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The diet and landclass affinities of the Irish hare Lepus timidus hibernicus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2001

S. K. Dingerkus  and
W. I. Montgomery
S. K. Dingerkus
Affiliation:
Green Spaces, Norwich City Council, Gladstone House, 28 St. Giles Street, Norwich, NR2 1TQ, U.K.
W. I. Montgomery
Affiliation:
School of Biology and Biochemistry, Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, The Queen's University of Belfast, BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland, U.K.
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Abstract

The diet of the Irish hare Lepus timidus hibernicus was investigated in Northern Ireland. Faecal pellets were collected at regular intervals from three contrasting study sites and from a number of randomly selected sites from known land classes. Microhistological techniques were employed to analyse the pellets. Grass species occurred in high percentage frequencies in all samples of faecal pellets and a wide variety of plant species were represented (up to 26 species in one study site). In a stratified, random survey of the presence of hares, areas of lowland intensive agriculture had fewer positive records than expected. It is contended that L. t. hibernicus may not be able to sustain viable populations in areas of intensive agriculture, which are almost exclusively composed of ryegrass Lolium spp.

Keywords

faecal analysismicrohistological techniqueslandscape ecologyLepus timidus
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Zoology , Volume 253 , Issue 2 , February 2001 , pp. 233 - 240
Copyright
© 2001 The Zoological Society of London

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