Research overview: Iberian lynx rabbit specialization and prey collapse

An overview of how the Iberian lynx, the world's most specialized felid predator, depends almost entirely on European rabbits, and how rabbit declines drive lynx conservation crises. Rabbits typically make up the great majority of the lynx's diet, so the spread of myxomatosis and rabbit haemorrhagic disease, which devastated rabbit populations, precipitated catastrophic lynx declines and range contraction. This survey synthesizes the tight numerical and functional coupling between lynx and rabbit, why such extreme specialization makes the lynx vulnerable, and how rabbit recovery is central to lynx restoration. It connects specialist predator-prey theory to one of Europe's most intensive carnivore recovery programs and illustrates the conservation risks of dependence on a single, disease-prone prey species.