Question

X A. Competition for food and shelter

B. Lost production of agricultural crops
C. Contributes to the extinction of some native species
D. Soil erosion, and associated impacts on vegetation, wetlands, and watercourses
E. Off-target harm to other mammal species from rabbit control measures

Thomas Austin, a British landowner had rabbits released on his estate in Victoria, Australia in 1859 because he missed
hunting them. By 1886 they were found throughout that Victoria and New South Wales, even extending to the Northern
Territory by the 1900's. By 1920 it was thought there were 10 billion rabbits in Australia; today the population is currently
estimated to be 200 million. The status of the rabbit in Australia has been changed from introduced to invasive. Read the
prompt. What impacts on the native ecosystems in Australia can be attributed to this rabbit population? Choose all that apply.


A-E
A,C, D
A, B, E
A,C,D,E
A,B,D

Answer 1

The introduced rabbit population in Australia causes ecological impacts including competition for food and shelter, contributing to the extinction of some native species, causing soil erosion, and off-target harm to other mammals from control measures.

Step-by-step explanation:

The rabbit population in Australia, introduced by Thomas Austin, has had a number of ecological impacts on native ecosystems. These range from competition for food and shelter, leading to struggles for indigenous species, to soil erosion, which arises due to the destruction of vegetation by the rabbits. The degradation of native flora can lead to disrupted habitat structures, impacting multiple species that rely on those plants for survival. Moreover, attempts at controlling the rabbit population can inadvertently harm other mammal species, a consequence known as off-target harm.

• Competition for food and shelter (A).
• Contributes to the extinction of some native species (C).
• Soil erosion, and associated impacts on vegetation, wetlands, and watercourses (D).
• Off-target harm to other mammal species from rabbit control measures (E).