1 A female cottontail rabbit begins reproducing by one year
Last updated: 9/15/2023
1 A female cottontail rabbit begins reproducing by one year of age and typically has 3 4 litters of 4 5 baby rabbits each breeding season A cottontail rabbit can live up to 8 years in captivity If a population begins with a pair of breeding adults and the rabbits have maximum reproduction and survival how many rabbits do you think there would be after six years just guessing without calculating 2 Calculate rabbit population growth over the first six years based on these assumptions A population starts with 1 female rabbit and 1 male rabbit both born in the previous year Each year has a breeding season and each baby rabbit born in the previous year matures to become a breeding adult by the beginning of the next breeding season Thus the total number of rabbits at the end of the year equals the number of breeding adults at the beginning of the next year Each breeding female produces 20 baby rabbits per year Half of the babies are female These rabbits live in an environment with abundant food and no predation or disease so all of the rabbits live out their lifespan 8 years and continue to reproduce throughout their adult lives 3 Complete the following table based on the above assumptions Breeding Adults this Year Males Females 1 Year 1 2 3 4 1 129 Baby Rabbits Produced during the Breeding Season AL120 0203 981 Total Rabbits at the End of the Year