Multi-scale landscape and seascape patterns associated with marbled murrelet nesting areas on the U.S. west coast

Habitat for wide-ranging species should be addressed at multiple scales to fully understand factors that limit populations. The marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), a threatened seabird, forages on the ocean and nests inland in large trees. We developed statistical relationships between murrelet use (occupancy and abundance) and habitat variables quantified across many spatial scales (statewide to local) and two time periods in California and southern Oregon, USA. We also addressed (1) if old-growth forest fragmentation was negatively associated with murrelet use, and (2) if some nesting areas are more important than others due to their proximity to high quality marine habitat. Most landscapes used for nesting were restricted to low elevation areas with frequent fog. Birds were most abundant in unfragmented old-growth forests located within a matrix of mature second-growth forest. Murrelets were less likely to occupy old-growth habitat if it was isolated (> 5 km) from other nesting murrelets. We found a time lag in response to fragmentation, where at least a few years were required before birds abandoned fragmented forests. Compared to landscapes with little tono murrelet use, landscapes with many murrelets were closer to the ocean's bays, river mouths, sandy shores, submarine canyons, and marine waters with consistently high primary productivity. Within local landscapes (≤ 800ha), inland factors limited bird abundance, but at the broadest landscape scale studied (3200 ha), proximity to marine habitat was most limiting. Management should focus on protecting or creating large, contiguous old-growth forest stands, especially in low-elevation areas near productive marine habitat. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A management driven investigation of landscape patterns of northern spotted owl nesting territories in the high Cascades of Oregon

Investigations using available data sought to guide short-term management decisions regarding the needs of northern spotted owl in the high Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Landscape attributes and pattern indices were measured and tested for identification of areas likely to contain northern spotted owl nests. Predictive models indicating planning standards were developed. Most landscape ecological indices were not useful. Results indicate the owl favors landscapes dominated by patches that meet definitions of late seral forest nesting habitat. The owl optimally nests in such patches at least 570 hectares in size. Landscapes with some edges, particularly around nesting habitat patches evidently do not adversely affect the owl, perhaps because they provide prey. Landscapes with extensive edges, particularly between openings and forests not suitable for nesting, are not as likely to be selected. The results are largely consistent with the owl's recovery plans, provide guidance for management, and require refinement through additional research, particularly to better determine home range sizes.     

Identification of Landscape Elements Related to Local Declines of a Boreal Grey-sided Vole Population

Several studies indicate a long-term decline in numbers of different species of voles in northern Fennoscandia. In boreal Sweden, the long-term decline is most pronounced in the grey-sided vole (Clethrionomys rufocanus). Altered forest landscape structure has been suggested as a possible cause of the decline. However, habitat responses of grey-sided voles at the landscape scale have never been studied. We analyzed such responses of this species in lowland forests in Västerbotten, northern Sweden. Cumulated spring densities representing 22 local time series from 1980–1999 were obtained by a landscape sampling design and were related to the surrounding landscape structure of 2.5×2.5 km plots centred on each of the 22 1-ha trapping plots. In accordance with general knowledge on local habitat preferences of grey-sided voles, our study supported the importance of habitat variables such as boulder fields and old-growth pine forest at the landscape scale. Densities were negatively related to clear cuts. Habitat associations were primarily those of landscape structure related to habitat fragmentation, distance between habitat patches and patch interspersion rather than habitat patch type quantity. Local densities of the grey-sided vole were positively and exponentially correlated with spatial contiguity (measured with the fragmentation index) of old-growth pine forest, indicating critical forest fragmentation thresholds. Our results indicate that altered land use might be involved in the long-term decline of the grey-sided vole in managed forest areas of Fennoscandia. We propose two further approaches to reveal and test responses of this species to changes in landscape structure.     

