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Desert cottontail density did not track four climatic factors in Chihuahua

Wild desert cottontail in vegetation at Patagonia Lake, Arizona
Research · Ecology

A year-long field study of desert cottontails (Sylvilagus audubonii) and black-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus californicus) in northern Mexico found contrasting relationships between population density and local climate. Published on 15 May 2026 in the Journal of Mammalogy, the study found no relationship between desert cottontail density and the four climatic factors examined.

The researchers worked in a semi-desert area of Chihuahua adjacent to the Médanos de Samalayuca Natural Protected Area. From December 2022 to November 2023, they estimated the monthly population density of both lagomorph species using fecal pellet counts. Rather than counting rabbits and hares directly, the researchers used droppings left in the study area as an indirect basis for following changes in density from month to month. Monthly precipitation, temperature, photoperiod and wind data were obtained from nearby meteorological stations and compared with the density estimates using linear models.

Desert cottontail density showed no relationship with precipitation, temperature, photoperiod or wind speed during the study period. This contrasted with black-tailed jackrabbits at the same site. Jackrabbit density was negatively related to photoperiod and total precipitation, while positive relationships were found with temperature and general wind speed.

The authors had expected climatic conditions to help explain changes in the density of both species because lagomorph populations in arid environments often fluctuate with weather and resource availability. Instead, the two species differed markedly even though they occupied the same semi-desert landscape and were monitored over the same months.

The researchers conclude that black-tailed jackrabbit populations at the study site were sensitive to the climatic factors examined, whereas desert cottontails appear to respond to other ecological factors. They interpret the contrast as evidence that the two lagomorphs can follow different ecological strategies in arid environments despite living side by side. The result is limited to the climatic relationships observed during this one-year study and does not by itself identify which other factors drove the desert cottontail’s monthly density changes.

Sources and image credit

  1. Cervantes-Montes, V. C., Aristizabal, J. F., Vital-García, C., García-Alvarez, A., & Olivas-Sánchez, M. P. (2026). Relationship between lagomorph population density and climatic factors in a semi-desert ecosystem. Journal of Mammalogy, 107(3), 488–496. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyag024Primary peer-reviewed study published 15 May 2026; monthly pellet-based density estimates from December 2022 to November 2023 in Chihuahua showed no relationship between desert cottontail density and precipitation, temperature, photoperiod or wind, while black-tailed jackrabbit density was related to all four.

Image: Alan Schmierer — wild desert cottontail photographed at Patagonia Lake, Santa Cruz County, Arizona, 13 May 2011; representative desert-habitat image, not an animal from the Chihuahua study. Source: Wikimedia Commons. · CC0 1.0 · Source

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