Chemical Composition of Lick Soils: Functions of Soil Ingestion by Four Ungulate Species

Ayotte, Jeremy B.; Parker, Katherine L.; Arocena, J. M.; Gillingham, Michael P.

doi:10.1644/06-mamm-a-055r1.1

Cited by 92 publications

(123 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

114

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Ingested soil can come from a variety of sources and behaviors, either inadvertent through consumption of soil along with forage (Arthur and Alldredge 1979) or intentional for trace minerals or to buffer the digestive system (Kreulen 1985, Ayotte et al 2006. The sources of mule deer soil ingestion varied throughout the year: in spring from soil attached to roots of low growing grasses and forbes, in winter from direct soil consumption, and in summer/autumn from soil particles attached to above ground plant parts (Arthur and Alldredge 1979).…”

Section: Seasonality Of Soil Ingestionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If herbivores are more likely to feed close to the soil (on grasses) during wet seasons, then soil ingestion should be higher in wet seasons. Herbivores are also known to intentionally consume soil either for trace minerals or to buffer the pH of the digestive system when grasses are highly digestible (Skipworth 1974, Ayotte et al 2006). We therefore hypothesized that soil ingestion may be higher in wet seasons than dry seasons, for both grazing and mixed-feeding herbivores.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Soil ingestion, nutrition and the seasonality of anthrax in herbivores of Etosha National Park

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Anthrax, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, is a seasonally occurring infectious disease affecting primarily herbivorous wildlife and livestock. The seasonality of anthrax outbreaks varies among locations, making it difficult to develop a single consistent ecological description of this disease. Over 44 years of mortality surveillance, most anthrax cases in Etosha National Park, Namibia are observed in the wet season, although elephants have an anthrax mortality peak in the dry season. Focusing on three host species (plains zebra, Equus quagga; African elephant, Loxodonta africana; and springbok, Antidorcas marsupialis) occupying the endemic anthrax area of Etosha National Park, Namibia, we tested two commonly posited causes of anthrax seasonality in herbivores: increased pathogen exposure due to greater soil contact, and increased host susceptibility due to seasonal nutritional stress. These hypotheses were assessed using fecal sampling and measurement of the percentage of fecal silicates as an index of soil ingestion and fecal nitrogen, phosphorus and crude fiber as nutritional indices. Nutritional quality for all three species was higher in wet than dry seasons. Comparing among wet seasons, nutritional indices showed either a decline in nutrition with increasing rainfall or no significant pattern. All three species had greater soil ingestion in the wet season than the dry season. Higher soil contact during the anthrax peak suggests that anthrax seasonality may in part be due to heightened exposure to B. anthracis in wet seasons, for zebra and springbok. Elephant anthrax deaths do not correspond with the season of increased soil ingestion or grazing, suggesting that other behavioral mechanisms may overshadow foraging-based risk factors for this species. Nutritional stress is unlikely the primary causative factor in wet season anthrax systems, although nutritional stress sufficient to reduce resistance is difficult to assess non-invasively in wild herbivores. In contrast, increased soil ingestion may be an important predisposing factor for wet season anthrax outbreaks. Ultimately, the amount of soil ingested and its importance in the transmission of soil-borne pathogens will vary based on foraging behaviors, intake rates, grassland structure and on the likelihood that foraging areas intersect with pathogen aggregations in the environment.

show abstract

Section: Seasonality Of Soil Ingestionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil ingestion, nutrition and the seasonality of anthrax in herbivores of Etosha National Park

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…At each site, reference samples were collected 50 m upslope, downslope, and to each side of the site. Each sample was analyzed for chemical constituents frequently referenced in the earlier reports (e.g., Kennedy et al 1995;Ayotte et al 2006 used a nested ANOVA design (lick vs reference within site). I also checked that reference samples from the downslope of the site did not differ from other reference samples with a 1-sided t-test, in case drainage from the lick site may have elevated concentrations for the downslope sample.…”