Independent effects of connectivity predict homing success by northern flying squirrel in a forest mosaic

Landscape composition and configuration, often termed as habitat loss and fragmentation, are predicted to reduce species population viability, partly due to the restriction of movement in the landscape. Unfortunately, measuring the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on functional connectivity is challenging because these variables are confounded, and often the motivation for movement by target species is unknown. Our objective was to determine the independent effects of landscape connectivity from the perspective of a mature forest specialist—the northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus). To standardize movement motivation, we translocated 119 squirrels, at varying distances (0.18–3.8 km) from their home range across landscapes representing gradients in both habitat loss and fragmentation. We measured the physical connectedness of mature forest using an index of connectivity (landscape coincidence probability). Patches were considered connected if they were within the mean gliding distance of a flying squirrel. Homing success increased in landscapes with a higher connectivity index. However, homing time was not strongly predicted by habitat amount, connectivity index, or mean nearest neighbour and was best explained as a simple function of sex and distance translocated. Our study shows support for the independent effects of landscape configuration on animal movement at a spatial scale that encompasses several home ranges. We conclude that connectivity of mature forest should be considered for the conservation of some mature forest specialists, even in forest mosaics where the distinction between habitat and movement corridors are less distinct.     

Disentangling habitat and social drivers of nesting patterns in songbirds

Nest locations of breeding birds are often spatially clustered. This tendency to nest together has generally been related to a patchy distribution of nesting habitat in landscape studies, but behavioral studies of species with clustered breeding patterns draw attention to the importance of social and biotic factors. Indeed, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the breeding system of many territorial, migrant birds may be semi-colonial. The reasons for, and extent of, spatial clustering in their breeding systems are not well understood. Our goal was to tease apart the influence of habitat availability and social drivers of clustered breeding in a neotropical migrant species, the hooded warbler (Wilsonia citrina). To test alternative hypotheses related to clustered habitat or conspecific attraction, we combined a habitat classification based on remote sensing with point pattern analysis of nesting sites. Nest locations (n = 150, 1999–2004), collected in a 1213 ha forested area of Southern Ontario (Canada), were analyzed at multiple spatial scales. Ripley’s K and pair-correlation functions g (uni- and bivariate) were used to test whether nests were clustered merely because potential nesting habitat was also clustered, or whether nests were additionally clustered with respect to conspecifics. Nest locations tended to be significantly clustered at intermediate distances (particularly between 240 and 420 m). Nests were randomly distributed within available habitat at larger distance scales, up to 1500 m. A reasonable hypothesis to explain the detected additional clustering, and one that is consistent with the results of several behavioral studies, is that females pack their nests more tightly than the available habitat requires to be situated closer to their neighbors’ mates. Linking spatially explicit, point pattern analysis with strong inference based on Monte Carlo tests may bring us closer to understanding the generality and reasons behind conspecific attraction at different spatial scales. F. Csillag—deceased.     

Edge effect of low-traffic forest roads on bird communities in secondary production forests in central Europe

Worldwide forests fragmentation has lead to a massive increase of habitat edges, creating both negative and positive impacts on birds. While busy highways dissecting forested areas create edges which are known to reduce bird densities due to the disturbing effect of noise, the impacts of logging forest roads with low traffic volumes have rarely been studied. In this study, we compared species richness and similarity of canopy, cavity and shrub guilds of birds along low-traffic forest roads, in forest interior, and at forest edges in secondary forests in central Europe, where the forests have passed through extensive changes toward uniformly compact growths dominated by production conifers. Although we found tree diversity as positively affecting bird richness across all habitats, the bird richness along forest roads was higher than in forest interior but lower than along forest edges. The shrub guild of birds along forest roads resembled this guild along forest edges while canopy and cavity guilds at the roads were more similar to these guilds in forest interior. Forest interior had the highest probability for some guild to be absent. We conclude that low-traffic roads lead to increase of habitat heterogeneity in structurally poor forests and attract birds due to additional habitat attributes—including better light conditions—that are scarce in forest interior. Therefore, broader support for higher structural diversification of uniform plantations in central European production forests would benefit bird communities inhabiting these areas.     

The role of urban habitats in the abundance of red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris,L.) in Finland

