Journal articles on the topic 'Ungulate diet composition'
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1
Courtemanch, Alyson, and Matthew Kauffman. "Recruitment, Diet Composition, and Time-Budgets of Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis) in the Teton Range." UW National Parks Service Research Station Annual Reports 31 (January 1, 2008): 73–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.13001/uwnpsrc.2008.3707.
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Many ungulate populations have lost access to their traditional migration routes and seasonal ranges, resulting in rapid and severe population declines. Some ungulate populations have been able to adapt to living year-round on one seasonal range and persist despite loss of migration. However, our understanding of how ungulates adapt their habitat selection and foraging strategies in order to compensate for migration loss is poor This study investigates how a formerly migratory, now sedentary and isolated bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) population persists year-round on high-elevation summer range in the Teton Range in northwest Wyoming. We captured and GPS-collared 20 bighorn ewes throughout the Teton Range in February 2008 and an additional 8 ewes in March 2009. In 2008, ninety percent of captured ewes were pregnant, and 100% were pregnant in 2009. During summer 2008, we located and observed GPS-collared ewes, determined lamb survival, collected fecal samples for diet composition analysis, and observed time-budgets. We found that 50% oflambs survived until at least mid summer. Diet composition analysis is pending and we are waiting to combine time-budget observations with additional data that will be collected during summers 2009 and 2010. We observed differences in movement patterns between GPS-collared ewes during summer 2008, ranging from 5 km to a maximum of 15 km. At this time, six GPS-collared ewes have died (four in avalanches, one from predation, and one unknown). This study is ongoing and will be completed in 2010. Results will directly contribute to management of this non-migratory and isolated bighorn sheep population, and will shed light on how a formerly migratory ungulate population has been able to persist on highÂelevation range year-round.
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Hiruma, Mitsuko, Kahoko Tochigi, Ryosuke Kishimoto, Misako Kuroe, Bruna Elisa Trentin, and Shinsuke Koike. "Long-term stability in the winter diet of the Japanese serow (Artiodactyla, Caprinae)." ZooKeys 1122 (September 20, 2022): 39–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1122.76486.
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The winter diets of northern ungulates are sensitive to changes in environmental conditions and ungulate population densities. We hypothesized that the winter diets of smaller browser ungulates might not readily change in response to fluctuating environmental conditions. We analyzed long-term trends in the winter diet of the Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus) by analyzing rumen contents of 532 individuals over a span of 16 years among five populations along with changes in the population densities of sika deer (Cervus nippon) in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan. The winter diet composition of the serow was stable over the long term despite the increase in deer population density. The little-flexible nature of the serow diet may explain the long-term stability in the winter diets.
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Jarque-Bascuñana, Laia, Jordi Bartolomé, Emmanuel Serrano, Johan Espunyes, Mathieu Garel, Juan Antonio Calleja Alarcón, Jorge Ramón López-Olvera, and Elena Albanell. "Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy Analysis to Predict Diet Composition of a Mountain Ungulate Species." Animals 11, no. 5 (May 18, 2021): 1449. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11051449.
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The diet composition of ungulates is important to understand not only their impact on vegetation, but also to understand the consequences of natural and human-driven environmental changes on the foraging behavior of these mammals. In this work, we evaluated the use of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy analysis (NIRS), a quick, economic and non-destructive method, to assess the diet composition of the Pyrenean chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica. Fecal samples (n = 192) were collected from two chamois populations in the French and Spanish Pyrenees. Diet composition was initially assessed by fecal cuticle microhistological analysis (CMA) and categorized into four functional groups, namely: woody, herbaceous, graminoid and Fabaceae plants. Regressions of modified partial least squares and several combinations of scattering correction and derivative treatments were tested. The results showed that models based on the second derivative processing obtained the higher determination coefficient for woody, herbaceous and graminoid plants (R2CAL, coefficient of determination in calibration, ranged from 0.86 to 0.91). The Fabaceae group, however, was predicted with lower accuracy (R2CAL = 0.71). Even though an agreement between NIRS and CMA methods was confirmed by a Bland–Altman analysis, confidence limits of agreement differed by up to 25%. Our results support the viability of fecal NIRS analysis to study spatial and temporal variations of the Pyrenean chamois’ diets in summer and winter when differences in the consumption of woody and annual plants are the greatest. This new use for the NIRS technique would be useful to assess the consequences of global change on the feeding behavior of this mountain ungulate and also in other ungulate counterparts.
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Mysłajek, Robert W., Sabina Nowak, Maciej Romański, and Katarzyna Tołkacz. "Composition of the wolf’s Canis lupus L. diet in the Wigry National Park." Forest Research Papers 79, no. 2 (June 1, 2018): 119–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/frp-2018-0013.
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Abstract The diet of wolves Canis lupus L. was assessed in the Wigry National Park in North-Eastern Poland, which overlaps with the Natura 2000 site “Ostoja Wigierska”. The content of a total of 149 scat samples was collected in 2017 and analysed in order to determine dietary composition. Wolves primarily feed on wild ungulates, which make up 75.4% of food biomass. Despite the fact that wild boar Sus scrofa L. and red deer Cervus elaphus L. dominate in the ungulate community in the study area, the primary prey species was observed to be roe deer Capreolus capreolus L. with 39.6%, while red deer and wild boar only constituted 18.7% and 8.3% of the food biomass, respectively. Additionally, beaver Castor fiber L. was found to be an important prey (10.9%) as well and livestock accounted for 15.1% of all biomass consumed. The livestock eaten by wolves also included carcasses of domestic animals illegally disposed of in the forest. We therefore conclude that decisions on the management of the wolf’s food base within protected areas, such as national parks or Natura 2000 sites, should be preceded by intensive local studies.
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Courtemanch, Alyson, and Matthew Kauffman. "Seasonal Resource Selection, Recruitment, Diet Selection and Time Budgets of Bighorn sheep (Ovis Canadensis) in the Teton Range, Northwest Wyoming." UW National Parks Service Research Station Annual Reports 32 (January 1, 2009): 89–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.13001/uwnpsrc.2009.3759.
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Many ungulate populations have lost access to their traditional migration routes and seasonal ranges, resulting in rapid and severe population declines. Some ungulate populations have been able to adapt to living year-round on one seasonal range and persist despite loss of migration. However, our understanding of how ungulates adapt their habitat selection and foraging strategies in order to compensate for migration loss is poor. This study investigates how a formerly migratory, now sedentary and isolated, bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) population persists year-round on high-elevation summer range in the Teton Range in northwest Wyoming. We captured and GPS-collared 20 bighorn ewes throughout the Teton Range in February 2008 and an additional 8 ewes in March 2009. In 2008, ninety percent of captured ewes were pregnant, and 100% were pregnant in 2009. During summers 2008 and 2009, we located and observed GPS-collared ewes, determined lamb survival, collected fecal samples for diet composition analysis, conducted vegetation surveys, and observed time-budgets. We found that 50% of lambs survived until at least mid-summer in 2008 and 60% survived in 2009. We observed differences in movement patterns between GPS-collared ewes during the summer seasons, ranging from 5 km to a maximum of 15 km. At this time, eight GPS-collared ewes have died (4 in avalanches, 1 from predation, and 3 unknown). This study is ongoing and will be completed in 2011. Results will directly contribute to management of this non-migratory and isolated bighorn sheep population, and will shed light on how a formerly migratory ungulate population has been able to persist on high-elevation range year-round
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Dar, Jahangir Ahmad, Mustahson F. Fazili, Bilal A. Bhat, Ishfaq Nazir Wani, and Riyaz Ahmad. "Seasonal diet composition of Himalayan goral (Naemorhedus goral) in Kajinag National Park, Jammu and Kashmir, India." Mammalia 85, no. 5 (May 14, 2021): 428–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2020-0151.
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Abstract In temperate environments, forage availability and quality are known to influence life history traits of wild ungulates. However, variations in foraging strategies of these mountain dwellers with changing plant availability have received little attention. The seasonal vegetation availability in temperate climatic conditions of Kajinag National Park (KNP) was assessed by plot method at different altitudes (1900–3600 m a.s.l.) from 2018 to 2020 on seasonal basis. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of availability of vegetation on seasonal diet composition of Himalayan goral (Naemorhedus goral) inhabiting the National Park. We recorded 61 plant species whose availability differed significantly across seasons (F 3,240 = 20.14, p < 0.05). We found seasonal variation in the diet composition of Himalayan goral depicting a strong relationship between plant consumption and dynamic availability in the study area. Himalayan goral consumed herbs in spring (dominated by Dioscorea deltoidea relative importance value (RIV) = 27.20, Poa pratensis RIV = 14.99 and Themeda spp. RIV = 12.87), grasses in summer (dominated by Themeda spp. RIV = 34.12, P. pratensis RIV = 30.14, Bothriochloa ischaemum RIV = 22.72) and autumn (dominated by Themeda spp. RIV = 34.64, P. pratensis RIV = 30.14, Stipa spp. RIV = 29.73) and shrubs in winter (dominated by Indigofera heterantha RIV = 47.05, Prunus tomentosa RIV = 17.51 and Lonicera spp. RIV = 16.98). The annual diet of Himalayan goral was dominated by graze species (72.66%). The proportion of graze items in the diet showed a sharp decline from spring (90.67%) to winter (19.23%) whereas that of browse showed a huge increment from spring (4.67%) to winter (74.43%). This shift shows a survival or foraging strategy of a temperate ungulate in harsh winters with limited forage availability.
