Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)


Group	Rabbits and Hares
Code	AMAEB01040
Order	Lagomorpha
Family	Leporidae
Author	(J.A. Allen, 1890)
Rank	G5 (definitions)
Occurrence	P (definitions)
Scale	C (definitions)

County List:


Western UP	all
Eastern UP	Alger
Northern LP	all
Southern LP	all

Rule:

Mixed Forested/Nonforested or Nonforested Landscapes

1st alternative:
      (Any Forested Upland (Regen))
      or Fields/Pastures
      or Small Grains/Forage Crops
   adjacent to:
      Edge

2nd alternative:
      or Grass
      or Upland Brush
      or Savanna
      or Residential

view decision rule term definitions

Habitat List:

Habitats	Regen	Sap	Pole	Sm Saw	Lg Saw	Uneven
Aspen	YES	no	no	no	no	-
Paper Birch	YES	no	no	no	no	-
Oak	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Assorted Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Northern Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Spruce/Fir	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Hemlock	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Jack Pine	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Red Pine	YES	no	no	no	no	no
White Pine	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Conifer Plantations	YES	no	no	no	no	-
Mixed Upland Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Northern Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Upland Conifer	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Pine	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Swamp Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Balsam Poplar & Swamp Aspen & Swamp Birch	no	no	no	no	no	no
Bottomland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Tamarack	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern White Cedar	no	no	no	no	no	no
Black Spruce	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Non-Forested	Grass, Upland Brush, Savanna, Small Grains/Forage Crops, Fields/Pastures, Residential
Special Features	Edges

view size class definitions

Literature:

Kurta, A. 1995. Mammals of the Great Lakes Region. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor. 376 pp.
This eastern cottontail is abundant where herbaceous vegetation abounds and potential shelter exists in the form of brushpiles, shrubby thickets, or weedy fencerows. It avoids extensive grasslands without suitable hiding places and deep forests with sparse groundcover. Consequently, the eastern cottontail is very common in the southern Great Lakes region where a mosaic of croplands, pastures, meadows, and woodlots exist. This rabbit, however, is scarce in northern Wisconsin and Michigan and absent from Ontario north of Lakes Huron and Superior, where large forested tracts dominate the landscape.

The eastern cottontail is a strict vegetarian that feeds from an extensive menu. In summer, grasses form the bulk of its diet, but it also eats clover, plantain, dandelion, goldenrod, and wild carrot. When autumn frosts reduce the availability of herbaceous vegetation, the eastern cottontail switches to woody plants for food. It readily consumes the bark, twigs, and/or buds of raspberry, apple, red maple, honey locust, staghorn sumac, black cherry, and dozens of other species.

DeGraaf, R. M. and D. D. Rudis. 1986. New England wildlife: habitat, natural history, and distribution. GTR NE-108. Broomall, PA:USDA, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 491 pp.
Habitat: Farmlands, pastures, fallow fields, open woodlands, thickets along fence rows and stone walls, edges of forests, swamps and marshes, suburban areas with adequate food and cover. Avoids dense woods.

Special Habitat Requirements: Brush piles, stone walls, dens or burrows for year-round protection from storms and cold weather. Herbaceous and shrubby cover.

Baker, R. H. 1983. Michigan Mammals. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, MI. 642 pp.
Distribution: In Michigan, this species seems to thrive best in mixed woodlots, cultivated and fallow fields, and fence-row and roadside vegetation in the southern part of the Lower Peninsula. It is also found in all counties of the northern part of the Lower Peninsula and the western part of the Upper Peninsula, especially near the Wisconsin border, and eastward as far as Alger County.

Habitat Preferences: The areas often cleared and/or covered with second-growth shrubs, vines, and low trees in what was once the deciduous forests of southern Michigan are the preferred habitats of the eastern cottontail. The mosaic pattern of land-use practices with large amounts of the edge environment - between growths of woody vegetation and open pasture and croplands - has produced favorable conditions for a large and widespread cottontail population. Where conifers and related boreal forest vegetation dominate in northern parts of the state, the eastern cottontail disappears and the snowshoe hare becomes the featured leporid.

Although there is limited historic evidence, it is suspected that cutting of southern Michigan's hardwood forests, in the past 80-90 years, which brought about habitat diversification as observed today, has allowed for the northward increase in this southern rabbit. The fact that Michigan is at the northern edge of the range of this rabbit may be a factor in eastern cottontail population fluctuations. Winter weather severity may be a depressing influence. The eastern cottontail's winter use of burrows (especially those of woodchuck) in the northern part of its range may be an adaptation to cold temperatures.

Density and Movement: In the best mixed environments (clearings, croplands, brushy creek edges and fence rows, small woodlots) of southern Michigan, this rabbit may attain autumn populations of more than three individuals per acre in abundant times; in times of scarcity, less than one cottontail per three acres.

During the summer growing season, non-woody cover and widespread food supplies allow eastern cottontails to range into most areas of southern Michigan. In winter, there is a tendency for this rabbit to restrict its movements to heavy woody cover, even moving from upland openings to lowland thickets. During periods of snow cover, holes, woodpiles, and other protected retreats are used. Fortunately, three active burrowers, the striped skunk, woodchuck, and badger, provide underground dens for Michigan cottontails.

Food Habits: In general, the diet of the eastern cottontail varies considerably from season to season depending on food availability. During the summer growing seasons, green plants are favored; in winter woody plant parts (twigs, bark, and buds) of shrubs and young trees are major food sources. Grasses constitute at least half of the summer diet with herbs making up much of the rest. Preferred Michigan summer foods include bluegrass, orchard grass, wild rye, timothy, crabgrass, foxtail, red top, plantain, golden-rod, wild strawberry, smartweed, sheep sorrel, chickweed, buttercup, various clovers, and of course, garden vegetables when available. The most predominant rabbit winter foods are the bark, twigs, and buds of white oak, flowering dogwood, sassafras, black oak, New Jersey tea, honey locust, dwarf and staghorn sumac.