Because the amount of urban areas has increased, it is important to investigate the abundance of wildlife species in relation to urban environments. Analyzing the impact of urbanization on the presence of forest-dwelling mammals is of interest due to the possible effects of urbanization on human-wildlife relationships and urban biodiversity. The Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) is a declining forest species, and its occurrence in urban environments has been inadequately studied. The loss and fragmentation of forests due to urbanization may be detrimental for squirrels, whereas the abundant and predictable food resources and the low number of natural predators in urban areas may encourage squirrels to invade towns. We used large-scale data collected by volunteer bird watchers along a 950 km south-north gradient to study whether the winter abundance of squirrels in Finland is dependent on urbanization, while controlling for effects of habitat type, food abundance (spruce cone crop; number of winter feeding sites), predator abundance (northern goshawk, Accipiter gentilis; feral cat Felis catus), season and latitude. We found that squirrel abundance increased with human population density, number of feeding sites and spruce cone crop and decreased with latitude and season. Feral cats showed weak negative connection with squirrel numbers, but there were no effect of goshawks. Relative squirrel abundance was approximately twice as high in urban habitats than in forests. Artificial feeding rather than a low number of predators may attract squirrels in urban environments. Planting spruce trees in urban environments will also benefit squirrels. Our results indicate that urban areas are an important habitat for the red squirrel even along the northern edge of their distribution range, where natural forest areas are still widespread. We conclude also that a citizen science −based bird survey protocol associated with mammal surveys seems to be a good large-scale monitoring method to study the urbanization of squirrels.     

How to define a patch: a spatial model for hierarchically delineating organism-specific habitat patches

Landscape analysis and delineation of habitat patches should take into account organism-specific behavioral and perceptual responses to landscape structure because different organisms perceive and respond to landscape features over different ranges of spatial scales. The commonly used methods for delineating habitat based on rules of contiguity do not account for organism-specific responses to landscape patch structure and have undesirable properties, such as being dependent on the scale of base map used for analysis. This paper presents an improved patch delineation algorithm, “PatchMorph,” which can delineate patches across a range of spatial scales based on three organism-specific thresholds: (1) land cover density threshold, (2) habitat gap maximum thickness (gap threshold), and (3) habitat patch minimum thickness (spur threshold). This algorithm was tested on an “idealized” landscape with landscape gaps and spurs of known size, and delineated patches as expected. It was then applied to delineate patches from a neutral random fractal landscape, which showed that as the input gap and spur thickness thresholds were increased, the number of patches decreased from 59 (low thresholds) patches to 1 (high thresholds). The algorithm was then applied to model western yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus occidentalis) nesting habitat patches based on spur and gap thresholds specific to this organism. Both these analyses showed that fewer patches were delineated by PatchMorph than by rules of contiguity, and those patches were larger, had smoother edges, and had fewer gaps within the patches. This algorithm has many applications beyond those presented in this paper, including habitat suitability analysis, spatially explicit population modeling, and habitat connectivity analysis.     

Landscape effects on mallard habitat selection at multiple spatial scales during the non-breeding period

Previous studies that evaluated effects of landscape-scale habitat heterogeneity on migratory waterbird distributions were spatially limited and temporally restricted to one major life-history phase. However, effects of landscape-scale habitat heterogeneity on long-distance migratory waterbirds can be studied across the annual cycle using new technologies, including global positioning system satellite transmitters. We used Bayesian discrete choice models to examine the influence of local habitats and landscape composition on habitat selection by a generalist dabbling duck, the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), in the midcontinent of North America during the non-breeding period. Using a previously published empirical movement metric, we separated the non-breeding period into three seasons, including autumn migration, winter, and spring migration. We defined spatial scales based on movement patterns such that movements >0.25 and <30.00 km were classified as local scale and movements >30.00 km were classified as relocation scale. Habitat selection at the local scale was generally influenced by local and landscape-level variables across all seasons. Variables in top models at the local scale included proximities to cropland, emergent wetland, open water, and woody wetland. Similarly, variables associated with area of cropland, emergent wetland, open water, and woody wetland were also included at the local scale. At the relocation scale, mallards selected resource units based on more generalized variables, including proximity to wetlands and total wetland area. Our results emphasize the role of landscape composition in waterbird habitat selection and provide further support for local wetland landscapes to be considered functional units of waterbird conservation and management.     

A positive response of mountain pine beetle to pine forest-clearcut edges at the landscape scale in British Columbia,Canada

In British Columbia, large-scale salvage harvesting has been underway to recover timber value from forest stands infested by mountain pine beetle during the current outbreak. Understanding the response of beetles to clearcut edges particularly at the landscape scale is crucial to understanding the impacts of increased habitat fragmentation due to salvage harvesting on the spread of the beetle infestations. A novel proximity analysis approach based on null models of complete spatial randomness with three different spatial extents was developed to examine the spatial patterns of infestations in relation to cutblocks. Inhomogeneous Poisson point process models were fitted to predict how intensities of infestations varied with distances to the nearest cutblocks. Marked Poisson point process models were also fitted to evaluate the effects of the variables associated with the nearest cutblocks and adjacent infested pine stands on the edge response of beetles. The results clearly illustrated a significant positive edge response of beetles at the landscape scale. The intensities of infestations decreased non-linearly with distances to the nearest cutblocks. The results also suggested that the quality and distribution of key habitat resources could not fully explain the fundamental mechanisms underlying the edge response. The behavioural change of beetle dispersal at edges may also be an important factor contributing to a positive edge response. The results from this study may be useful in improving the efficacy of mountain pine beetle management efforts.     

