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Parker, Katherine L

Resting metabolic rate of pygmy rabbits (0.89 ml 02 g-1 h-1) was high compared to other eutherian mammals, but not unusual among lagomorphs. The estimated size of the zone of thermoneutrality was ca. 8-90C, with the lower critical temperature occurring between 15 and 200C, depending on body mass. Minimum thermal conductance was lower and mean body temperature was higher than predicted for similarly sized mammals. Body temperature fluctuated > 1?C within a 24-h period, but showed no circadian patterns. Pygmy rabbits are thermally stressed during harsh winters in Wyoming, but low thermal conductance, a highenergy source of food, and favorable microenvironments enhance survival. Published in Journal of Mammalogy, volume...
The pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) is the smallest leporid in North America and is endemic to sagebrush-steppe habitats of the Great Basin (Jansen 1946; Green and Flinders 1980). Brachylagus idahoensis is an extreme habitat specialist that relies exclusively on big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) for food and for protection from predators and thermal extremes; it is also the only native rabbit species that constructs extensive burrow systems (Green and Flinders 1980; Katzner 1994). Because of their dependence on this vegetation type, populations of B. idahoensis are vulnerable to habitat fragmentation, overgrazing, and sagebrush eradication (Holecheck 1981; Dobler and Dixon 1990). Although knowledge of B....
We determined sizes of home ranges for pygmy rabbits in southwestern Wyoming and characterized the vegetation within and outside those areas used during winters of 1993 and 1994. Seventy percent of pygmy rabbits used more than one core area within their home range. Habitats within home ranges had less low ground cover and a greater number of wider, taller Artemisia tridentata than did adjacent non-used areas. Pygmy rabbits selectively used dense and structurally diverse stands of A. t. tridentata, which also accumulated more snow than areas of low use. Structure and diversity of vegetation above the snow's surface declined as the season progressed and depths of snow increased. The subnivean environment provided...
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