Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Mención Ecología, Santiago, Chile.
Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Santiago, Chile.
Sci Rep. 2024 Aug 23;14(1):19581. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-70511-6.
The European rabbit has invaded numerous ecosystems worldwide, but rarely steppes. Since its various introduction attempts into the ecosystems of the Magallanes/Fuegian region, the rabbit has become a key player, interacting with species at different trophic levels and generating impacts on ecosystems. To better understand the role of the rabbit in steppe and scrub ecosystems, we characterised the food web in the Magallanes/Fuegian region to understand the identity of their interacting species, the mechanisms and complexities of their interactions to demonstrate that rabbit management may become more complex than just controlling a single species. Based on a bibliographic review and wildlife specialists' opinions, we built the Magellanic/Fuegian food web, evaluated their topological properties and performed a rabbit extinction simulation to assess the possible short-term ecological mechanisms operating in the community. We found that the network had 206 nodes (64% native, 13% exotic, and 22% mixed) and 535 links among nodes. The European rabbit was the most connected node of the food web, had the second largest dietary breadth, and ranked as the seventh prey item with more predators. A rabbit extinction simulation shows a possible release of herbivory pressure on plants, including that on several native plants (e.g., Gunnera tinctoria, Pratia repens, Gavilea lutea, Tetroncium magellanicus), and a possible release of competition for some herbivores that share resources with the rabbit (e.g., Ovis aries, Lama guanicoe, Bos taurus). Although rabbit predators have a broad and generalist diet, some such as the native Galicitis cuja, could face a 20% reduction in their trophic width and could intensify predation on alternative prey. These results show that the European rabbit is strongly embedded in the Magellanic/Fuegian ecosystem and linked to several native species. Therefore, rabbit management should consider ecosystem approaches accompanied by monitoring programs on native fauna and experimental pilot studies on native flora to conserve the Chilean Patagonia community.
欧洲兔已在全球范围内入侵了众多生态系统，但很少入侵草原和灌丛生态系统。自从它在麦哲伦/火地岛地区的各种生态系统引入尝试以来，它已成为一个关键的角色，与不同营养级别的物种相互作用，并对生态系统产生影响。为了更好地了解兔子在草原和灌丛生态系统中的作用，我们对麦哲伦/火地岛地区的食物网进行了特征描述，以了解其相互作用的物种身份、它们相互作用的机制和复杂性，以证明兔子的管理可能比仅仅控制单一物种更加复杂。基于文献综述和野生动物专家的意见，我们构建了麦哲伦/火地岛食物网，评估了它们的拓扑性质，并进行了兔子灭绝模拟，以评估社区中可能存在的短期生态机制。我们发现，该网络有 206 个节点（64%为本地种，13%为外来种，22%为混合种）和 535 个节点之间的联系。欧洲兔是食物网中连接度最高的节点，食性最广，排名第七的猎物，有更多的捕食者。兔子灭绝模拟显示，植物可能会释放出对植物的草食压力，包括对几种本地植物（如 Gunnera tinctoria、Pratia repens、Gavilea lutea、Tetroncium magellanicus）的草食压力，以及对与兔子共享资源的一些草食动物的竞争可能会释放出来（如 Ovis aries、Lama guanicoe、Bos taurus）。尽管兔子的捕食者有广泛而特化的食性，但一些捕食者，如本地的 Galicitis cuja，可能会面临其营养宽度减少 20%的情况，并可能加强对替代猎物的捕食。这些结果表明，欧洲兔在麦哲伦/火地岛生态系统中根深蒂固，并与几种本地物种相关联。因此，兔子管理应考虑生态系统方法，并结合对本地动物群的监测计划和对本地植物的实验试点研究，以保护智利巴塔哥尼亚社区。