The Influence of Landscape Structure on Female Roe Deer Home-range Size

Animal distribution and abundance are greatly affected by the availability of their food resources, which also depends on landscape structure. Lothar hurricane in 1999 had profoundly modified the structure of the forests in France, affecting the habitat quality of ungulates. We tested whether the variations in home-range size of 23 female roe deer were influenced by the fragmentation of the landscape caused by Lothar in the Chizé forest, namely by the increase in heterogeneity associated with the localized massive tree felling. Home-range size was studied in the summers of 2001 and 2002 and we found that variation in home-range size was mainly explained by only one landscape variable: edge density. Home-range size decreased as edge density increased, which is consistent with the fact that edges are good browsing habitats for roe deer. The result of this study suggests that, after 2 years, the hurricane had improved the quality of the home ranges by creating more forest heterogeneity and increasing the contacts between the different vegetation patches within the home range. These results highlight the fact that spatial heterogeneity is likely to be a key factor influencing the distribution and local population density.     

Multi-scale use of lands providing anthropogenic resources by American Crows in an urbanizing landscape

The conversion of forests and farmlands to human settlements has negative impacts on many native species, but also provides resources that some species are able to exploit. American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos), one such exploiter, create concern due to their impact as nest predators, disease hosts, and cultural harbingers of evil. We used various measures of crow abundance and resource use to determine crows’ response to features of anthropogenic landscapes in the Puget Sound region of the United States. We examined land cover and land use composition at three spatial scales: study sites (up to 208 ha), crow home ranges within sites (18.1 ha), and local land cover (400 m²). At the study site and within-site scales crow abundance was strongly correlated with land cover providing anthropogenic resources. In particular, crows were associated with the amount of ‘maintained forest’ cover, and were more likely to use grass and shrub cover than forest or bare soil cover. Although crows did not show a generalized response to an edge variable, they exhibited greater use of patchy habitat created by human settlements than of native forests. Radio-tagged territorial adults used resources within their home ranges relatively evenly, suggesting resource selection had occurred at a larger spatial scale. The land conversion pattern of new suburban and exurban settlements creates the mix of impervious surfaces and maintained vegetation that crows use, and in our study area crow populations are expected to continue to increase. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Testing assumptions of cost surface analysis—a tool for invasive species management

Applied ecology could benefit from new tools that identify potential movement pathways of invasive species, particularly where data are sparse. Cost surface analysis (CSA) estimates the permeability (friction) across a landscape and can be applied to dispersal modelling. Increasingly used in a diversity of applications, several fundamental assumptions that might influence the outputs of CSA (cost surfaces and least-cost pathways) have yet to be systematically examined. Thus, we explore two issues: the presumed relationship between habitat preferences and dispersal behaviour as well as the degree of landscape fragmentation through which an organism moves by modelling a total of 18 sensitivity and dispersal scenarios. We explored the effect of fragmentation by altering the friction values (generally assigned using expert opinion) associated with patch and linear features. We compared these sensitivity scenarios in two sites that differed in fragmentation. We also used eastern grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) as an example invading species and compared diffusion models and two contrasting cost surface dispersal scenarios. The diffusion model underestimated spread because squirrels did not move randomly through the landscape. Despite contrasting assumptions regarding dispersal behaviour, the two cost surfaces were strikingly similar while the least-cost paths differed. Furthermore, while the cost surfaces were insensitive to changes in friction values for linear features, they were sensitive to assumptions made for patch features. Our results suggest that movement in fragmented landscapes may be more sensitive to assumptions regarding friction values than contiguous landscapes. Thus, the reliability of CSA may depend not only on the range of friction values used for patches but also the degree of contiguity in the landscape.     

The Effects of Land-use and Landscape Structure on Barn Owl (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Tyto alba</Emphasis>) Breeding Success in Southern England,U.K.

