Density of Rabbits (oryctolagus Cuniculus L.) in the Mackenzie Basin, South Island, New Zealand

New Zealand Journal of Ecology (1997) 21(2): 161-167 ©New Zealand Ecological Society numbers of rabbits killed and how these vary amongst patches of relatively high and low abundance are not usually assessed. Understanding this spatial variability is potentially important in predicting the spatial variation in impacts of standard control operations and sources of subsequent resurgence in rabbit abundance. An understanding of absolute rabbit abundance will give us a greater insight into rabbit-predator interactions. This is needed for determining whether the interaction between rabbit and predator numbers is an important predictor of the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (Ragg, Waldrup and Moller, 1994). Measures of absolute abundance of rabbits will provide baselines for the study of the impact of Rabbit Calicivirus Disease (RCD) on the predatorprey relationships between introduced predators, rabbits and alternative prey species (Moller, Norbury and King, 1996; Norbury and Murphy, 1996). Accurate measurements of absolute rabbit density can be used also to assess the reliability of indices of abundance. This study was conducted in conjunction with spotlight counts of rabbits along transect lines (Fletcher et al., 1995). Spotlight counts gave an imprecise estimate of relative density HENRIK MOLLER, B. KAY CLAPPERTON and DAVID J. FLETCHER 1 Department of Zoology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand. 2 49 Margaret Avenue, Havelock North, New Zealand. 3 Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.