eastern cottontails, and increased predator populations. The URI study collected nearly a thousand pellet samples from more than 100 locations;DNA testing of the samples showed that only one contained the DNA of the New England cottontail. A habitat analysis was conducted on an island inNarragansett Bay with no known past population by either cottontail species, as a possiblerefugium for the New England cottontail.[14]
TheNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) also states that the New England cottontail's range in the state has been dramatically reduced because of habitat destruction and competition with the eastern cottontail. Moreover, the New England cottontail and the eastern cottontail look nearly identical. As a result, it is difficult to determine the New England cottontails' distribution. The NYSDEC's New England Cottontail Initiative encouragesrabbit hunters to submit whole heads from rabbits they have killed east of the Hudson River to the department so they can be examined to help determine the New England cottontail's range.[9]
According to the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, the New England cottontail occurs onNantucket. Formerly, the species was thought to beextirpated on the island since the late 1990s, but the Nantucket Conservation Foundation and USFWS believe that because the island still contains largeshrubland habitat areas, there might still be a remnant New England cottontail population. In 2013, aDNA sample from a rabbit captured on Nantucket Conservation Foundation-owned Ram Pasture property in 2011 tested positive as a New England cottontail, showing that the rabbit still exists on Nantucket.[15]
The New England cottontail is a habitatspecialist[2] and prefers woodlands with higher elevation in northern latitudes.[8] It thrives in earlysuccessional forests—young forests (usually less than 25 years old) with a denseunderstory of thick, tangledscrubland or brushland vegetation.Blueberry andmountain laurel plants are preferred.[2][8][12] Studies indicate that as these forests matured into closed-canopy stands and the shrub layer began to thin in the 1960s, the New England cottontail habitat declined.[2][12]
New England cottontails create nests in depressions, some 4.7 in (12 cm) deep by 3.9 in (10 cm) wide, lining them with grasses and fur. New England cottontails are reticent to leave cover, being noted as rarely straying more than 16 feet (5 m) from shelter.[8]
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New England cottontails breed two to three times a year. Generally, thetestes of male New England cottontails begin to enlarge in late December. Thebreeding season varies based on local elevation and latitude, reportedly spanning from January to September. In Connecticut, this season spans mid-March to mid-September, and in Maine from April to August. Pregnant female New England cottontails have been observed between April and August.[8] Thegestation period is around 28 days.Litter sizes range from three to eight, with an average of 5.2 (as given by one source)[8] or 3.5 (as given by another).[2] Generally, cottontails who live in more northern habitats have shorter gestation periods and larger litters, so they produce more litters during warmer weather.[8]
Throughout its mating season, the male New England cottontail will form breeding groups centered around dominant females in regions of accessible shelter and food. New England cottontails conduct acourtship display involving running and jumping, which includes displays where one rabbit will jump over the other. Females remain apparently indifferent to males up until the point of being paired off, after which they display dominance throughout the periods ofnesting,birth, andnursing. This behavior is done to avoid harassment by uninvolved males. Immediately following birth, paired New England cottontails may mate again.[8] New England cottontails and eastern cottontails do not interbreed.[16]
Like all cottontails, the New England cottontail has a short lifespan, typically surviving a maximum of three years in the wild. Moreover, an average of only 15 percent of young survive their first year.[8] New England cottontails reachsexual maturity early, at no more than one year old, and many juvenile New England cottontails will breed in their first season.[8]
The young arealtricial, and are born helpless, being naked and not opening their eyes for several days. Males have noparental investment in their young, while female cottontails nurse them in the nest for roughly 16 days.[8]
New England cottontails areherbivores whose diet varies based on the season and local forage opportunities. In the spring and summer, the New England cottontail primarily eatsherbaceous plants (including leaves, stems, wood, bark, flowers, fruits, and seeds) fromgrasses andforbs. Beginning in the fall and continuing into the winter, New England cottontails transition to mostlywoody plants.[2][8]
Known predators of New England cottontails includeweasels (Mustela andNeogale sp.),domestic cats (Felis catus),red foxes (Vulpes vulpes),fishers (Pekania pennanti),[17] birds of prey (Falconiformes),coyotes (Canis latrans), andbobcats (Lynx rufus).[8] Past predators may have includedgray wolves (Canis lupus),eastern cougars (Puma concolor),wolverines (Gulo gulo), andCanada lynx (Lynx canadensis). To avoid predators, the New England cottontails run for cover; "freeze" and rely on theircryptic coloration; or, when running, follow azig-zag pattern to confuse the predator. Because New England cottontail habitat is small and has less vegetative cover, they must forage more often in the open, leaving them vulnerable.[8]
The New England cottontail has been listed as "vulnerable" on theIUCN Red List since 1996.[2] The species is a candidate for protection under theUnited States Government'sEndangered Species Act (seeUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service list of endangered species of mammals and birds) and is listed as endangered on state-level lists of Maine and New Hampshire.[12]
The New England cottontail is listed as "vulnerable" because of its decreasing population and reduction in suitable habitat. The USFWS is surveying suitable habitat for this species. Due to its rarity, elusiveness, and the fact that it is nearly identical to the eastern cottontail, DNA analysis of fecal pellets one of the best ways to identify New England cottontail populations. New England cottontails are listed as "endangered" in New Hampshire and Maine, "extirpated" in Vermont and Quebec, a "species of special concern" in New York and Connecticut, and a "species of special interest" in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Surveys are being conducted to identify areas for creating suitable habitat and to identify areas with extant suitable habitat that may contain remnant populations.Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Connecticut are primary areas that may hold populations of the species. The USFWS has discovered populations on Nantucket and in eastern Connecticut. Additional surveys are being done to find more remnant populations in New England and New York.
In 2013, theGovernment of Connecticut embarked on ahabitat restoration project inLitchfield County, clearing 57 acres (23 hectares) of mature woods to create a meadowland andsecond-growth forest needed by the rabbit.[18]
