10.5061/DRYAD.748PD64
Cove, Michael V.
North Carolina State University
Gardner, Beth
University of Washington
Simons, Theodore R.
North Carolina State University
O'Connell, Allan F.
United States Geological Survey
Data from: Co-occurrence dynamics of endangered Lower Keys marsh rabbits
and free-ranging domestic cats: prey responses to an exotic predator
removal program
Dryad
dataset
2019
Predator-prey dynamics
exotic predators
Sylvilagus palustris hefneri
Felis catus
2019-03-30T00:00:00Z
2019-03-30T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3954
25382 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
The Lower Keys marsh rabbit is one of many endangered endemic species of
the Florida Keys. The main threats are habitat loss and fragmentation from
sea level rise, development, and habitat succession. Exotic predators such
as free-ranging domestic cats pose an additional threat to these
endangered small mammals. Management strategies have focused on habitat
restoration and exotic predator control. However, the effectiveness of
predator removal and the effects of anthropogenic habitat modifications
and restoration have not been evaluated. Between 2013-2015, we used camera
traps to survey marsh rabbits and free-ranging cats at 84 sites in the
National Key Deer Refuge, Florida, USA. We used dynamic occupancy models
to determine factors associated with marsh rabbit occurrence,
colonization, extinction, and the co-occurrence of rabbits and cats during
a period of predator removal. Rabbit occurrence was positively related to
freshwater habitat and patch size, but was negatively related to the
number of individual cats detected at each site. Furthermore, marsh rabbit
colonization was negatively associated with relative increases in the
number of individual cats at each site between survey years. Cat
occurrence was negatively associated with increasing distance from human
developments. The probability of cat site extinction was positively
related to a two year trapping effort, indicating that predator removal
reduced the cat population. Dynamic co-occurrence models suggested that
cats and rabbits co-occur less frequently than randomly expected, whereas
co-detections were site and survey-specific. Rabbit site extinction and
colonization were not strongly conditional on cat presence, but
corresponded with a negative association. Our results suggest that while
rabbits can colonize and persist at sites where cats occur, it is the
number of individual cats at a site that more strongly influences rabbit
occupancy and colonization. These findings indicate that continued
predator management would likely benefit endangered small mammals as they
re-colonize restored habitats
Occupancy data for Lower Keys marsh rabbits and free-ranging domestic cats
from the Florida KeysDetection data for marsh rabbits and domestic cats as
well as covariates associated with each camera trap
site.Cove_etal_Ecology_Evolution_2018_data.csv
Florida Keys