Does livestock influence the diet of Iberian ibex Capra pyrenaica in the Peneda-Gerês National Park (Portugal)?

Abstract

Abstract:We carried out a pilot study about the influence of the domestic goat Capra hircus on the feeding ecology of the Iberian ibex Capra pyrenaica in the Peneda-Gerês National Park (PGNP, Portugal). We mapped the grazing areas of domestic goat flocks and determined their stocking rates in two mountains of PGNP, Gerês and Amarela, and we investigated the diets of both ungulates using fecal microhistology in an area where they partially overlapped during spring and summer. Diet composition, ligneous diversity, and ligneous trophic niche were compared seasonally. Although differences in ligneous components were observed, results revealed a considerable diet overlap mainly due to graminoids consumption, especially during autumn and spring. This suggests that direct or indirect foraging competition between the goat species should not be discarded if they spatially concur. Results also emphasized distinct summer feeding strategies of C. pyrenaica in the area, and the influence of cattle (Bos taurus) and horses (Equus caballus) were hypothesized. We recommend removing feral goats from the mountain environment and monitoring grazing areas of domestic flocks. Estimates of ecological carrying capacity and future diet studies should include cattle, horses, and improvement of herb identification.

Ecosystem Services in a Protected Mountain Range of Portugal: Satellite-Based Products for State and Trend Analysis

“…Some parishes with low GLDI may supply grass (or grazing land) to farm holdings in other parishes with more cattle. Although cattle are decreasing in the PGNP, some species such as horses and cows graze in a free-ranging regime throughout the year, with possible conflicts (competition for resources) with wildlife, namely the wild goat, as reported by Moço et al [48]. The major implication of the decrease in reared animals is the likely decrease in food supply in a region that holds potential (grasslands, local breeds) for growing cattle in a traditional and sustainable way.…”

Challenges of copro‐parasitological surveys in wild Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica) populations addressed through a combination of molecular and statistical tools

“…The morphological characteristic of the samples does not always allow for correct species assessment (Monterroso et al, 2019). In this study, one of the samples fieldassigned to Iberian ibex was also shown to contain fecal DNA of domestic goats, highlighting the strong sympatry of these species in the Gerês east nuclei (Moço et al, 2014). Molecular host species identification thus prevented the inclusion of one mixed-species sample that could otherwise compromise the results.…”

“…The Gerês‐Xurés Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (GXTBR, 41°43′49.22″N 8°9′42.05″W, max elevation: 1546 m) currently holds the single population of Iberian ibex in Portugal, estimated in 2011–2012 at 576 individuals (CI 95 356–930) in four geographical nuclei: Gerês east, Gerês west, Serra Amarela, and Castro Laboreiro (Fonseca et al, 2017 ; Moço et al, 2006 ). Among the threats to the conservation of this population is cohabitation with livestock, mediated by competition and pathogen transmission (Acevedo et al, 2007 ; Fonseca et al, 2017 ; Moço et al, 2014 ; Walker & Morgan, 2014 ). The Iberian ibex population at GXTBR lives in sympatry with a large population of extensively managed domestic goats, Capra hircus (>16,000 in 2019–INE, 2022 ), many under organic production systems (Gandra et al, 2016 ).…”

Demography reveals populational expansion of a recently extinct Iberian ungulate

“…Recently, interest in this subspecies has surged enough to motivate researchers to a controversial cloning attempt (Folch et al 2009;Kupferschmidt 2014). Initiatives to re-establish populations of the Iberian ibex have been taken across the Iberian Peninsula, where a population of the subspecies C. p. victoriae now occurs in the former range of C. p. lusitanica (Moço et al 2006(Moço et al , 2015. Plans to relocate C. p. victoriae also into the historical range of C. p. pyrenaica (Crampe 1991) have been enacted by releasing and monitoring of animals since 2014 onwards (Crampe et al 2015).…”