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Sakata, Yuzu, Nami Shirahama, Ayaka Uechi, and Kunihiro Okano. "Variability in deer diet and plant vulnerability to browsing among forests with different establishment years of sika deer." PeerJ 9 (September 17, 2021): e12165. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12165.
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Increased ungulate browsing alters the composition of plant communities and modifies forest ecosystems worldwide. Ungulates alter their diet following changes in availability of plant species; however, we know little about how browse selection and plant community composition change with different stages of deer establishment. Here, we provide insight into this area of study by combining multiple approaches: comparison of the understory plant community, analysis of records of browsing damage, and DNA barcoding of sika deer feces at 22 sites in forests in northern Japan varying in when deer were first established. The coverage of vegetation and number of plant species were only lower at sites where deer were present for more than 20 years, while the difference in plant coverage among deer establishment years varied among plant species. Deer diet differed across establishment years, but was more affected by the site, thereby indicating that food selection by deer could change over several years after deer establishment. Plant life form and plant architecture explained the difference in plant coverage across establishment years, but large variability was observed in deer diet within the two categories. Integrating these results, we categorized 98 plant taxa into six groups that differed in vulnerability to deer browsing (degree of damage and coverage). The different responses to browsing among plant species inferred from this study could be a first step in predicting the short- and long-term responses of forest plant communities to deer browsing.
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Petridou, Maria, Dionisios Youlatos, Yorgos Lazarou, Kiriakos Selinides, Charilaos Pylidis, Alexios Giannakopoulos, Vassiliki Kati, and Yorgos Iliopoulos. "Wolf diet and livestock selection in central Greece." Mammalia 83, no. 6 (November 26, 2019): 530–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2018-0021.
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Abstract Understanding the feeding habits of wolves is essential for designing and implementing fundamental management processes across the range of the species. This is even more important within human-dominated areas, such as southern Europe, and more especially Greece. In this context, we analyzed 123 scat samples, collected between 2010 and 2012, from a mixed agricultural, forested and human-dominated area, centered on the municipality of Domokos in central continental Greece. We used standard laboratory procedures for scat analysis and calculated percentages of frequency of occurrence (FO%), average volume (AV%) and biomass index (BM%) to assess diet composition, and estimated prey selectivity. Domestic prey composed the bulk of wolf diet (FO%=73.5, AV%=84.8, BM%=97.2), wild ungulates were almost absent (FO%=0.5, AV%=0.8, BM%=1.2), whereas grass consumption was high in our area (FO%=19.5, AV%=11.0). The high dependence on livestock corroborates previous studies from Greece and other countries in southern Europe. Goat (FO%=46.0, AV%=61.2, BM%=64.9) was the main prey and was strongly selected, with sheep (FO%=11.5, AV%=9.0, BM%=11.2), pig carrion and cattle ranking behind (FO%=11.5, AV%=10.1, BM%=8.7 and FO%=4.5, AV%=4.5, BM%=12.4, respectively). No differences across seasons were detected, except from pig carrion, which increased during winter. The preference for goats is probably associated with its grazing behavior. High livestock consumption generally results in increased human-wolf conflict. Thus, substantial improvement of husbandry practices and restoration of wild ungulate populations are recommended to facilitate wolf-human coexistence in Greece.
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Krishnakumar, Bawa Mothilal, Rajarathinavelu Nagarajan, and Kanagaraj Muthamizh Selvan. "Prey selection and food habits of the Tiger Panthera tigris (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in Kalakkad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, southern Western Ghats, India." Journal of Threatened Taxa 12, no. 5 (April 26, 2020): 15535–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.5607.12.5.15535-15546.
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The Endangered Tiger Panthera tigris is the largest felid, distributed over 1.1 million km2 globally. Conservation of Tigers largely depends on the preservation of its natural prey base and habitats. Therefore, the availability of prey and its selection play a major role in the sustainable future of Tigers in the given landscape. The current study assesses the prey selection patterns by Tigers in tropical evergreen forest of the Kalakkad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), southern Western Ghats, India. Density of ungulates was assessed by distance sampling (line transect, N = 21) and diet composition of Tigers was evaluated by analysing their faecal samples (N = 66). The study estimated very low ungulate density (26.87 ± 7.41 individuals km-2) with highest density of Gaur Bos gaurus (9.04 individuals km-2) followed by Wild Boar Sus scrofa (8.79 ± 2.73 individuals km-2), whereas, primate density was quite high (45.89 ± 12.48 individuals km-2), with Nilgiri Langur Semnopithecus johnii having the highest density (38.05 ± 10.22 individuals km-2). About 74.62% of the biomass of Gaur constituted in the Tiger’s diet, consumed lesser than its availability, whereas Sambar constituted 16.73% of the Tiger diet consumed proportionally to its availability. Chital Axis axis, Muntjac Muntiacus muntjak, and Indian Chevrotain Moschiola indica were not represented in the Tiger’s diet. The current study is the first scientific information on prey selection of the Tiger in KMTR landscape, which will serve as a baseline for its conservation planning and management.
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Desai, Bipin S. Phal, Avelyno H. D'costa, and S. K. Shyama. "A comparative analysis of hair morphology of wild and domestic ungulate prey species of Leopard Panthera pardus fusca (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) from Goa, India." Journal of Threatened Taxa 11, no. 15 (December 26, 2019): 14971–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.4894.11.15.14971-14978.
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Guard hairs were collected from four live domesticated ungulate species and shed guard hairs of six wild ungulate species from zoo captive animals from five individuals each. Photographic reference was prepared showing analytic features of hair characteristics. Study results were analysed and cuticle and medulla patterns were identified along with pigmentation features from the literature available for wild and domestic ungulates from India and abroad. Clear and easily distinguishable morphological characters of hair medulla and cuticle were used in the present study. Scat analysis of big cats used in this study is easy, speedy and efficient which can be used in routine investigations related to wildlife, crime forensics as well as human animal conflicts by studying carnivore feeding habits. In a majority of the animal species, the distal part of the hair showed maximum variation from the rest of the hair portions. The cuticle scales were imbricate in all tested animals. Scale position in almost all the tested animals was transversal except in goat (proximal part and medial part) and mouse deer (Distal part). Majority of the species showed smooth margins at proximal and medial part. Whereas the distal part scale margin was crenate and rippled in appearance the proximal part and medial part of hair of the majority of sampled animals showed a regular wave -type scale pattern whereas the distal part of hair showed irregular wave-type scale pattern in dominance. The composition of the medulla was multicellular in all the sampled deer species. Only the cow calf’s hair medulla was unicellular and uniseriate in appearance. A comparison of the hair of the domestic pig with that of the wild boar and gaur hair with that of cow calf and buffalo calf hair was made for the first time in the present study. Similarly goat hair morphology can also be differentiated from other cervids in this study. Medulla and cuticle characters in combination with each other can help differentiate wild ungulate species from the domestic ones since these wild ungulate species are frequently involved in hunting crime investigations. Therefore, the photographic reference presented in this study can be used in wildlife forensic science as well as predator diet analysis as an appropriate reference for prey species identification.
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Villamuelas, Miriam, Néstor Fernández, Elena Albanell, Arturo Gálvez-Cerón, Jordi Bartolomé, Gregorio Mentaberre, Jorge R. López-Olvera, et al. "The Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) as a proxy for diet quality and composition in a mountain ungulate." Ecological Indicators 61 (February 2016): 658–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.10.017.
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Kamler, Jan F., Christin Minge, Susana Rostro-García, Tazarve Gharajehdaghipour, Rachel Crouthers, Visattha In, Chen Pay, Chanratana Pin, Prum Sovanna, and David W. Macdonald. "Home range, habitat selection, density, and diet of golden jackals in the Eastern Plains Landscape, Cambodia." Journal of Mammalogy 102, no. 2 (March 20, 2021): 636–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyab014.
