Distribución espacial de las letrinas de conejo (Oryctolagus cuniculus) en el Monte de Valdelatas (Madrid)

Abstract

Rabbit’s latrines usually constitute an inequivocal sign of the communal territory of the lagomorph, and as it happens with the territorial marks left by other mammals, the location of the marks seems to be related with some characteristics of the environment. The aim of this work is to determine the search image of the rabbit to settle its dung-hills and, on the other hand, to establish the spatial relationship among all the latrines associated to a den and the den itself in Monte de Valdelatas (Madrid). The emplacement of all the latrines related to a den seems to follow a well defined pattern. They are found in clearings, associated to landmarks, usually in mounds and surrounded by rabbit’s pawscrapes. In Valdelatas the spatial distribution of the dung-hills around the den is subjected to topographical aspects of the study area, as dens are dug mostly in vertical slopes, well in streams or at both sides of the major tracks