Determining the Presence of New England Cottontail on Apple Hill

Red balloons delineate the presence of New England Cottontail scat,
while blue balloons show where Eastern Cottontail scat was found at Apple Hill.

The presence of New England Cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis) was determined from cottontail scat pellets collected in January 2013.  A total of 14 scat samples were collected and only 3 were determined to be New England Cottontail while the remainder were from Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus).  A habitat management project is underway at Apple Hill to encourage early successional habitat that encourages cottontail rabbits and other species that inhabit dense shrubby habitats.  The loss of this habitat throughout New England has precipitated a loss of the wildlife that inhabit it.  New England Cottontail are an indigenous species that has adapted and evolved to the ecological processes that sustain early successional habitats in New England.  Eastern Cottontail were introduced to New England and also utilize the same habitat but can also inhabit smaller patches of shrubby habitats that are frequently observed in people's backyards.  New England Cottontail require larger habitat patches which need to be connected with other established populations to insure the species can be sustained for future generations.  Although few pellets yielded the presence of New England Cottontail in the habitat management project, we hope that as the vegetation regenerates and invasive species are controlled, they will flourish in this area of the property.  Future monitoring will determine if this occurs.

New England Cottontail Habitat Management Project -- Species Documentation

Cottontail scat was collected throughout the Habitat Management Project
 to determine the species and abundance of cottontails at Apple Hill on January 22, 2013. 

Nicki Hall and Alyce Walker helped collect cottontail scat at the Habitat Management Project at Apple Hill that targets the conservation of the New England Cottontail.  We collected a total of 14 pellets throughout the study area after approximately 0.75 inches of snow accumulated yesterday evening.  It was great conditions to collect scat samples for this project because it remained cold enough throughout the preceding evening and this morning that we could take our time following every trail that we encountered to observe scat.  There was plenty of cottontail tracks and scat throughout the area, especially where the shrubby cover was very dense.  The scat will be transported to our colleagues at CT DEEP, Wildlife Division, who have advised us throughout the term of this project.  The scat will be used to extract molecular information that will tell us which species inhabits the Apple Hill area.  Two species of cottontail reside in Connecticut.  The native species that adapted and evolved to the ecological processes in our region is called the New England Cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis).  The other species that was introduced to the state and has become more common is the Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus).

Cottontail Scat and Tracks in Snow.

New England Cottontail Rabbit Survey

Alyce Walker and I ventured up Apple Hill to survey for cottontail rabbit spore.  We found several tracks in the recent snow and more importantly we found and collected scat.  The scat will be tested to identify which cottontail rabbit left it.  New England Cottontail rabbit is our native cottontail species in southern New England, but the Eastern Cottontail has become more widespread after it's introduction to New England.  Differentiating the species is very difficult unless you can can examine the skull.  Tissue samples can be useful for identifying the species but cottontail rabbits are difficult to capture in live traps.  Fortunately, the scat yields the kind of data we need but it has to be collected under precise conditions.  We haven't had many days with very cold temperatures (below freezing) for 36 hours or more after it last snows this season.  We had one day this season to take advantage of this season, fortunately we found one scat.  This project will continue during subsequent seasons.

Scat is collected and stored in vials with silica gel (a drying agent) until laboratory analysis.

Cottontail Rabbit Tracks in Snow.

Examining the Feasibility of New England Cottontail Habitat Management

(l to r) Jack Berlanda and Paul Rothbart (CT DEEP Wildlife Div. Habitat Unit)
 speak with Lukas Hyder (WMF Forester) during a visit to a potential
 New England Cottontail habitat management site.  

The New England Cottontail (NEC) Initiative Team from the CT DEEP, Wildlife Division Habitat Unit visited the property today to explore the feasibility of managing habitat on the White Memorial Foundation.  The Team consisted of Paul Rothbart (Habitat Biologist), Lisa Wahle (Project Wildlife Specialist), and Jack Berlanda (Project Forester).  Several ideas were discussed including current management plans, invasive species management options, and NEC population monitoring.  The NEC is our only native cottontail rabbit in New England and is declining due to habitat loss/change and expanding Eastern Cottontail populations.  Eastern Cottontails were introduced to Southern New England for many years for hunting opportunities and adapt quickly to backyard habitats.  White Memorial Foundation property lies within a NEC Initiative Focus Area, where we can offer areas of suitable habitat larger than 25 acres for NEC conservation.  NEC requires large early successional habitats with high woody stem density.