pikas, rabbits, and hares
 Today consist of 2 families, ~13 genera, ~80 species
 Ochotonidae- pikas
 Leporidae- jackrabbits & hares and rabbits
 Prolagidae- Mediterranean giant pikas (extinct)
 Earliest fossil- 55 million years ago in Mongolia
 Families much more diverse in the Tertiary period than today
 Herbivores
 Peg like teeth
 Terrestrial
 Found on all continents
except Antarctica
 Exotic species in Australia and
New Zealand
 Similar adaptations to
Rodentia
 Possible Superorder
Glires???
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Leporididae
Large ears
Elongated hind limbs
“cotton ball” tails
Fenestrated maxilla
Arctic, deserts, tropics, forest
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Ochotonidae
Small ears
Short limbs
No tails
Notched incisors
Talus slopes or steppe areas
Rabbits
Hares
 Well-constructed, fur lined
 Shallow depressions,
nests
 Altricial young
 Interparietal bone in skull
 42 chromosomes
“forms”
 Precocial young
 NO interparietal bone
 48 chromosomes
Smith, A. (2008). The World of Pikas. In Lagomorph biology evolution, ecology, and conservation. Ed.
Alves, P et. al. Springer: New York
 Induced ovulation
 Egg is released shortly after
copulation
 Postpartum estrus
 Gestation period trade off
 Higher latitudes have
shorter gestation periods to
produce more young in
favorable weather, and
larger litter size
 longer gestation in tropical
species are born more fully
developed and able to
avoid predators
Chapman, J. (1984). Latitude and Gestation Period in New World Rabbits. The American Naturalist 124(3): 442-445
Day-time
Food digestibility
Hard
Night- time (temporary)
Feces
Supplemental food
Soft
Vitamins and microbial
proteins
 Ingestion of feces (hard & soft)
 Quickly excrete poorly digestible large particles (hard),
retain fine particles for excretion and re-ingestion (soft)
 Very sophisticated digestive system
Hirakawa, H. (2001). Coprophagy in leporids and other mammalian herbivores. Mammalian Review 31:61-80
 Storing food for winter??
 Not enough food
 Don’t eat all that is stored
 Haypile size have no
relation to mortality
 Conclusions:
 Enough food for 8 months
 Need large piles because
only 25% of what is stored
is available
 Store food to survive
shortages
 Secondary use: bedding
Biomass of haypile throughout the year
Dearing, M.D. (1997). The Function of Haypiles of Pika. Journal of Mammalogy 78(4): 1156-1163
 Observed species available
and species chose based on
diversity and abundance
 Selective in vegetation for
making hay
 Chose plants rich in
secondary compounds
(tannins)
 Reject evergreens
 Conclusions:
 Eat what is most available in
summer
 store what is not edible in
summer for winter
 do not store what will be
available in winter
Gliwicz, J., S. Pagacz, J. Witczuk. (2006). Strategy of Food Plant Selection in the Siberian Northern Pika.
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 38(1): 54-59
 Brought to Australia by
Europeans as a game
species to be hunted
 Degrade the land, reduce
native vegetation, and may
cause extinction of native
mammals
 Control Methods
 Biological control (virus)
 Hunting and trapping
 Rabbit-proof fence
 Poisoning
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/pubs/rabbit.pdf
 Remain close to the
location they were born
 Dispersal can be difficult
 Survival of one patch is
highly dependent on the
number of neighboring
patches
 Need to learn what causes
patches to be recolonized
or to go extinct to ensure
the future of the pika
Smith, A. (2008). The World of Pikas. In Lagomorph biology evolution, ecology, and conservation. Ed.
Alves, P et. al. Springer: New York
1. Diversity within the order
 Pika, rabbits, and hares
2. Reproduction
 Induced ovulation, gestation periods
3. Foraging Adaptations
 Hay making and coprophagy
4. Management Issues
 too many, metapopulation dynamics
Chapman, J. (1984). Latitude and Gestation Period in New World Rabbits. The American Naturalist 124(3):
442-445
Chapman, J. & J.E.C. Flux. (2008) Introduction to the Lagomorpha. In Lagomorph biology evolution, ecology,
and conservation. Ed. Alves, P et. al. Springer: New York
Dearing, M.D. (1997). The Function of Haypiles of Pika. Journal of Mammalogy 78(4): 1156-1163
Gliwicz, J., S. Pagacz, J. Witczuk. (2006). Strategy of Food Plant Selection in the Siberian Northern Pika. Arctic,
Antarctic, and Alpine Research 38(1): 54-59
Hirakawa, H. (2001). Coprophagy in leporids and other mammalian herbivores. Mammalian Review 31:61-80
Smith, A. (2008). The World of Pikas. In Lagomorph biology evolution, ecology, and conservation. Ed. Alves, P
et. al. Springer: New York
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/pubs/rabbit.pdf
www.cryptomundo.com,
www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk,
northwestnaturalmoments.blogspot.com
westerncascades.com
environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca,
thehuntinglife.com
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Mammalia.html#Mammalia%23
wild-facts.com