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Abstract We used radiocollars and GPS collars to determine the movements and habitat selection of golden jackals (Canis aureus) in a seasonally dry deciduous forest with no human settlements in eastern Cambodia. We also collected and analyzed 147 scats from jackals to determine their seasonal diet and prey selection. The mean (± SE) annual size of home-range ranges (47.1 ± 2.5 km2; n = 4), which were mutually exclusive between mated pairs, was considerably larger than that previously reported for this species, resulting in an extremely low density (0.01 jackal/km2). The unusually large home ranges and low density probably were due to the harsh dry season when most understory vegetation is burned and nearly all waterholes dry up, thereby causing a large seasonal decline in the availability of small vertebrate prey. Resident groups consisted of an alpha pair, but no betas, and were situated only in areas not occupied by leopards (Panthera pardus) and dholes (Cuon alpinus). Jackals avoided dense forests and streams, and had a strong selection for dirt roads, possibly to avoid larger predators. Overall the jackal diet was diverse, with at least 16 prey items identified, and there was no significant difference in diet composition between the cool-dry and hot-dry seasons. Scat analysis showed that the main food items consumed by jackals were processional termites (Hospitalitermes spp.; 26% biomass consumed), followed by wild pig (Sus scrofa; 20%), muntjac (Muntiacus vaginalis; 20%), and civets (17%). Compared to available biomass, jackals were not random in their consumption of ungulates because muntjac were selectively consumed over larger ungulate species. Dietary overlap with dholes and leopards was relatively low, and consumption patterns indicated jackals were preying on ungulates rather than scavenging from kills of larger carnivores. Our results showed that the jackal is an extremely adaptable and opportunistic species that exhibits unique behaviors to survive in an extreme environment near the edge of its distribution.
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Popp, J. N., J. Hamr, J. L. Larkin, and F. F. Mallory. "Black bear (Ursus americanus) and wolf (Canis spp.) summer diet composition and ungulate prey selectivity in Ontario, Canada." Mammal Research 63, no. 4 (May 3, 2018): 433–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13364-018-0368-y.
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Mattson, David J., Bonnie M. Blanchard, and Richard R. Knight. "Food habits of Yellowstone grizzly bears, 1977–1987." Canadian Journal of Zoology 69, no. 6 (June 1, 1991): 1619–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z91-226.
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Food habits of grizzly bears were studied for 11 years in the Yellowstone area of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho by analyzing scats. Ungulate remains constituted a major portion of early-season scats, graminoids of May and June scats, and whitebark pine seeds of late-season scats. Berries composed a minor portion of scats during all months. The diet varied most among years during May, September, and October, and was most diverse during August. Defecation rates peaked in July and were low in April through June. Among-years differences in scat content were substantial; estimates of average scat composition took 4–6 years to stabilize. Major trends in diet were evident and reflected long-term variation. We suggest that long-term studies are necessary to adequately document bears' food habits in variable environments; the Yellowstone grizzly bears' diet varied with seasonal and yearly availability of high-quality foods, lack of berries and large fluctuations in the size of pine seed crops were major factors limiting bear density in the Yellowstone area, and the availability of edible human refuse buffered the limitations imposed by inadequate berry and pine seed crops prior to the 1970s.
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Oli, Chet Bahadur, Saroj Panthi, Naresh Subedi, Gagan Ale, Ganesh Pant, Gopal Khanal, and Suman Bhattarai. "Dry season diet composition of four-horned antelope Tetracerus quadricornis in tropical dry deciduous forests, Nepal." PeerJ 6 (June 25, 2018): e5102. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5102.
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It is essential to assess the feeding strategies of threatened species during resource-scarce seasons to understand their dietary niche breadth and inform appropriate habitat management measures. In this study, we examined the diet composition of four-horned antelope (FHA) Tetracerus and quadricornis, one of the least studied ungulate species, in Banke National Park, Nepal. A total of 53 fresh pellet groups were collected between December 2015 and January 2016 and analyzed using micro-histological fecal analysis technique. First, we prepared 133 micro-histological photographs of different parts of 64 reference plant species. Then we compared 1,590 fragments of 53 fecal samples with photographs of reference plants to assess the percentage of occurrence of different plant species in FHA diet. A total of 30 plant species belonging to 18 different families were identified in fecal samples. Chi-square goodness of fit tests showed that FHA appeared not to feed all plant uniformly. Out of 1,520 identified fragments in fecal samples, 1,300 were browse species and 220 were grass species. Browse represented 85.5% of the identified plant fragments, suggesting that FHA might be adopting a browser strategy at least during winter when grasses are low in abundance and their nutritive quality is poor. Tree species had the highest contribution in the diet (46.55%) followed by shrubs (24.52%). The family Gramineae was consumed in the highest proportion (27.68%) followed by Euphorbiaceae (11.95%). Overall, our results suggest that FHA has the feeding plasticity to adapt to resource fluctuation. Based on the findings of this study, we recommend that dicot plant species—particularly fruit trees and shrubs, which are the major source of nutrients for FHA during resource-lean, dry season—be conserved and natural regeneration of these taxa be promoted.
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Palmqvist, Paul, Darren R. Gröcke, Alfonso Arribas, and Richard A. Fariña. "Paleoecological reconstruction of a lower Pleistocene large mammal community using biogeochemical (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O, Sr:Zn) and ecomorphological approaches." Paleobiology 29, no. 2 (2003): 205–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0094837300018078.
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Ecomorphological and biogeochemical (trace element, and carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotope ratios) analyses have been used for determining the dietary niches and habitat preferences of large mammals from lower Pleistocene deposits at Venta Micena (Guadix-Baza Basin, Spain). The combination of these two approaches takes advantage of the strengths and overcome the weakness of both approaches. The range of δ13Ccollagen values for ungulate species indicates that C3 plants were dominant in the diet of these mammals. δ13Ccollagen values vary among ungulates: perissodactyls have the lowest values and bovids the highest ones, with cervids showing intermediate values. The hypsodonty index measured in lower molar teeth and the relative length of the lower premolar tooth row indicate that the horse, Equus altidens, was a grazing species, whereas the rhino, Stephanorhinus etruscus, was a mixed feeder in open habitats. The similar δ13Ccollagen values shown in both perissodactyls does not reflect differences in feeding behavior with other ungulates, but rather a lower isotope enrichment factor in these monogastric herbivores than in ruminants, owing to their lower metabolic efficiency. The cervids Eucladoceros giulii and Dama sp. show low hypsodonty values, indicating that they were mixed feeders or browsers from forested habitats, an ecomorphologically based conclusion corroborated in the former by its low δ15Ncollagen content (canopy effect). Bovid species (Bovini aff. Leptobos, Soergelia minor, and Hemitragus albus) presumably inhabited open environments, according to their comparatively high hypsodonty and δ15Ncollagen values. Carnivore species (Homotherium latidens, Megantereon whitei, Pachycrocuta brevirostris, Canis falconeri, and Canis etruscus) exhibit higher δ15Ncollagen values than ungulates. These results record the isotopic enrichment expected with an increase in trophic level and are also supported by low bone Sr.Zn ratios. The elevated δ15Ncollagen value for a sample of Mammuthus meridionalis, which came from an individual with unfused epiphyses, confirms that it was a suckling animal. The δ15Ncollagen value of the scimitar-cat H. latidens is well above that obtained for the young individual of Mammuthus, which indicates that juvenile elephants were an important part of its diet. The hippo, Hippopotamus antiquus, yielded unexpectedly high δ15Ncollagen values, which suggest feeding on aquatic, non-N2-fixing plants. The high δ18Ohydroxyl values of bovids Hemitragus and Soergelia and of cervid Dama indicate that these ungulates obtained most of their water requirements from the vegetation. The megaherbivores and Eucladoceros exhibit the lowest δ18Ohydroxyl values, which suggest increased water dependence for them. Paleosynecological analysis was based on the relative abundance of species of large mammals from different ecological categories, determined by feeding behavior and locomotion types. The comparison of the frequencies of such categories in Venta Micena with those found in modern African communities indicates that the composition of the paleocommunity closely resembles those of savannas with tall grass and shrubs. The net above-ground primary productivity estimated for the on-crop biomass of the mammalian species preserved in the fossil assemblage also yields a figure congruent with that expected for an open environment.
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Mengüllüoğlu, Deniz, Eylül İlaslan, Hasan Emir, and Anne Berger. "Diet and wild ungulate preferences of wolves in northwestern Anatolia during winter." PeerJ 7 (August 21, 2019): e7446. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7446.
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The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is making a comeback in many habitats in central Europe, where it has been once extirpated. Although densities are still low to moderate, this comeback already raises management concerns. In Anatolia, the gray wolf is one of the most common predator species occupying almost all kind of habitats. Although its numbers were reduced in some parts of the country, it has never been extirpated and lived in sympatry with humans. In this study we investigated, for the first time, the winter diet of wolves in north-west Anatolia, where a multispecies wild ungulate community occurs in sympatry with high density livestock. We selected two geographically close but different habitats (steppe and forest) with different wild prey availabilities and compositions. In both areas ungulate contribution to winter diet biomass was more than 90%. Wolf pack size (four to eight wolves) were higher in the study area where livestock numbers and human disturbance were lower and wild prey were more available. In both study areas, wild boar (Sus scrofa) was the main and most preferred food item (Chesson’s α = 0.7 − 0.9) and it occurred at higher density where wolf pack size was smaller. We could not find a high preference (Chesson’s α = 0.3) and high winter predation pressure on the reintroduced Anatolian wild sheep (Ovis gmelinii anatolica) population that occurs in the study area covered by steppe vegetation. Contribution of livestock and food categories other than wild ungulates to wolf diet stayed low. Wolves can help mitigate human-wildlife conflict regulating wild boar numbers, the most common conflict-causing ungulate species in Anatolia. Instead of managing wolf numbers in human dominated landscapes, we recommend reintroduction of wild ungulates to the areas where they became locally extinct and replaced by livestock.
