Feeding strategies of sedentary large herbivores in East Africa, with emphasis on the African buffalo, Syncerus coffer

Beekman, Jan; Prins, Herbert H. T.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.1989.tb00937.x

Cited by 65 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…4). This analysis is confirmed by the pattern of grazing and rumination (Beekman & Prins, 1989). l), and food intake dropped to 3% of the body weight (Crampton & Harris, 1969) but in a number of individual buffalo it fell to 2.5%.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

A balanced diet as a goal for grazing: the food of the Manyara buffalo

Prins

Beekman

1989

African Journal of Ecology

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SUMMARY The diet of African buffalo Syncerus coffer (Sparrman) was studied in Lake Manyara National Park, northern Tanzania, in conjunction with production, consumption and protein concentration of the major food plants. Production and relative growth rates of leaves of Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., Cynodon plectostachyus (K. Schum.) Pilg. and Sporobolus spicatus (Vahl) Kunth were generally highest during the short rains, lower during the long rains and negligible during the long dry season. The grass Chloris gayana Kunth showed its peak in production and consumption in the dry season. The concentration of crude protein in the green leaves reflected this pattern of growth and was highest during periods of vigorous growth. Green leaves always had a higher crude protein concentration than green stalk, and green parts than dead parts. Cyperus laevigatus L. did not show marked seasonality in its production pattern or in the crude protein concentration in its green parts. The diet, as determined through faecal analyses, reflected grass species high in protein, except during the dry season when the buffalo concentrated on the sedge, which had a low protein concentration but which offered a dense sward enabling them to collect sufficient food. The concentration of crude protein in the diet was determined through faecal nitrogen determination. The quality of the diet showed a clear seasonality, at the end of the dry season approaching the minimum requirements for maintenance. The crude protein concentration showed that the buffalo consumed a combination of species and species parts, so that they ingested a balanced diet with regard to their requirements for protein and energy. Résumé On a étudié le régime alimentaire du buffle africain Syncerus coffer au Pre National du Lac Manyara, en Tanzanie du Nord, en rapport avec la production, la consommation et la concentration en protéines des principales plantes alimentaires. La production et le taux de croissance relatif des feuilles de Cynodon dactylon, C. plectostachyus et Sporobolus spicatus sont généralement les plus élevés durant la petite saison des pluies, plus faibles durant la grande saison des pluies et négligeables durant la grande saison sèche. La production et la consommation de la graminée Chloris gayana sont maximales durant la saison sèche. La concentration de protéines brutes dans les feuilles vertes reflète ce mode de croissance et est la plus élevée durant les périodes de croissance vigoureuse. Les feuilles vertes ont toujours une concentration de protéines brutes plus élevée que la tige, et les parties vertes plus élevée que les parties mortes. On n'a pas relevé de saisonnalité marquée dans le mode de production ou la concentration en protéines brutes dans les parties vertes de Cyprus laevigatus. Le régime alimentaire, établi par analyses fécales, reflète la présence d'espèces de graminées riches en protéines, sauf durant la saison séche lorsque le buffle se concentre sur les laîches; celles‐ci ont une concentration faible en protéines mais constituent une p...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

A balanced diet as a goal for grazing: the food of the Manyara buffalo

Prins

Beekman

1989

African Journal of Ecology

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“…As mentioned above, hindgut fermenters in general have a higher food intake than ruminants. The higher food intake of hindgut fermenters apparently compensates for their lower digestion eciency, since the energy and nutrient assimilation obtained by hindgut fermenters on lowquality diets is higher than that obtained by ruminants (Bell 1971;Rittenhouse 1986;Beekman and Prins 1989;Duncan et al 1990;Van Soest 1994). However, when digestibility of the food becomes very low, as was found in this study in the early dry season (namely when %NDF>75%), the higher food intake of hindgut fermenters no longer compensates for their lower digestive eciency (Van Wieren 1996).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Resource partitioning between sympatric wild and domestic herbivores in the Tarangire region of Tanzania