To aid effective conservation and management there is a need to understand the effect of landscape on species ecology. The aim of this research was to assess the effect of landscape parameters on breeding success of barn owls throughout the Rother and Arun River catchments, Sussex, UK. We used a Geographic Information System to describe the habitat mosaic and landscape structure within an estimated home range area of 3 km² around 85 artificial nest box sites. Results showed that land cover was less heterogeneous at successful sites, with home ranges dominated by a few habitat types of regular patch shapes. Unsuccessful nesting sites had significantly more improved grassland, suburban land and wetlands than successful sites. Cluster analysis and Principle Components Analysis was used to assess the similarity of the habitat mosaic within these areas and pellet analysis was undertaken to assess barn owl diet and prey availability. Ten prey species were recovered from pellets, field vole (Microtus agrestis), common shrews (Sorex araneus) and house mice (Mus musculus) making up nearly 90% of recoveries. However box sites varied in relative proportions of small mammal, and hence prey availability. Results indicated that land use and landscape structure can affect breeding success in barn owls. Higher levels of poor quality small mammal habitat were associated with unsuccessful sites. However, at a landscape scale, the habitat mosaic across the study area lacked variation, limiting analysis and clear correlations between habitat type and positive breeding success, suggesting that a finer scale was needed in future studies utilising this approach.     

Hierarchical factors impacting the distribution of an invasive species: landscape context and propagule pressure

Distribution of invasive species is the outcome of several processes that interact at different hierarchical levels. A hierarchical approach is taken here to analyze the landscape level distribution pattern of Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), an aggressive wetland invader. Using land use/land cover (LULC) data and loosestrife presence records we were able to identify and characterize the key processes that resulted in the observed large-scale distribution. Herbaceous wetlands, edges of open water sites, and developed open spaces were identified as loosestrife’s preferred LULC types. Analysis of spatial neighborhoods of these key land cover types revealed that disturbance modified open water edges and herbaceous wetlands were more likely to be invaded by loosestrife. Moreover, developed open spaces appear to hold loosestrife only if there is water rich conditions in the immediate neighborhood. Neighborhood analyses also showed that wetlands and open water edges embedded within a neighborhood matrix of grassland and agricultural environments is less likely to contain loosestrife. Finally, there is strong evidence of propagule pressure. Open water edges and wetlands invaded by loosestrife had on an average more loosestrife as neighbors than uninvaded lake edges and wetlands. Taken together, it is apparent that loosestrife’s landscape level distribution is the outcome of three nested hierarchical factors: habitat preference, the spatial neighborhood and propagule pressure. The patterns characterized suggests that occurrence of an invasive species is not merely contingent on availability of suitable habitat but is also influenced by human actions within its proximity, and is further constrained by dispersal limitation.     

Nest site use by crested ibis: dependence of a multifactor model on spatial scale

The crested ibis (Nipponia nippon), a species at the brink of extinction in 1981, remain restricted to a small (25 km radius) area of temperate forests in central China. To improve the chances of successful reintroduction into new areas we developed a multifactor logistic regression model of habitat association at multiple scales. Using habitat variables, i.e. vegetation, human impact, elevation, and wetland, we compared occupied and unoccupied sites at grain sizes ranging from 1 to 6400 ha. The goodness-of-fit of the habitat suitability model depended on grain size, with the best fit (most information) at a grain size of 2 ha. Semivariograms showed the habitat variables at control sites have a gradient pattern, yet the crested ibis had their specific habitat preferences, and only selected a narrow range from the available gradient. Our results indicated that spatial scale needs to be considered in developing habitat models for applications such as conservation planning.     

Distribution and dynamics of the red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris L.) in a landscape with fragmented habitat

In a four year study data on the presence of red squirrel were collected in an agricultural landscape by counting dreys in 49 woods ranging from 0.5 to 14 ha, and differing in quality of habitat and isolation.Logit regression analysis showed that the area per woodlot covered with conifers is a good predictor of squirrel presence for each year and during the whole period, but the significance of the regression decreases with time. During the study the number of woods occupied by red squirrel increased, and smaller woods and those without conifers also became inhabited. This trend is in accordance with the positive effect of time in regression analyses on the presence of the species and on the colonization of woods, and it suggests an increase of squirrel numbers in the area. Addition of several isolation variables in the regression analyses showed significant effects in different years, and the effect of isolation was independent of time. In the first two years the area of habitat around a woodlot, the distance to the nearest woodlot larger than 30 ha, and the density of possible movement corridors have significant effects on the presence of red squirrel.In the last two years, with presumably a high number of squirrels, the (short) distance to the nearest woodlot and also the area of habitat around woods have significant effects. It is concluded that the spatial dynamics of the population can be understood as the outcome of individual spatial behaviour, rather than as the result of metapopulation processes.     

