Home Range and Movements of the Eastern Cottontail in Kansas

By Donald W. Janes

In order to properly manage populations of the cottontail rabbit, a thorough understanding of its home range and movements is essential. This study, conducted in the University of Kansas Natural History Reservation, provides insight into the most effective methods for determining the size of the home range of these elusive creatures. The 590-acre reserve, protected as a "natural area" since 1948, is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna, including the American elm, shagbark hickory, and chestnut oak. Through careful analysis of the landscape and vegetation, the author has developed a more valid procedure for estimating the population of the cottontail rabbit. Through this study, new light is shed on the ecological landscape of this unique region.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Good Press
• Release date: Dec 4, 2019
• ISBN: 4057664565815

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Donald W. Janes

Home Range and Movements of the Eastern Cottontail in Kansas

Published by Good Press, 2022

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EAN 4057664565815

Table of Contents

University of Kansas Publications Museum of Natural History

Vol. 10, No. 7, pp. 553-572, 4 pls., 3 figs. May 4, 1959

Home Range and Movements of the Eastern Cottontail in Kansas

By

DONALD W. JANES

University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History

University of Kansas Publications

Museum of Natural History

Table of Contents

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Vol. 10, No. 7, pp. 553-572, 4 pls., 3 figs.

May 4, 1959

Table of Contents

Home Range and Movements of the Eastern Cottontail in Kansas

Table of Contents

By

Table of Contents

DONALD W. JANES

Table of Contents

University of Kansas

Lawrence

1959

University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History

Table of Contents

Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, Henry S. Fitch,

Robert W. Wilson

Volume 10, No. 7, pp. 553-572, 4 pls., 3 figs.

Published May 4, 1959

University of Kansas

Lawrence, Kansas

PRINTED IN

THE STATE PRINTING PLANT

TOPEKA, KANSAS

1959

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Home Range and Movements

of the Eastern Cottontail in Kansas

By

DONALD W. JANES

INTRODUCTION

A knowledge of the home range and movements of the cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) is one of the most important prerequisites for estimating effectively its numbers and managing its populations. By comparing results obtained from different methods, previously used, for determining the size of the home range I have attempted to develop a more valid procedure.

The study here reported upon was made on the University of Kansas Natural History Reservation (Sec. 4, T. 12S, R. 20E), the northeasternmost section of Douglas County, Kansas, approximately 6½ miles north-northeast of the University campus at Lawrence. The 590-acre reservation, situated in the ecotone between the eastern deciduous forests and the prairie of the Great Plains near the north edge of the Kansas River Valley, has been protected as a natural area since 1948 (Fitch, 1952). It consists of tree-covered slopes, and flat grass-covered hilltops and valleys. Two limestone outcrops follow the contours about five and 20 feet below the tops of the hills.

The 90-acre study area