Vegetal habitat characteristics and annual dietary selection were examined for the pygmy rabbit in southeastern Idaho. Areas selected for habitation by pygmy rabbits had a significantly greater woody cover and height than other areas. Total grass-forb biomass was similar in rabbit and nonrabbit sites. Grass biomass was least and forb biomass greatest where pygmy rabbits were most abundant. Sagebrush was eaten throughout the year, although in lesser amounts in summer (51%) than in winter (99%). Grasses and forbs were eaten through the summer (39 and 10%, respectively) and decreased in the diet through fall to winter. Sagebrush is critical to the pygmy rabbit for both food and cover, although in this study, cover and height of woody vegetation appeared to be the critical features of the habitat selected for. This fact should be considered before brush removal treatments are applied within pygmy rabbit range. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.