First data on the seasonal diet of the vulnerable Gazella cuvieri (Mammalia: Bovidae) in the Djebel Messaâd forest, northern Algeria

Abstract

BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Seasonal pattern in browsing trees and shrubs by reintroduced Cuvier’s gazelles: a study in Morocco with management implications

“…Our results demonstrate the presence of a seasonal pattern in the browsing activity, being dependent mainly on Olea europaea , Quercus ilex , Cistus salviifolius , and Cistus creticus in winter and on Tetraclinis articulata and Ruta angustifolia in spring. Shrubs and trees are thus essential for Cuvier’s gazelles as it has also been demonstrated in Algeria by Chahrazad and Dhaouia ( 2013 ) and Benamour et al ( 2019 ). They are also known to be important food components for other gazelle species such as the Mhorr (Abaigar et al 1997 ) and Dorcas gazelles (Ait Baamrane et al 2012 , 2017 ).…”

“…In the TR, the Cuvier’s gazelle mainly browses wild olive trees as is the case in Algeria in the Mergueb Nature Reserve (Bouredjli 1989 ; de Smet 1991 ; Sellami 1999 ) and in Djebel El Achch (Talbi 1989 ), and Tunisia in the Boukornine National Park (Abaigar et al 2005 ). Holm oak trees also constitute a forage resource for this ungulate (Cristobal 2006 ; Arbouche et al 2012 ; IUCN 2018 ; Benamor et al 2019 ). The browsing of these aforementioned tree species would be favored by their specific characteristics, namely the small heights (in the TR) and the important foliage at the lowest part of the canopy.…”

“…The use of shrub species belonging to the Cistaceae family as a food resource by Cuvier’s gazelles during winter is relatively common. Indeed, in the Algerian mountain of Djebel Messaâd, 16.7% of the Cuvier’s gazelle winter diet featured Cistus libanotis (Benamour et al 2019 ). This has been reported for other ungulate species, as this was the case of C. salviifolius for (i) the European roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus ) (Wallach et al 2010 ), (ii) the Atlas deer (Cristobal 2006 ; Ismaili et al 2018 ), and (iii) aoudad, the case of C. ladanifer for aoudad (Cristobal 2006 ), and Helianthemum lipii for the mountain gazelle ( Gazella gazella ) (Campbell 1997 ).…”

“…This is all the more true that herbaceous layer development is at its maximum in this reserve compared to the winter period. Benamor et al ( 2019 ), in studying the seasonal diet of Cuvier’s gazelles in Northern Algeria, have evoked the importance of grasses in the spring diet of this ungulate (22%). This has also been confirmed for the Dorcas gazelle by Ait Baamrane et al ( 2017 ), who have stressed the importance of some herbaceous layer species in the spring diet (53.1%) compared to grasses (22.3%) and mostly to shrubs (8.1%).…”

“…In this context, the importance of trees and shrubs in the gazelles’ dietary must be assessed, as it has been the case in northern Algeria for the Cuvier’s gazelle (Benamor et al 2019 ), and other gazelle species, such as the Dama gazelle ( Gazella dama ) (Grettenberger and Newby 1986 ), dorcas gazelle (Grettenberger 1987 ; Ait Baamrane et al 2012 ), and Acacia gazelle ( