What hare is it there? Genetic diversity of Australia’s invasive hares

Posted on Apr 1 2021 by admin

Lepus europaeus by Jean-Jacques Boujot from Paris, France
CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Hares are more than giant rabbits. They are a species in their own right, adapted to fast running across wide-open spaces.

Hares were introduced into Australia early in the period of European settlement. It might surprise you to know that we don’t know what species of invasive hare is in Australia.

Bring your curiosity to discover the identity of the Australia’s lesser-known lagomorph Lepus. This project will use genetic methods to identify whether Australia’s widespread populations of hares are one species, or a hybrid of two or more species brought with early European settlers.

This research is part of an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship grant.

Further reading: Factors influencing the importation and establishment in Australia of the European hare (Lepus europaeus) - Australian Journal of Zoology