MORGANTOWN, W.Va.ย โย Twoย Westย Virginiaย Universityย biologists are scouring the mountains for signs of rabbit and hare life.
Amy Welshย andย Chris Rotaย with theย WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Designย are studying the habits and habitats of twoย Westย Virginia lagomorphsโthe Appalachian cottontail and the snowshoe hare.
Their research team, which also includesย WVU alumni Mack Frantz and Holly Morris, biologists with the Westย Virginia Division of Natural Resources, is about to begin a collaborative, four-year study.
Domestic lagomorphs in theย western U.S. are suffering an outbreak of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus that has spread into native populations. Biologists here worry that a similar, uncontrollable outbreak might happen in eastern populations.
In response, WVU and the W.Va. DNR are partnering to use non-invasive genetic techniques to study population dynamics and monitor and prepare for a possible disease outbreak.
Both the Appalachian cottontail and snowshoe hare are elusive. Genetic testing often relies on things like hair and scat, and Rota said the team would be taking samples from the field.
โWe are going to look for bunny poop,โ he said. โFrom that bunny poop, Amy and her lab will be able to identify individual rabbits and hares.โ
Welsh and doctoral student Madison Miller will perform genetic analyses on samples to determine several things.
โThe poop tells quite a story,โ Welsh said. โWe'll start off the genetic analysis by first figuring out what species it was, so we can differentiate between the different types of cottontails and confirm that it's a cottontail versus a hare.
"And then we do individual ID on the poop. We use enough genetic markers so that we can get a DNA fingerprint from the sample.โ
The team hopes to find more small, isolated pockets of both cottontails and hares. Data will help determine how dense individuals are within an area and identify habitat characteristics. The samples also provide Welshโs lab with data on issues of concern.
โWe can also do disease testing on the poop,โ Welsh said. โIt will tell a big story. And we'll be able to see if there's hybridization happening inย Westย Virginia. Weโll be able to ask a lot of cool questions based on the data.โ
Appalachian cottontails live at high elevations, in northern hardwood forests with a dense cover of blueberries and heath-like plants. Populations have become smaller and more isolated, leaving them vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events. Theyโre also threatened by the more competitive and widespread eastern cottontail, and researchers are concerned about hybridization between them.
The snowshoe hare component of the study will focus on filling in knowledge gaps about the species.ย Westย Virginia is at the southern extreme of the animalsโ range, and they live at high elevations, mainly in Tucker, Randolph, and Pocahontas counties.
When the lab has identified individual animals from the samples, Rota, a quantitative ecologist, will help with the data analysis. The DNR can then use the information to shape habitat management practices to better aid lagomorph populations and ensure theyโre not so isolated.
โIt's really a collaborative project,โ Rota said. โYou can see that we've got diverse expertise here. We've got the species expertise from Mack, the habitat and regulation with Holly, Amy with genetics, and then me with the design and statistics.โ
In that vein,ย WVU researchers have a long history with the division.
โItโs an important element,โ Welsh said. โWe love collaborating with DNR, answering questions that are management-related, and then I love helping them figure out what to do with the collected data.
"Itโs about how we can help make management decisions that will benefit the people of Westย Virginiaย as well as the species. That's another fun element of it, too.โ
Laura Roberts, a research writer with WVU Research Communications, contributed this story. (laura.roberts@
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