Habitat preference of the desert cottontail with additional notes on the black-tailed jack rabbit

Title	Habitat preference of the desert cottontail with additional notes on the black-tailed jack rabbit
Publication Type	Thesis
Year of Publication	1970
Authors	Legler, Jr. RPhar
Number of Pages	26
Date Published	1970
University	New Mexico State University
City	Las Cruces, New Mexico
Thesis Type	M.S. Thesispp
Call Number	00175
Keywords	black-tailed jack rabbit, SEE Lepus, desert cottontail, SEE Sylvilagus, dissertation, dissertations, habitat preference, Lepus, habitat preference, Sylvilagus, habitat preference, theses, thesis
Abstract	The habitat preference of the desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii) was examined along with that of the black-tailed jack rabbit (Lepus californicus). The study was conducted within the northwestern portion of the Chihuahuan Desert, four road miles northeast of New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, from late September, 1969, to early March, 1970. Preferences for two shrub habitats were compared, one relatively open at the ground level, the other with denser ground vegetation. The cottontail was found to prefer the habitat with the denser cover of low-hanging, spreading shrubs. This was apparently due to a need for a close interspersion of low-hanging vegetation useable for escape cover and for concealment when resting. For the jack rabbit, a preference was also indicated for the denser shrub habitat, but it made nearly as much use of the other shrub habitat with the lesser amount of low-hanging vegetation. Both habitats had abundant open spaces used for flight by the jack rabbit.