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Shi, Jianbin, Feiying Lu, Xiaowen Li, Zihui Zhang, Xukun Su, Shikui Dong, Huadong Xu, and Xiang Zhang. "Dietary overlap and co-existence of sympatric wild yak, Tibetan wild ass and Tibetan antelope in Arjin Shan National Nature Reserve, Xinjiang Province, China." Wildlife Research 43, no. 4 (2016): 323. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr16045.
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Context Wild yak (Bos grunniens), Tibetan wild ass (Equus kiang, also known as kiang) and Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsoni, also known as chiru) have been sympatric on the Tibetan Plateau for numerous generations. There is concern over potential dietary competition among them, particularly in winter when their forage resources are scarcer, but little is known about their dietary interactions. Aim We aimed to determine diet composition and dietary overlap of the three ungulate species, and to assess the extent of potential dietary competition among them in order to enhance our understanding of mechanisms underlying their co-existence. We predicted that the three species would widen their choice of forages in winter (December) compared with summer (June–July), and that there would be diet segregation among them, particularly in winter when food resources were scarcer. Methods We collected fresh faecal samples of the three species and reference forage samples from the field during our transect line surveys in the summers of 2012 and 2013, and winter of 2012 in Arjin Shan National Nature Reserve (ANNR) of Xinjiang Province, China. Slides of faecal samples were prepared for microhistological analysis, and plant fragments in faecal samples were identified under microscope. Relative percentage frequency of diet plant species, diet breadth and dietary overlap were calculated. Key results The three species consumed similar forage plants, but varied greatly in their percentage use of the available forages. Wild yak mainly fed on sedges in summer and graminoids in winter, supplemented with forbs. Kiang consumed mainly forbs in summer and browse in winter, and chiru mainly fed on graminoids and forbs in summer. Wild yak had the widest choice of forages, and kiang had the narrowest one in summer, but both wild yak and kiang became less selective in their food choice in winter, resulting in higher diet breadth. The dietary overlaps among them, as represented by Pianka’s index, were generally low, ranging from 0.26 between chiru and kiang to 0.51 between wild yak and kiang. The dietary overlap between wild yak and kiang decreased from summer (0.51) to winter (0.35), suggesting an increased dietary divergence. Key conclusion Our study reveals that the three species are ‘opportunistic feeders’, able to cope with coarse forage resources. There is dietary segregation among them as indicated by low dietary overlap, suggesting risk of potential competition for diets. We suggest that competition may have shaped their dietary divergence, contributing to their co-existence in ANNR. Implication Although there is dietary segregation among the three species in ANNR, it is not possible to make definitive conclusions about interspecific competition from these results. Further studies are needed to investigate if there is spatial and habitat segregation among them, which may facilitate their dietary divergence and thus contribute further to their co-existence in ANNR. Continued efforts are also needed to monitor their population dynamics and status of forage resources in order to prevent overgrazing.
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Hwang, Y. T., J. S. Millar, and F. J. Longstaffe. "Do δ15N and δ13C values of feces reflect the isotopic composition of diets in small mammals?" Canadian Journal of Zoology 85, no. 3 (February 2007): 388–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z07-019.
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The stable isotope composition of carbon and nitrogen in feces can be a useful tool for reconstructing diet. To examine whether the isotopic composition of feces reflect those of diet, we determined the fractionation of 15N and 13C along the digestive tracts of several species of small mammals. There were significant differences in the δ15N values of digesta in different compartments of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, with consistent enrichment of 15N in the stomach, intestine, and cecum, and the depletion of 15N in the colon (i.e., feces). Although feces had lower δ15N values than digesta in the cecum, feces of small mammals were significantly more enriched in 15N (by ~2.5‰) than diet. The mechanisms causing this enrichment in the GI tract may arise from the operation of different biochemical pathways within the different GI compartments. The stable carbon isotope composition of digesta in small mammals were similar along the GI tract, but the δ13C values of digesta and feces were significantly lower than reported previously for large ungulates (–3.5‰ vs. –0.5‰). The δ15N and δ13C values of feces did not directly reflect the isotopic compositions of these mammals’ diet. Our data offer evidence for variations in isotopic discrimination effects. This variation can probably be ascribed to metabolism of different body sizes of mammals and the complexities linked with digestive physiology of herbivores.
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Codron, D., J. Codron, J. A. Lee-Thorp, M. Sponheimer, D. de Ruiter, J. Sealy, R. Grant, and N. Fourie. "Diets of savanna ungulates from stable carbon isotope composition of faeces." Journal of Zoology 273, no. 1 (September 2007): 21–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2007.00292.x.
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Hininger-Favier, Isabelle, Laurence Marcourt, Benjamin Boucherle, Mathieu Agostini, Bifeng Gao, Brooks M. Hybertson, Swapan K. Bose, et al. "Phytochemical and Biological Investigation of Helianthemum nummularium, a High-Altitude Growing Alpine Plant Overrepresented in Ungulates Diets." Planta Medica 86, no. 16 (July 9, 2020): 1185–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/a-1197-2898.
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Abstract Helianthemum nummularium is a European shrub growing at high altitude where it copes with a high level of stress. It was found to be overexpressed in ungulates diets compared to more abundant surrounding plants. These elements combined with the fact that H. nummularium from the Alps has never been investigated prompted us to study the phytochemical composition of its aerial parts. The analysis of the polar extract allowed for the isolation of eight compounds: p-hydroxybenzoic acid, tiliroside, kaempferol, astragalin, quercetin, plantainoside B, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, and quercetin-3-O-glucuronide. We investigated the effect of the polar extract and isolated compounds on nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 transcription factor, which regulates the expression of a wide variety of cytoprotective genes. We found that the ethanolic extract activates the expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 in a dose-dependent manner, whereas the pure compounds were much less active. The activation of the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 pathway by the plant extract could pave the way for studies to promote healthy aging through protection of cells against oxidative stress. Moreover, the isolated compounds could be investigated alone or in combination in the perspective of making the link between the ungulateʼs preference for this plant and possible use of it for self-medication.
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Stoner, David C., Mark A. Ditmer, Dustin L. Mitchell, Julie K. Young, and Michael L. Wolfe. "Conflict, coexistence, or both? Cougar habitat selection, prey composition, and mortality in a multiple-use landscape." California Fish and Wildlife Journal 107, no. 3 (November 2, 2021): 147–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.51492/cfwj.hwisi.2.
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Western North America is experiencing remarkable human population growth and land-use change. Irrigation and associated cultivation have led to colonization of urban-wildland interface (UWI) environments by mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and consequently, cougars (Puma concolor). In the wake of these changes, human-wildlife conflicts have increased in tandem with questions about long-term species conservation. To address these concerns, we fit 79 cougars with radio-telemetry collars in the Oquirrh Mountains near Salt Lake City, Utah (2002–2010). Our goal was to evaluate variation in cougar habitat selection, diet, and cause-specific mortality in a landscape dominated by urban, military, and industrial activities. We used radio-telemetry data in concert with Resource Selection Functions to address three hypotheses: (1) that cougars would select wildland over UWI land-uses; (2) prey composition would reflect differences in land-use; and (3) mortality would be predominantly human-caused. Cougars largely selected wildland habitats associated with seasonal mule deer presence, but contrary to expectation, they also selected habitats closer to urban and mined areas. Prey composition in the UWI did not differ from wildland habitats. Domestic ungulates represented only 2% of 540 recovered prey items and were found primarily in wildlands. Native ungulates comprised > 90% of the total kill, irrespective of season or land-use, suggesting that use of UWI habitats was linked to mule deer presence. Cougar mortality was disproportionately due to natural causes in wildlands, but individuals that died of human causes in UWI habitats were more likely to be inexperienced hunters, supporting young kittens, or compromised by physical handicaps. In general, presence of mule deer was the key predictor of cougar habitat use, even in this highly disturbed, anthropogenically altered landscape. As such, management designed to reduce conflict and ensure conservation will need to focus on urban deer, land-use planning, and targeted education campaigns to reduce food subsidies.
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Dorendorf, Ross R., Kelly J. Sivy, Martin D. Robards, Tom W. Glass, and Kristine L. Pilgrim. "Spring food habits of Wolverine (Gulo gulo) in the Colville River watershed, Alaska." Canadian Field-Naturalist 132, no. 3 (April 11, 2019): 268–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v132i3.1947.
