Research Prospectus and Bibliography

Invasive animals is a issue that occurs in many areas of the world today. Instead of looking at all invasive animals, we should try and look at a specific example to try and grasp the true understanding of these types of animals and the impact they have in a environment. While searching, I found that the rabbit is a very effective, invasive, species that is taking over in Australia. According to feral. org, there are many reasons why the rabbits have become successful in its invasion of Australia. One being that in the way they reproduce. They can start breeding from 3 to 4 months, while a mature female rabbit can potentially stay pregnant for 3 to 6 months continuously for a year. One male and one female rabbit can produce 30 to 40 rabbits a year.

The rabbits ability to be invasive not only lies on there ability to reproduce quickly and efficiently but the reason is also the warren in which Australia allows certain protection for them. It protects the rabbits from the weather and also predators that hunt them. Australia is almost the perfect environment for the rabbits to live and increase there population. as it lacks most diseases and parasites that kill off the rabbits. It seems all is well with the rabbits living in this habitat but the fact remains that they are doing more damage than benefiting the economy and environment.

According to Invasive Animals CRC, the rabbits are considered to be the biggest feral problem in Australia. The average cost in damages to the economy per year is around 200 million dollars. This estimation includes the fact they prevent the regeneration of native plants by eating seedlings. Their damage also includes the damaging to vegetation through ringbarking, grazing and browsing. Since the invasion of these rabbits became harmful to the economy and to the environment, we, as people, tried to handle the problem in a manner that involved killing these rabbits. In 1950, we released a virus known as myxomatosis which killed almost all rabbits. However, as time went on, the rabbits adapt to the virus and it no longer affected them. In a article written by Staff Writers entitled, "Rabbits Fighting Back Against RHD", for the Terra Daily May 11th, 2009, a new disease was created to control and kill the rabbits known as the Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD). They note that the disease does not act as a disease but as a vaccine that protects the rabbits.

Before I did research on this topic, I knew nothing about the invasion of rabbits and the effect it had on Australia. So now the question remains, do we try and wipe out the entire rabbit population from Australia, or try and control them and seek other means to resolve the problem? This is a matter that needs to be taken seriously as the economy and the environment continues to loose its value and sense of life.

The rabbits in Australia is just a small percentage of the number of invasive species exist today. While furthering my research on the rabbits, I notice that there is nothing positive about their existence in this environment. They have been in Australia since a little before 1900s. This means that they have been there for over 100 years. It seems to me that Australia may not know what to do or how to handle the lost of the rabbits. There has to be some good the rabbits have to offer and not all negative.

Bibliography

Writers,Staff. "Rabbits Fighting Back Against RHD." Terra Daily. May 11th, 2009.

Invasive Animals CRC. "Rabbits."
http://www.invasiveanimals.com/invasive-animals/rabbits/index.html

Lapidge, Bourne, Braysher, and Sarre (2004-present) feral.org.au [Online]. Web-based
(http://www.feral.org.au/content/general/about.cfm)

Natrual Heritage Trust. "European Wild Rabbit."
Australian Government: Department of the Environment and Heritage.