a b s t r a c tThe aim of this study was to compare the trophic behaviour and the social structure of Majorcan wild goats and feral goats present in the island of Majorca. The former are descendants of an ancestral goat ecotype introduced in the island in the late Neolithic, whereas feral goats come from domestic forms introduced recently from the Iberian Peninsula. The study was conducted in four localities of the Serra de Tramuntana, a mountain range located in the northwest of the island of Majorca. Behavioural data were collected in three seasons, summer, winter and spring of 2011-2013, and when goat activity is at its peak, i.e., 3 h after dawn and before dusk. The following variables were recorded: group composition (males, females, and kids) and activity (feeding, walking, resting, and watching). The proportion of time spent on each activity and their frequency were obtained from focal samples. Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) were used to simultaneously analyse the activity variables. A total of 155 observations of 85 herds were registered throughout the study. A similar behaviour pattern has been observed in this study for the two goat ecotypes, feral and wild, apart from some seasonal variations in feeding and resting activities. In summer, feral goats showed higher feeding efforts (duration and frequency) than wild goats; this might be related to a lower efficiency obtaining feeding resources by the former, whereas wild goats, that have inhabited the island for millennia, coexisting with vegetation in periods of lower forage abundance and quality, would be more efficient herbivores during restrictive periods. Average herd size for both ecotypes is smaller than that recorded for domestic goat herds, suggesting a relatively low browsing damage compared to the latter. Also, feral goats apparently have a higher gregarious behaviour than wild ones, which might relate to their domestic origin. Currently, the management of goats on the island is based on maintaining the wild ecotype and eradicate the feral one, whose impact on vegetation is supposedly worse. However, our results show a similar trophic behaviour by both ecotypes, so that their impact on vegetation should also be expected to be similar, indicating that this argument has not enough scientific basis.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.