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Wolverines (Gulo gulo) are relatively abundant on the North Slope of Alaska, an Arctic ecosystem dominated by tundra habitats that run north from the Brooks Range across a wide coastal plain to the Beaufort Sea. The region contains a range of potential Wolverine prey species, including ungulates (Caribou [Rangifer tarandus], Moose [Alces americanus]), Arctic Ground Squirrel (Urocitellus parryii), and both Soricidae and Cricetidae species. The seasonal composition of these, and other prey species, in the Wolverines’ diet is not well understood. We collected Wolverine scats during spring (March–May) on the North Slope while tracking animals from snowmobiles and with helicopters that visited areas identified as of interest during ground surveys or using global positioning system collared animals. We analyzed prey remains in 48 scat samples based on hair, bone, and other prey fragments. We then calculated frequency of occurrence, percentage of occurrence, and weighted percent volume for each major prey category detected. We confirmed species identity of scats as Wolverine by amplifying the control region of the mitochondrial DNA. We estimated spring diet diversity and richness based on nine major prey categories detected in scats. Ungulates and cricetids together constituted 69% of the Wolverines’ spring diet, with Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus) constituting 9%, fox (Vulpes spp.) 6%, Arctic Ground Squirrel 2%, birds 2%, American Beaver (Castor canadensis) less than 1%, and unknown 6%.
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Guimarães, Nuno F., Francisco Álvares, Jana Ďurová, Peter Urban, Jozef Bučko, Tomáš Iľko, Jaro Brndiar, et al. "What drives wolf preference towards wild ungulates? Insights from a multi-prey system in the Slovak Carpathians." PLOS ONE 17, no. 6 (June 27, 2022): e0265386. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265386.
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The wolf is a generalist-opportunistic predator that displays diverse and remarkably adaptable feeding strategies across its range with local adaptations to certain prey species depending on their availability and vulnerability. The multi-prey system of the Slovak Carpathians supports important portion of the European wolf population; however, it has been markedly understudied. We evaluated winter diet composition and prey selection of Slovak wolves based on 321 scat samples collected between September–April within four different study areas during 2015–2017. The winter diet of wolves in the Slovak Carpathians was characterized by a 98% occurrence of wild large-sized and medium-sized ungulates with red deer occurring in wolf scats most often, consistent with their highest density among other wild ungulates. However, by comparing the consumption with availability of wild prey, we found that wolves in fact selected for wild boar especially in areas with higher altitudinal range, while selected for red deer in areas with low altitudinal range where this prey species was more spatially predictable. Although wolves showed the potential to switch between red deer and wild boar when their density increases, we found that this variation can be rather linked to changing prey vulnerability, which is dependent on particular environmental conditions at local scale such as topography and snow accumulation. The present study provides valuable insights into the winter foraging ecology of Slovak wolves in a multi-prey system of the Carpathians and allows for practical implications in the management of the rapidly increasing populations of wild ungulates across Europe.
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Kagima, B., and W. S. Fairbanks. "Habitat Selection and Diet Composition of Reintroduced Native Ungulates in a Fire-Managed Tallgrass Prairie Reconstruction." Ecological Restoration 31, no. 1 (January 21, 2013): 79–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.3368/er.31.1.79.
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Baker, Dan L., and N. Thompson Hobbs. "Strategies of digestion: digestive efficiency and retention time of forage diets in montane ungulates." Canadian Journal of Zoology 65, no. 8 (August 1, 1987): 1978–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z87-301.
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We tested the hypotheses that small-bodied ruminant browsers have higher weight-specific dry matter intake rates, shorter retention times, and lower digestive efficiency than larger-bodied grazers, and that retention time is inversely related to dietary browse concentration. We compared digestive functions of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), mountain sheep (Ovis canadensis), and elk (Cervus elaphus) consuming grass–browse diets and related our comparisons to previously reported diet choices of these species. Consistent with our hypotheses, mule deer had higher intake rates, shorter particulate retention times, and reduced digestibilities relative to mountain sheep and elk. Contrary to our hypothesis, increased dietary browse levels increased retention times in all species. Lignification appeared to render forage particles more resistant to comminution rather than less resistant, and consequently increased retention time rather than decreasing it. Browse prolonged retention time of grass, which in turn resulted in elevated fiber digestion in the grass component of the diet. In contrast to mountain sheep and elk, deer were able to compensate for increased retention time and reduced digestibility of browse diets by increasing gut fill, which allowed constant intake of digestible energy despite declining dry matter digestibility. Our findings suggest highly dynamic relationships among intake, fill, and passage, relationships influenced by physiological and morphological traits of the animal and by the fiber composition of the diet.
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Castellaro, Giorgio, Carla Orellana, Juan Escanilla, Camilo Bastías, Patrich Cerpa, and Luis Raggi. "Botanical Composition and Diet Quality of the Vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna Mol.) in Highland Range of Parinacota, Chile." Animals 10, no. 7 (July 16, 2020): 1205. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani10071205.
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Understanding the botanical composition of herbivores’ diets and their nutritional quality is an important question in the development of sustainable strategies for the management of natural resources. In Chilean highland vicuña-grazed grasslands, there is little information in this regard and, therefore, this study aimed to determine the year-round profile of the diet’s botanical composition and quality. In highland grasslands, on an area of 21.9 ha, continuously grazed for 3.06 VU/ha/year (18°03′ S, 69°13′ W; 4425 m.o.s.l), twelve feces piles were sampled monthly and were analyzed through microhistology, and the nitrogen concentration [NF, OM basis] was determined. The botanical composition, diversity (J) and selectivity index (Ei) of the main species were estimated. Diets were composed of dry–grassland grasses (37.7%), wet–grassland grasses (36.6%), graminoids (14.3%) and forbs (10.2%). The diet diversity ranged from 0.79 (dry–winter) to 0.87 (wet–summer). The main dominant grassland species obtained negative Ei values. The annual mean value of [NF] was estimated as 1.82%, with a higher value in summer months (2.21%), which coincides with the physiological states of higher nutritional demand. The vicuñas behave like generalist ungulates, having a high degree of selectivity towards grass species, which mostly fulfill a nutritional role in subsistence and a functional role in survival, applying foraging strategies that allow them to obtain a better quality diet during the season of greatest nutritional demand.
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Wam, Hilde Karine, Olav Hjeljord, and Erling Johan Solberg. "Differential forage use makes carrying capacity equivocal on ranges of Scandinavian moose (Alces alces)." Canadian Journal of Zoology 88, no. 12 (December 2010): 1179–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z10-084.
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Availability of preferred forage is hypothesized to be positively related to demographic performance in selective ungulates. Comparing two regions with high density of moose ( Alces alces (L., 1758)) having contrasting demographic performance and different composition of available plant species, we show that such a positive relationship may not always apply. The high-performance region (HP) had an estimated 41% higher total availability of browse per capita than the low-performance region (LP), but the availability of preferred species did not differ between the two regions. Although birch (genus Betula L.) was the most abundant browse in both regions (comprising 66% and 50% of the shoot amount available per m2 in HP and LP, respectively), it dominated the diet of moose only in HP (constituting, e.g., 69% of all trees browsed in summer compared with 22% in LP). Further research is needed to identify the cause of the seemingly suboptimal use of birch in LP. We also quantified factors that determine forage availability, of which recent logging clearly was the most important: it multiplied browse availability but also reduced coverage of bilberry ( Vaccinum myrtillus L.), an important forage plant. Our study shows that for selective ungulates, indices of carrying capacity based on forage availability may not apply uniformly across ranges.
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Sergiel, Agnieszka, Isabel Barja, Álvaro Navarro-Castilla, Tomasz Zwijacz-Kozica, and Nuria Selva. "Losing seasonal patterns in a hibernating omnivore? Diet quality proxies and faecal cortisol metabolites in brown bears in areas with and without artificial feeding." PLOS ONE 15, no. 11 (November 12, 2020): e0242341. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242341.
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Bears are omnivores particularly well-adapted to variations in the nutritional composition, quality and availability of food resources. Artificial feeding practices have been shown to strongly influence diet composition and seasonality, as well as to cause alterations in wintering and movement in brown bears (Ursus arctos). In this study, we investigated seasonal differences (hypophagia vs hyperphagia) in food quality of two brown bear subpopulations in the Polish Carpathians using faecal nitrogen (FN) and carbon (FC) estimates. The subpopulations inhabit areas that differ in artificial feeding practices: no artificial feeding occurs in the western subpopulation (Tatra Mountains), while artificial food targeted to ungulates is provided and used year-round in the eastern subpopulation (Bieszczady Mountains). We also compared these results with faecal cortisol metabolites (FCM) to explore how FN and FC correlate with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity and if the seasonal patterns are apparent. We found that in Tatra Mts bears fed on significantly higher quality diet, as shown by FN and FC values, and had significantly higher FC levels in hyperphagia, when they accumulate fat reserves for wintering. The pattern in FCM levels for Tatra subpopulation followed the changes in energy intake during the seasons of hypo- and hyperphagia, while in Bieszczady Mts, the area with intensive feeding, no seasonal patterns could be observed. Artificial feeding practices may disrupt nutrient phenology and seasonality, relative to subpopulations with natural diets. We showed that the availability of human-provided foods may alter not only the overall dietary quality, but also hormonal patterns linked to seasonal nutritional requirements. Combining FN, FC and FCM proved to be a useful tool for reconstructing diet quality and related physiological patterns.
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Schaad, Eric W., David S. Wiseman, Royce R. Huber, Michael S. Mooring, Dominic D. Reisig, Eric R. Osborne, Adam L. Kanallakan, and Brent M. Hall. "Sexual segregation in bison: a test of multiple hypotheses." Behaviour 142, no. 7 (2005): 897–927. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568539055010110.
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AbstractSexual segregation, in which males and females form separate groups for most of the year, is common in sexually dimorphic ungulates. We tested multiple hypotheses to explain sexual segregation in bison (Bison bison) at National Bison Range, Montana and Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska during June-August of 2002-2003. Fieldwork involved use of GPS to record space use by segregated groups, vegetation transects to measure forage availability, fecal analyses to document diet composition and quality, and behavioural observations to characterize activity budgets. During sexual segregation, males in bull groups used areas with greater per capita abundance of forage, higher proportion of weeds, and less nutritious grasses (as indicated by lower % fecal nitrogen) compared with females in cow or mixed groups. However, there was no difference between the sexes in activity budgets, predation risk factors, or distance to water. Single-sex bull groups were no more synchronized in activity than mixed groups. These results support the 'sexual dimorphism-body size hypothesis', which proposes that males segregate from females because their larger body size requires more abundant forage, while longer ruminal retention permits efficient use of lower-quality forage. The gastrocentric model, based on the digestive physiology and foraging requirements of dimorphic ungulates, supplies the most likely proximate mechanism for bison sexual segregation. Our results would also partly support the 'reproductive strategy-predation risk hypothesis' if females form large groups to reduce predation risk. The predictions of the 'activity budget hypothesis' were not supported for bison.
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Scasta, J. Derek, Jeffrey L. Beck, and Catherine J. Angwin. "Meta-Analysis of Diet Composition and Potential Conflict of Wild Horses with Livestock and Wild Ungulates on Western Rangelands of North America." Rangeland Ecology & Management 69, no. 4 (July 2016): 310–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2016.01.001.
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Espunyes, Johan, Carme Espunya, Sara Chaves, Juan Antonio Calleja, Jordi Bartolomé, and Emmanuel Serrano. "Comparing the accuracy of PCR-capillary electrophoresis and cuticle microhistological analysis for assessing diet composition in ungulates: A case study with Pyrenean chamois." PLOS ONE 14, no. 5 (May 22, 2019): e0216345. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216345.
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Mandlate, Luís Jr Comissario, and Flávio H. G. Rodrigues. "Post-Release Monitoring Diet Quality and Nutritional Status of Reintroduced Burchell’s Zebra and Blue Wildebeest in Maputo Special Reserve, Mozambique." Tropical Conservation Science 13 (January 2020): 194008292095839. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1940082920958397.
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The reintroduction of wild animal species into conservations areas is widely used to restore populations of species endangered with extinction. The assessment of the quality of the diet and the nutritional status of the animals is crucial to the success of herbivore reintroduction programs, given that adequate nutrition is essential to ensure the survival and fertility of ungulates. Given this, the present study investigated the quality of the diet and nutritional status of Burchell’s zebra ( Equus burchelli, Smuts 1832) and blue wildebeest ( Connochaetes taurinus, Burchell 1823) reintroduced into Maputo Special Reserve (MSR), in southern Mozambique. The study was conducted between July 2016 and June 2017, and the data were collected through direct observation, by driving a vehicle along the roads within the reserve that pass through the vegetation cover where zebra and wildebeest are known to occur most frequently. The composition of the diet and specific feature of the grass grazed by the two species, such as greenness (an indication of food quality) were assessed. Crude fecal protein and phosphorus were determined to evaluate the nutritional status of the two herbivore species. Both herbivores were pure grazers, consuming a diet composed entirely (100%) of grass. Aristida barbicollis was the principal component of the diets of both zebra and wildebeest and both species grazed almost entirely on green grass (91–100% of greenness). However, wildebeest consumed significantly more green grass (which has a better nutrient content) than zebra, which tolerated a considerably larger proportion of browner grass in both seasons. The levels of crude protein and phosphorus in the zebra and wildebeest fecal samples were not below threshold of nutritional stress recommended for large southern African herbivores, which indicates that neither the zebra nor the wildebeest populations in MSR are undernourished at the present time and that the quality of the forage found in the study area is not a factor limiting the persistence of the reintroduced populations of either species.
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Lanszki, J., M. Heltai, and L. Szabó. "Feeding habits and trophic niche overlap between sympatric golden jackal (Canis aureus) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in the Pannonian ecoregion (Hungary)." Canadian Journal of Zoology 84, no. 11 (November 2006): 1647–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z06-147.
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The feeding ecology of the golden jackal ( Canis aureus L., 1758) and its interspecific trophic relationship with the sympatric red fox (Vulpes vulpes (L., 1758)) was investigated in an area of recent range expansion of the golden jackal in Hungary, central Europe. Diet composition was determined by scat analysis (over 4 years: jackal 814 scats; fox 894 scats). Compared with jackals, foxes consumed more small mammals (mean biomass consumed: jackal 77%; fox 68%) and to a lesser extent plant matter (6% and 18%, respectively). The importance of other prey, such as wild boar ( Sus scrofa L., 1758), cervids, brown hare ( Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778), birds, reptiles, fish, invertebrates, and domestic animals, was minimal. Both mesocarnivores consumed primarily small animals (<50 g: 92% and 87%, respectively); this implies a typical searching and solitary hunting strategy. The trophic niche breadth of both species was very narrow and the fox proved to be more of a generalist. The food overlap index between the two canids was high (mean, 73%) and varied with the decreasing availability and consumption of small mammals. Based on prey remains found in scats, small-mammal specialization over a 2-year period and seasonal predation upon wild boar piglets (mainly by the jackal), seasonal fruit eating (mainly by the fox), and scavenging on wild or domestic ungulates (both predators) were found.
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Miloš, Ježek, Holá Michaela, Kušta Tomáš, and Červený Jaroslav. "Creeping into a wild boar stomach to find traces of supplementary feeding." Wildlife Research 43, no. 7 (2016): 590. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr16065.
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Context Supplementary feeding and baiting of wild ungulates is a common management practice. Wild boar is among the most frequently fed species and its numbers are rapidly increasing throughout Europe. It has been suggested that supplementary feeding throughout the year can have intentional and unintentional impacts on the species as well as on European forests and agricultural landscapes, and biodiversity. It is, therefore, important to identify the dependence of wild boar on supplemental foods to determine and predict its feeding patterns under alternative population and land-use management scenarios. Aims We investigated the diet composition of wild boar from stomach contents to identify its dependence on food resources of human origin (i.e. agricultural crops and supplemental foods) throughout the year in the Czech Republic. Methods We collected 345 samples from four study sites during spring, summer and winter seasons, over a 3-year period, and from different wild boar ages and sex classes. Key results Foods of human origin (mainly cereals) were the dominant food category and constituted the bulk of wild boar diet throughout the year (>50% of total stomach-content biomass), especially in winter, and in all the study sites. Cereals found in the stomachs of wild boar in summer might come from both crop fields as well as supplementary feeding. However, cereals identified in the stomachs in winter and spring come predominantly from baiting and supplementary feeding conducted by hunters. Cereals were consumed in different proportions by different ages and sexes. Males fed on cereals more than did females, whereas juveniles depended on such food less than did subadults. Conclusions Our finding of a consistent dependence of wild boar on food of human origin throughout the year in all study sites confirmed that supplementary feeding is important in the diet, which is a potential reason for the rapid increase of wild boar numbers in the Czech Republic. Implications Wildlife management agencies need to target feeding practices and design restrictive measures for supplementary feeding and baiting of wild boar in the Czech Republic. This should include defining maximum amounts of food and precise periods for supplementary feeding, and reducing non-target species at feeding sites.
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Takada, Hayato, Risako Yano, Ayumi Katsumata, Seiki Takatsuki, and Masato Minami. "Diet compositions of two sympatric ungulates, the Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus) and the sika deer (Cervus nippon), in a montane forest and an alpine grassland of Mt. Asama, central Japan." Mammalian Biology 101, no. 5 (April 14, 2021): 681–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s42991-021-00122-5.
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Alfaya, Pedro, Ariadna Invernón, and Germán Alonso. "Iberian Lynx Lynx pardinus Temminck, 1827 (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in central Spain: trophic niche of an isolated population." Journal of Threatened Taxa 12, no. 2 (February 17, 2020): 15229–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.5506.12.2.15229-15237.
