Méthodes d’étude du régime alimentaire du Lapin de garenne Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.) par l’analyse micrographique des fèces

Two methods of identifying dietary items in the fecal pellets of the European Wild Rabbit are compared : one based on identification of the epidermal cells of the consumed plants, the other on identification of plant silica bodies. The validation study has been carried out in Brittany, western France, in a heath and a dune-heath ecotone. The epidermal cells technique has been found to be most useful in identifying the plant components of the Rabbit diet, and to follow their seasonal changes in occurence. The identification of 200 plant fragments taken at random in a mixture of five fecal samples collected in different parts of a given warren is shown to be sufficient to give a reliable picture of the diet of the colony members at a given time. Silica bodies determination is time consuming and costly ; it allows the identification of a number of plant species, but cannot be recommended as a routine technique.