Comparative Studies of Diet Selection by Sheep and Cattle: Blanket Bog and Heather Moor

Grant, Sheila; Torvell, L.; Smith, H. K.; Suckling, D. E.; Forbes, T. D. A.; Hodgson, J.

doi:10.2307/2260306

Cited by 69 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…In summer and the early winter the percentage of shrub in the diet increases when the quantity and quality of the grass-forb decreased. Similar patterns have been described by other authors when the use of woody species was compared with grasses and forbs (Obrtel et al 1984, Perle and Hamr 1985, Grant et al 1987. On the other hand the surveys showed that chamois did not graze close to livestock; indirectly, livestock may influence chamois grazing behaviour.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Sex, seasonal and spatial differences in the diet of Cantabrian chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica parva

Pérez‐Barbería¹,

Oliván²,

Osoro³

et al. 1997

Acta Theriol.

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. 1997. Sex, seasonal and spatial differences in the diet of Cantabrian chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica parva. Acta Theriologica 42: 37-46.The relationships between availability and quality of food, diet composition and habitat use of female and male chamois herds Rupicapra pyrenaica parva (Cabrera, 1911), were investigated in the Cantabrian Mountains (Spain). The two vegetation types studied were grass-forb and shrub. Grass-forb contained higher crude protein and lower fibre than shrub throughout year (crude protein: 17.2% vs 8.6%, p = 0.018; acid detergent fibre: 27.0% vs 35.8%, p = 0.018). The diet of female and male herds showed more grass-forb than shrub (p = 0.012), however, a discrepancy between site selection and bite selection was found. Generally male herds were found in shrub areas although they mainly chose grass-forb in their diet. Female herds had a higher percentage of grass-forb in the diet than male herds throughout the year (81.6% vs 65.6%). Diet composition pattern was similar in both sexes, with a peak of grass-forb in spring and autumn, and a minimum in summer. Both sexes selected grass-forb throughout the year, but its use was increased when its quality was high, independently of quantity available. Females showed higher grazing activity than males throughout year (53% vs 37%, p < 0.0001). Male herds showed less grazing activity during the rut (October-November) in comparison with the rest of the year (25% vs 43%, p < 0.0001). Some hypotheses to explain the segregation of the herds of both sexes are presented and discussed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Sex, seasonal and spatial differences in the diet of Cantabrian chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica parva

Pérez‐Barbería¹,

Oliván²,

Osoro³

et al. 1997

Acta Theriol.

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“…Eriophorum spp. (L.) and Narthecium ossifragum (L.) Huds) were abundant species on areas of exposed peat and (Grant et al, 1987) reported high proportions of these in the diets of Scottish Blackface sheep grazing blanket bog during the plant growing season.…”

Section: Habitat Condition Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seasonal variation in habitat rankings based on nine habitats is probably explained by seasonal variation reported in plant palatability and hill sheep diets (Bullock, 1985, Grant et al, 1987.  2010, ALÖKI Kft., Budapest, Hungary this provides a likely explanation for the top selection rank of wet heath as opposed to acid grassland in winter.…”

Section: Habitat Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resource Selection by Hill Sheep: Direct Flock Observations Versus GPS Tracking

Williams¹

2010

Appl Ecol Env Res

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Abstract. Uplands and peatlands are of international ecological importance and heavy grazing pressure has been implicated in a decline in their condition. Therefore, a better understanding of grazer behaviour could aid the design of conservation strategies. The objective of this study was to test whether the same resource selection results were obtained from direct flock observations as simultaneously-run GPS tracking studies. Direct flock observations were conducted on 50 sampling days, June 2004-July 2005. Habitat, habitat condition and grazing lawn frequency maps were produced. Resource use and availability were estimated using range analysis and GIS, and resource selection was analysed using weighted compositional analysis. Flock distribution was uneven with a mean of 0.0-8.9 sheep/ha observed based on a 1 ha grid system. Habitat selection based on direct observations varied seasonally with acid grasslandrelated habitats selected most in spring, summer and autumn, and wet heath and blanket bog selected most in winter. Moderately damaged areas and grid squares containing numerous/extensive grazing lawns were consistently selected most (P<0.05). Resource selection findings based on direct flock observations were consistent with those obtained using detailed GPS tracking data from fewer individuals. Resource management recommendations are discussed.

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“…sheep graze bare areas despite the availability of lush vegetation patches. This could be explained by selective grazing for preferred species during the growing season as [30] reported high proportions of Narthecium ossifragum (L.) Huds and Eriophorum spp. (L.) in the diets of Scottish Blackface sheep grazing blanket bog, and these species were dominant on areas of exposed peat (i.e.…”

Section: Habitat Conditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proposing an Efficient Indicator of Grazer Distribution on Heterogeneous Hill Vegetation

Williams¹,

Walls²,

Walsh³

et al. 2009

Appl Ecol Env Res

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Athenry, Co. Galway, 2 Applied Ecology Unit, Centre for Environmental Science, National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland (phone: +353-91-492294; fax: +353-91-494598) Abstract. Irish and UK uplands and peatlands are of international importance but are under threat from several factors, including heavy grazing pressure. Sheep preferentially graze patches of acid grassland with short dense swards, sometimes referred to as 'grazing lawns', and have been implicated in damage to uplands. The aim of this study was to increase our understanding of resource selection by grazers to further inform the design and implementation of conservation strategies. Grazing lawn frequency and habitat condition were mapped and GPS collars were used to track Scottish Blackface sheep on a hill farm in Ireland. Weighted compositional analysis (multivariate analysis of variance) was used to test for random use of different categories of grazing lawn frequency and habitat condition. Grazing lawn frequency was spatially uneven and habitat condition ranged from undamaged to very severely damaged areas. Typically, selection of differing categories of habitat condition was not significant (P>0.05), although the highest selection rank was consistently for the 'moderate-undamaged' category. Sheep most selected 1 ha grid squares containing numerous/extensive grazing lawns (P<0.05) day, night and yearround. As a simple, efficient indicator of hill use by sheep, which would be a valuable input in models predicting grazing impact on hill vegetation, the mapping of grazing lawn frequency is suggested. Keywords: agriculture; ecology; environment; resource management; resource selection IntroductionIrish and UK uplands and peatlands are of international importance due to the limited global distribution of the habitats, plant communities and fauna they support [9,56]. Many of these habitats and associated species are protected under the EC Habitats (92/43/EEC) and Birds (79/409/EEC) Directives [21], and are included in biodiversity action plans [16,37] and agri-environment scheme measures [14,49]. Despite this, the quality of remaining upland and peatland continues to be under threat from heavy grazing pressure, burning, afforestation, peat extraction, undergrazing and/or land abandonment [22,48,56,57].Damage in this study refers to habitat conditions which fail to meet biological conservation objectives. While habitats are affected by natural phenomena such as topography [24] and wind-driven rain [11], management practices including grazing [55] play a key role in habitat condition and can be altered. Therefore, the focus of this study is on grazer behaviour as grazing is the predominant management practice on

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Comparative Studies of Diet Selection by Sheep and Cattle: Blanket Bog and Heather Moor

Cited by 69 publications

References 6 publications

Sex, seasonal and spatial differences in the diet of Cantabrian chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica parva

Sex, seasonal and spatial differences in the diet of Cantabrian chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica parva

Resource Selection by Hill Sheep: Direct Flock Observations Versus GPS Tracking

Proposing an Efficient Indicator of Grazer Distribution on Heterogeneous Hill Vegetation

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