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Understanding predator-prey relationships is fundamental to develop effective conservation plans. Between 2015 and 2018, we combed 21 transects, each 7km long, searching for Iberian Lynx Lynx pardinus scat within the province of Madrid in central Spain. In order to minimise inherent subjectivity of visual identification as much as possible, we performed a double specific nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by a primer extension assay addressed to two Iberian Lynx diagnostic single nucleotide polymorphisms. Forty-six scat samples were positively identified as belonging to Iberian Lynx through genetic analysis. From these, we extracted remains of consumed prey, which we determined to the lowest possible taxonomic level, mainly through hair identification. Identified prey was divided into four types: lagomorphs, small mammals, birds, and ungulates. The species’ diet composition was described based on the frequency of occurrence (FO) of each prey and niche breadth, and also compared with prior knowledge of the species using four prior studies as a comparative reference through the calculation of the niche overlap value. The FO of lagomorphs (39%) was the lowest, while the FO of small mammals (54%) was the highest recorded to date. The niche breath (0.36) was higher than recorded in prior studies, but still showing the specialist character of the Iberian Lynx. Niche overlap was low (C = 0.49), showing differences in trophic niche between the population in our study area and the one studied in southern Spain. This indicates that the Iberian Lynx is adept at switching its main prey, an ability that has previously been firmly rejected. It is, however, capable of adapting to alternative prey more often than recorded to date, which could be a behavioural response to the patchy distribution of European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus in the study area.
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Wolf, Jesse F., Krystal D. Kriss, Kara M. MacAulay, Keith Munro, Brent R. Patterson, and Aaron B. A. Shafer. "Gut microbiome composition predicts summer core range size in two divergent ungulates." FEMS Microbiology Ecology 97, no. 5 (March 17, 2021). http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiab048.
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ABSTRACT The gut microbiome of animals vary by age, diet, and habitat, and directly influences an individual's health. Similarly, variation in home ranges is linked to feeding strategies and fitness. Ungulates (hooved mammals) exhibit species-specific microbiomes and habitat use patterns. We combined gut microbiome and movement data to assess relationships between space use and the gut microbiome in a specialist and a generalist ungulate. We GPS radiocollared 24 mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) and 34 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), collected fecal samples, and conducted high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. We generated gut diversity metrics and key bacterial ratios. Our research question centred around the idea that larger Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratios confer body size or fat advantages that allow for larger home ranges, and relationships of disproportionate habitat use are stronger in the habitat specialist mountain goat. Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratios were positively correlated with core range area in both species. Mountain goats exhibited a negative relationship between gut diversity and proportional use of treed areas and escape terrain, and no relationships were detected in the habitat generalist white-tailed deer. This is the first study to relate range size to the gut microbiome in wild ungulates and is an important proof of concept that advances the information that can be gleaned from non-invasive sampling.
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Orning, Elizabeth Kari, Katie Dugger, and Darren Clark. "Wolf predation patterns following recent recolonization in a multi-predator, multi-prey system." Canadian Journal of Zoology, July 19, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2021-0027.
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Predator-prey interactions are among the most fundamental of ecological relationships. Recolonizing gray wolf (Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758) populations present new challenges for wildlife management in multi-prey, multi-carnivore systems. We documented diet composition and kill rates for wolves in a recently recolonized area over winter and summer seasons (2014-2015). Elk (Cervus canadensis (Erxleben, 1777)) were the primary ungulate prey (63%) located at wolf kill sites. Deer (mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus (Rafinesque, 1817)) and white-tailed deer (O. virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780)) were less prevalent than elk in wolf diets, but the amount of deer in diets (40-50%) varied by pack and season. Juvenile elk were the most prevalent class of prey in wolf diets during summer (63.3%) and winter (36.3%), with adult elk (32.5%) observed nearly as often as juveniles in winter. Kill rates varied by season, with rates 2.3 times higher in summer (x ̅= 3.5 ungulates/week/pack) than winter (x ̅ = 1.5 ungulates/week/pack), consistent with increased availability and use of neonate prey. Prey biomass acquisition did not vary by pack or season (summer = 243 kg/week/pack; winter = 182 kg/week/pack). Our study quantified predation patterns for a recolonizing wolf population, and patterns we documented were similar to other multi-prey systems in North America.
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Codron, D., J. Codron, M. Sponheimer, Julia A. Lee-Thorp, T. Robinson, C. C. Grant, and D. De Ruiter. "Assessing diet in savanna herbivores using stable carbon isotope ratios of faeces." Koedoe 48, no. 1 (June 30, 2005). http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v48i1.170.
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In African savannas, browse-based resources (@3 plants) are isotopically distinct from grasses (@4 plants). The carbon isotopic composition of the basic plant diet is recorded in animal tissues. Mammal faeces are a readily accessible, non-invasive, sample material for temporally resolved dietary reconstructions. Faeces, however, include both undigested plant matter and waste, hence accuracy of dietary calculations could potentially be compromised by shifts in plant isotopic values related to seasonal or spatial differences, or by variability in the isotopic differences between faeces and diet. A controlled feeding study of four ungulate species showed a small, consistent difference between diet and faeces of-0.9 o, irrespective of whether the diet was @3 or C4-based. Results from faeces oftaxa known to be pure grazers, pure browsers, and mixed-feeders from the Kruger National Park were entirely consistent with their diets, but the accuracy of dietary reconstructions is enhanced with data from local plant communities.
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Haworth, Sarah E., Kevin S. White, Steeve D. Côté, and Aaron B. A. Shafer. "Space, time and captivity: quantifying the factors influencing the fecal microbiome of an alpine ungulate." FEMS Microbiology Ecology 95, no. 7 (June 18, 2019). http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiz095.
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ABSTRACT The community of microorganisms in the gut is affected by host species, diet and environment and is linked to normal functioning of the host organism. Although the microbiome fluctuates in response to host demands and environmental changes, there are core groups of microorganisms that remain relatively constant throughout the hosts lifetime. Ruminants are mammals that rely on highly specialized digestive and metabolic modifications, including microbiome adaptations, to persist in extreme environments. Here, we assayed the fecal microbiome of four mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) populations in western North America. We quantified fecal microbiome diversity and composition among groups in the wild and captivity, across populations and in a single group over time. There were no differences in community evenness or diversity across groups, although we observed a decreasing diversity trend across summer months. Pairwise sample estimates grouped the captive population distinctly from the wild populations, and moderately grouped the southern wild group distinctly from the two northern wild populations. We identified 33 genera modified by captivity, with major differences in key groups associated with cellulose degradation that likely reflect differences in diet. Our findings are consistent with other ruminant studies and provide baseline microbiome data in this enigmatic species, offering valuable insights into the health of wild alpine ungulates.
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Lu, Qi, Lingyun Xiao, Chen Cheng, Zhi Lu, Jindong Zhao, and Meng Yao. "Snow Leopard Dietary Preferences and Livestock Predation Revealed by Fecal DNA Metabarcoding: No Evidence for Apparent Competition Between Wild and Domestic Prey." Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 9 (November 30, 2021). http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.783546.
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Accurate assessments of the patterns and drivers of livestock depredation by wild carnivores are vital for designing effective mitigation strategies to reduce human-wildlife conflict. Snow leopard’s (Panthera uncia) range extensively overlaps pastoralist land-use and livestock predation there is widely reported, but the ecological determinants of livestock consumption by snow leopards remain obscure. We investigated snow leopard dietary habits at seven sites across the Sanjiangyuan region of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP), an area central to the species’ global range. Snow leopard abundance, wild prey composition, and livestock density varied among those sites, thus allowing us to test the effects of various factors on snow leopard diet and livestock predation. Using DNA metabarcoding, we obtained highly resolved dietary data from 351 genetically verified snow leopard fecal samples. We then analyzed the prey preferences of snow leopards and examined ecological factors related to their livestock consumption. Across the sites, snow leopard prey was composed mainly of wild ungulates (mean = 81.5% of dietary sequences), particularly bharal (Pseudois nayaur), and supplemented with livestock (7.62%) and smaller mammals (marmots, pikas, mice; 10.7%). Snow leopards showed a strong preference for bharal, relative to livestock, based on their densities. Interestingly, both proportional and total livestock consumption by snow leopards increased linearly with local livestock biomass, but not with livestock density. That, together with a slight negative relationship with bharal density, supports apparent facilitation between wild and domestic prey. We also found a significant positive correlation between population densities of snow leopard and bharal, yet those densities showed slight negative relationships with livestock density. Our results highlight the importance of sufficient wild ungulate abundance to the conservation of viable snow leopard populations. Additionally, livestock protection is critically needed to reduce losses to snow leopard depredation, especially where local livestock abundances are high.
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Blanco, Guillermo, and Dámaso Hornero-Méndez. "Interspecific differences in plasma carotenoid profiles in nestlings of three sympatric vulture species." Current Zoology, November 12, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoac090.