The Importance of Spatial Scale in Habitat Models: Capercaillie in the Swiss Alps

The role of scale in ecology is widely recognized as being of vital importance for understanding ecological patterns and processes. The capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) is a forest grouse species with large spatial requirements and highly specialized habitat preferences. Habitat models at the forest stand scale can only partly explain capercaillie occurrence, and some studies at the landscape scale have emphasized the role of large-scale effects. We hypothesized that both the ability of single variables and multivariate models to explain capercaillie occurrence would vary with the spatial scale of the analysis. To test this hypothesis, we varied the grain size of our analysis from 1 to just over 1100 hectares and built univariate and multivariate habitat suitability models for capercaillie in the Swiss Alps. The variance explained by the univariate models was found to vary among the predictors and with spatial scale. Within the multivariate models, the best single-scale model (using all predictor variables at the same scale) worked at a scale equivalent to a small annual home range. The multi-scale model, in which each predictor variable was entered at the scale at which it had performed best in the univariate model, did slightly better than the best single-scale model. Our results confirm that habitat variables should be included at different spatial scales when species-habitat relationships are investigated.     

Landscape composition influences roe deer habitat selection at both home range and landscape scales

Understanding how patterns of habitat selection vary in relation to landscape structure is essential to predict ecological responses of species to global change and inform management. We investigated behavioural plasticity in habitat selection of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in relation to variable habitat availability across a heterogeneous agricultural landscape at the home range and landscape scales. As expected, woodland was heavily selected, but we found no functional response for this habitat, i.e. no shift in habitat selection with changing habitat availability, possibly due to the presence of hedgerows which were increasingly selected as woodlands were less abundant. Hedgerows may thus function as a substitutable habitat for woodlands by providing roe deer with similar resources. We observed a functional response in the use of hedgerows, implying some degree of landscape complementation between hedgerows and open habitats, which may in part compensate for lower woodland availability. We also expected selection for woodland to be highest at the wider spatial scale, especially when this habitat was limiting. However, our results did not support this hypothesis, but rather indicated a marked influence of habitat composition, as both the availability and distribution of resources conditioned habitat selection. There was no marked between-sex difference in the pattern of habitat selection at either scale or between seasons at the landscape scale, however, within the home range, selection did differ between seasons. We conclude that landscape structure has a marked impact on roe deer habitat selection in agricultural landscapes through processes such as landscape complementation and supplementation.     

Spatial Patterns in European Rabbit Abundance After a Population Collapse

Assessing the associations between spatial patterns in population abundance and environmental heterogeneity is critical for understanding various population processes and for managing species and communities. This study evaluates responses in the abundance of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), an important prey for predators of conservation concern in Mediterranean ecosystems, to environmental heterogeneity at different spatial scales. Multi-scale habitat models of rabbit abundance in three areas of Doñana, south-western Spain, were developed using a spatially extensive dataset of faecal pellet counts as an abundance index. The best models included habitat variables at the three spatial scales examined: distance from lagoons (broad scale), mean landscape shrub coverage and interspersion of pastures (home-range scale), and shrub and pasture cover (microhabitat scale). These variables may well have been related to the availability of food and refuge for the species at the different scales. However, the models’ fit to data and their predictive accuracy for an independent sample varied among the study regions. Accurate predictions in some areas showed that the combination of variables at various spatial scales can provide a reliable method for assessing the abundance of ecologically complex species such as the European rabbit over large areas. On the other hand, the models failed to identify abundance patterns in a population that suffered the strongest demographic collapse after viral epidemics, underlining the difficulty of generalizing this approach. In the latter case, factors difficult to implement in static models such as disease history and prevalence, predator regulation and others may underlie the lack of association. Habitat models can provide useful guidelines for the management of landscape attributes relevant to rabbits and help improve the conservation of Mediterranean communities. However, other influential factors not obviously related to environmental heterogeneity should also be analyzed in more detail.