Section: Lick Sampling and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…erence soil samples and were deficient in forage (Klein and Thing 1989;Ayotte et al 2006;Mincher et al 2008). Also, during the time of greatest lick use (late spring and early summer), sodium requirements are high as this corresponds to late gestation and early lactation for many species and elevated potassium in forage plants at that time increases the need for sodium (Weeks and Kirkpatrick 1976;Atwood and Weeks 2002).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mineral Lick Visitation by Mountain Goats, <em>Oreamnos americanus</em>

Rice

2010

Can Field Nat

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many species, including Mountain Goats (Oreamnos americanus), are known to visit mineral licks, but the extent and duration of use are poorly understood because most studies consist of observations at licks. I studied the movements to, from, and near mineral licks of 11 mountain goats in Washington wearing Global Positioning System (GPS) collars for a total of 169 goat-months of tracking and evaluated chemical composition of six mineral licks compared with reference soil samples. I recorded 101 mineral lick visits to 13 mineral licks. Each GPS fix was classified as moving toward a mineral lick, in the vicinity of a lick, on an excursion from a lick, moving away from a lick, or not associated with lick use. Depending on annual movement patterns associated with lick use, each Mountain Goat was classified as a Migrant (single lick visit of long duration, n = 3 Mountain Goats), Sojourner (few visits of short duration, n = 2), Commuter (many visits of short duration, n = 5), or Resident (lick within normal range of movements, n = 1). Most mineral lick visits took place 01 June-15 August with peak visitation about 14 June-29 July. Migrants typically stayed in the vicinity of licks about a month (but as long as 51 days) whereas other mountain goats visited licks for 0.1-8 days (median = 1 day). Migrants also tended to take longer and move farther than other Mountain Goats when on movements to and from licks. Most Mountain Goats moved toward mineral licks faster (km/hr) than they moved away from licks. All licks had higher concentrations of sodium than reference samples (1.5-27 times as high), although concentrations of calcium, potassium, and sulphate tended to be higher as well, whereas magnesium was not. Mineral lick visitation has costs (energetics of travel, reduced forage, and predation risk). Depending on the importance of these costs, mountain goats evidently use various strategies for exploiting mineral licks as exemplified by the movement types (migrant, sojourner, commuter, or resident). Notably, most of the Mountain Goats in this study crossed national forest, county and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife region boundaries to another to visit mineral licks. Thus, coordination among administrative units is needed in management of Mountain Goats and mineral licks they use.

show abstract

“…The need to visit salt lick for nutrient uptake outweighs the risks of predation and also at the expense of time and energy used up for travelling [7]- [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal Partitioning by Animals Visiting Salt Licks

Hon¹,

Shibata²

2013

IJESD

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract-Temporal partitioning of resources according to feeding period occurs in situation of food type specialization, such as for the use of salt licks by ecologically similar animal species. Camera traps placed at salt licks can be used to determine animal activity patterns. This study was carried in a logging concession area in central Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Sampling was carried from September 2010 to January 2011, and May to September 2011. Activity data at salt lick sites showed that sambar deer Rusa unicolor was mostly nocturnal, with high number of records occurring after dark from 20:00hrs onwards, peaking after midnight before slowly decreasing until early morning at 08:00hrs. Bornean yellow muntjac's Muntiacus antherodes activity was restricted to during the day, which peaked at 11:00 to 12:00hrs. There was no clear pattern observable in mousedeer Tragulus spp. and bearded pig Sus barbatus activity data. Significant differences between the proportion of daily activity were observed between Bornean yellow muntjac and bearded pig (Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test, W=165.5, p=0.004), followed by sambar deer (W=195.5, p=0.053) and mousedeer (W=213, p=0.074). Human presence and hunting pressure may affect the behaviour of some game species, such as the Bornean yellow muntjac which showed peak activity periods during the earlier part of the day, and over a much shorter time span in more human accessible salt lick sites.

show abstract

Chemical Composition of Lick Soils: Functions of Soil Ingestion by Four Ungulate Species

Cited by 92 publications

References 25 publications

Soil ingestion, nutrition and the seasonality of anthrax in herbivores of Etosha National Park

Soil ingestion, nutrition and the seasonality of anthrax in herbivores of Etosha National Park

Mineral Lick Visitation by Mountain Goats, <em>Oreamnos americanus</em>

Temporal Partitioning by Animals Visiting Salt Licks

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About