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Abstract Carotenoids are diet-based micronutrients important in health and coloration signaling. Related species with similar diets can differ in the kinds and levels of circulating carotenoids, which suggests specific physiological mechanisms to efficiently utilize these micronutrients, regardless of their availability. We explored whether diet and parental provisioning of unusual sources of carotenoids (fresh vegetal matter and vertebrate feces) can explain the occurrence and concentrations of carotenoids in the cinereous vulture Aegypius monachus, griffon vulture Gyps fulvus, and Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus nestlings, even when these pigments appear to not be deposited in their integumentary system. A greater diversity of wild prey in diet could be behind the profile of higher concentrations of carotenoids in the Egyptian vulture, the species with carotenoid-dependent coloration during adulthood, while differences in diet composition between cinereous and griffon vultures do not translate to different carotenoid profiles. The carotenoid profile appears to not be related to the ingestion of unusual matter rich in these compounds, although the infrequent occurrence of lycopene and an unidentified γ-carotene-like compounds suggest that these vultures may be exploiting vegetal matter that left no identifiable unconsumed remains in the nest of Egyptian vultures. The consumption of green plant material by griffon vultures does not result in especially high levels of carotenoids when compared to the carotenoids found in cinereous vultures, which do not consume green plant material. Ungulate feces were not provisioned to Egyptian vulture nestlings, despite the fact they contain carotenoids that adults need for appropriate coloration. Overall, this study indicates that diet differences alone appear insufficient to explain contrasting inter-specific carotenoid profiles, especially since all types of food consumed are considered to be poor in carotenoids, except vegetable matter. We suggest that nestling Egyptian vultures are comparatively efficient in up taking carotenoids present in low concentrations in food when these compounds are not deposited in their integument, which suggests allocation to other functions.
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Ribeiro, David Miguel, Katrine Raundrup, Miguel P. Mourato, and André M. Almeida. "The Effect of Species and Sex on the Element Content of Muskox (Ovibos moschatus) and Caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) Tissues." Biological Trace Element Research, January 17, 2023. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12011-023-03562-x.
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Abstract Muskox (Ovibos moschatus) and caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) are wild ruminants that inhabit the Greenland tundra. They are part of the diet of many Greenlanders, being important sources of protein and micronutrients such as iron. The objective of this study is to analyse the element profiles of three tissues from these species: skeletal muscle, liver and adipose tissue, and to determine if they are affected by species and sex (male vs. female). Samples were obtained from annual hunts in two different regions of West Greenland. Element profiles were analysed using inductively-coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry. The interaction between species and sex was only detected in Na (sodium) in the muscle and adipose tissue, where male and female caribou had the highest concentrations, respectively. The effect of sex was not statistically significant in the liver samples and only occasionally in the other tissues. Species was the most relevant factor in element profiles found in this study. Caribou had higher concentrations of K (potassium) and S (sulphur) in the muscle and liver. Fewer differences were detected between species in the adipose tissue, compared to the other tissues. These differences may reflect the feeding behaviour and the geographical location of both species. This study contributes to evaluate the element composition of the edible tissue of these wild ungulate species, as well as evaluating the factors of sex and species that could differentiate their composition.
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Mills, Kirby L., and Nyeema C. Harris. "Humans disrupt access to prey for large African carnivores." eLife 9 (November 18, 2020). http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/elife.60690.
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Wildlife respond to human presence by adjusting their temporal niche, possibly modifying encounter rates among species and trophic dynamics that structure communities. We assessed wildlife diel activity responses to human presence and consequential changes in predator-prey overlap using 11,111 detections of 3 large carnivores and 11 ungulates across 21,430 camera trap-nights in West Africa. Over two-thirds of species exhibited diel responses to mainly diurnal human presence, with ungulate nocturnal activity increasing by 7.1%. Rather than traditional pairwise predator-prey diel comparisons, we considered spatiotemporally explicit predator access to several prey resources to evaluate community-level trophic responses to human presence. Although leopard prey access was not affected by humans, lion and spotted hyena access to three prey species significantly increased when prey increased their nocturnal activity to avoid humans. Human presence considerably influenced the composition of available prey, with implications for prey selection, demonstrating how humans perturb ecological processes via behavioral modifications.
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Blum, Marcus E., Kelley M. Stewart, Mike Cox, Kevin T. Shoemaker, Joe R. Bennett, Benjamin W. Sullivan, Brian F. Wakeling, and Vernon C. Bleich. "Variation in diet of desert bighorn sheep around parturition: Tradeoffs associated with parturition." Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 10 (January 12, 2023). http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.1071771.
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Selection of forage and habitats is driven by nutritional needs of individuals. Some species may sacrifice nutritional quality of forage for the mother in favor of safety of offspring (risk-averse strategy), immediately following parturition. We studied diet quality and forage selection by bighorn sheep before and following parturition to determine how nutritional demands associated with rearing offspring influenced forage acquisition. We used desert bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis nelsoni, to investigate that potential tradeoff. We captured and radio-collared female bighorn sheep from 2016 to 2018. We used vaginal implant transmitters (VIT)s in pregnant females to identify parturition and to capture and radio-collar neonates to monitor survival of young. We collected fecal samples throughout the breeding season and throughout the year to understand diet quality and composition throughout those temporal periods. We determined diet quality and composition for pre-parturient females, females provisioning offspring, females that lost offspring, and non-pregnant individuals using fecal nitrogen and DNA metabarcoding analyses. Additionally, we compared the diet quality and composition of offspring and adult females during the spring, as well as summer and winter months. Our results indicated differences in diet quality between individuals provisioning offspring and those whose offspring had died. Females that were provisioning dependent young had lower quality diets than those that lost their offspring. Diet composition among those groups was also markedly different; females that had lost an offspring had a more diverse diet than did females with dependent young. Diet quality differed among seasons, wherein offspring and adult females had higher quality diets during the spring months, with decreasing quality as the year progressed. Diet diversity was similar across seasons, although spring months tended to be most diverse. Our results support tradeoffs associated with risk-averse strategies made by adult females associated with parturition. Nutritional quality of forage was linked to provisioning status, indicating that females were trading diet quality for safety of offspring, but those females whose offspring had died selected high quality forages. Those results help explain habitat selection observed in mountain ungulates around parturition and provide further insight into the evolutionary processes and adaptive significance exhibited by those specialized artiodactyls.
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Kachel, Shannon M., Khalil Karimov, and Aaron J. Wirsing. "Predator niche overlap and partitioning and potential interactions in the mountains of Central Asia." Journal of Mammalogy, April 7, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyac026.
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Abstract Direct and indirect interactions among predators affect predator fitness, distribution, and overall community structure. Yet, outside of experimental settings, such interactions are difficult to observe and thus poorly understood. Patterns of niche overlap among predators reflect and shape community interactions and may therefore help elucidate the nature and intensity of intraguild interactions. To better understand the coexistence of two apex predators, snow leopards (Panthera uncia) and wolves (Canis lupus), we investigated their spatial, temporal, and dietary niche overlap in summer in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan. We estimated population-level space use via spatial capture–recapture models based on noninvasive genetics and camera traps, diel activity patterns based on camera trap detections, and diet composition from prey remains in carnivore scats, from which we estimated coefficients between 0 and 1 for overlap in space, time, and diet, respectively. Snow leopards and wolves displayed moderate spatial partitioning (0.26, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.17–37), but overlapping temporal (0.77, 95% CI: 0.64–0.90) and dietary (0.97, 95% CI: 0.80–0.99) niches. Both predators relied on seasonally abundant marmots (Marmota caudata) rather than wild ungulates, their typical primary prey, suggesting that despite patterns of overlap that were superficially conducive to exploitation competition and predator facilitation, prey were likely not a limiting factor. Therefore, prey-mediated interactions, if present, were unlikely to be a major structuring force in the ecosystem. By implication, carnivore conservation planning and monitoring in the mountains of Central Asia should more fully account for the seasonal importance of marmots in the ecosystem.
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Scridel, D., S. Tenan, M. Brambilla, R. Celva, A. Forti, I. Fracasso, G. Volcan, et al. "Early-succession secondary forests following agropastoral abandonment are key winter habitats for the conservation of a priority bird in the European Alps." European Journal of Forest Research, August 11, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10342-022-01485-1.
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AbstractIn contrast to old-growth forests, early-successional stands remain understudied despite potentially harbouring species of conservation interest. With this work, focused on hazel grouse Tetrastes bonasia, a cryptic and indicator species known to select for close-to-natural forests, we evaluated winter densities, home range, microhabitat selection and diet, combining DNA-based mark-recapture and metabarcoding from faecal samples. In total, 216 droppings, collected over 2 years along forest transects in the Italian Alps, were successfully genotyped and 43 individuals were identified. Density estimates were similar to values reported by other studies in the Alps with an average of 4.5 and 2.4 individuals/km2 in the first and second study year, respectively, and mean home ranges estimated at 0.95 km2. According to habitat selection models and eDNA-based diet analysis, hazel grouse selected early-succession secondary-growth forests formed after the abandonment of traditional agropastoral activities. These forests, mostly composed of hazel Corylus avellana, Norway spruce Picea abies and Sorbus spp., provided winter food resources and shelter. The diet analysis also highlighted forest arthropods as a non-negligible source of food. Birds avoided areas subject to intensive browsing by ungulates; small forest roads seasonally closed to traffic had positive influence on hazel grouse (i.e. higher abundance of droppings), while roads open to traffic had no effect. Importantly, despite the high coverage of mature forest habitats of Community Interest (53% of our study area), droppings were more abundant in non-listed early-succession secondary forests with similar plant composition. Our results suggest that forest succession after agropastoral abandonment may be beneficial for some forest birds of conservation interest, while acknowledging its negative effects on the previous grassland biodiversity. Graphical abstract