Abstract Context: Wild rabbits are considered a key species in the coastal dunes of the Netherlands, but populations have collapsed as a result of viral diseases. Aim: We studied to what extent population collapse led to local extinction...
moreAbstract Context: Wild rabbits are considered a key species in the coastal dunes of the Netherlands, but populations have collapsed as a result of viral diseases. Aim: We studied to what extent population collapse led to local extinction and whether recolonisation of empty patches in the dunes happened. Methods: We investigated occupancy dynamics using data of 245 transects where rabbits were surveyed in 1984–2009. Dynamic site-occupancy models were used to analyse the data. These models adjust for imperfect detection to ...