Voeten¹,

Prins²

1999

Oecologia

165

142

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The effect of the introduction of an exotic species (cattle) into a native African herbivore assemblage was investigated by studying resource partitioning between zebu cattle, wildebeest and zebra. Resource partitioning was investigated by analysing grass sward characteristics (such as sward height and percentage nitrogen in leaves) of feeding sites selected by the different herbivore species. Linear discriminant analysis was used to determine whether a distinction could be made between feeding sites selected by the different animal species or whether the animal species showed overlap in resource use by selecting similar feeding sites. Wildebeest and zebra did not show overlap in resource use except in the wet season when resources were ample. Cattle showed overlap in resource use with zebra in the early wet season and with wildebeest in the early dry season, seasons when food limitation is likely. In the wet season, cattle showed overlap in resource use with both zebra and wildebeest.Implications of these results for competitive relationships between livestock and wildlife are discussed. We suggest that interpretation of overlap in resource use may be different for an assemblage of long-term coexisting native species as compared to an assemblage of native and exotic species. Among native herbivores, overlap in resource use is not expected based on evolutionary segregation. In a native assemblage to which an exotic species has been introduced, however, overlap in resource use can occur under food-limited conditions and consequently implies competition.

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“…2006). Similarly, elephant impact on trees is especially prevalent during the dry season when elephant switch from a diet dominated by grass to browse because grass quality decreases to below the animal’s maintenance requirements during this time (Barnes 1982; Beekman & Prins 1989; Pretorius 2009) and an increased consumption of woody material indicates nutritional stress (O’Connor, Goodman & Clegg 2007). We predict that elephant will have a larger impact on trees that represent low‐quality food through, for example, increased utilization of roots, whereas impact on trees growing in nutrient‐rich patches will be less, with leaves being utilized more.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil nutrient status determines how elephant utilize trees and shape environments

Pretorius

Boer

Waal

et al. 2011

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Summary1. Elucidation of the mechanism determining the spatial scale of patch selection by herbivores has been complicated by the way in which resource availability at a specific scale is measured and by vigilance behaviour of the herbivores themselves. To reduce these complications, we studied patch selection by an animal with negligible predation risk, the African elephant. 2. We introduce the concept of nutrient load as the product of patch size, number of patches and local patch nutrient concentration. Nutrient load provides a novel spatially explicit expression of the total available nutrients a herbivore can select from. 3. We hypothesized that elephant would select nutrient-rich patches, based on the nutrient load per 2500 m 2 down to the individual plant scale, and that this selection will depend on the nitrogen and phosphorous contents of plants. 4. We predicted that elephant would cause more adverse impact to trees of lower value to them in order to reach plant parts with higher nutrient concentrations such as bark and root. However, elephant should maintain nutrient-rich trees by inducing coppicing of trees through re-utilization of leaves. 5. Elephant patch selection was measured in a homogenous tree species stand by manipulating the spatial distribution of soil nutrients in a large field experiment using NPK fertilizer. 6. Elephant were able to select nutrient-rich patches and utilized Colophospermum mopane trees inside these patches more than outside, at scales ranging from 2500 down to 100 m 2 . 7. Although both nitrogen and phosphorus contents of leaves from C. mopane trees were higher in fertilized and selected patches, patch choice correlated most strongly with nitrogen content. As predicted, stripping of leaves occurred more in nutrient-rich patches, while adverse impact such as uprooting of trees occurred more in nutrient-poor areas. 8. Our results emphasize the necessity of including scale-dependent selectivity in foraging studies and how elephant foraging behaviour can be used as indicators of change in the availability of nutrients.

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Feeding strategies of sedentary large herbivores in East Africa, with emphasis on the African buffalo, Syncerus coffer

Cited by 65 publications

References 33 publications

A balanced diet as a goal for grazing: the food of the Manyara buffalo

A balanced diet as a goal for grazing: the food of the Manyara buffalo

Resource partitioning between sympatric wild and domestic herbivores in the Tarangire region of Tanzania

Soil nutrient status determines how elephant utilize trees and shape environments

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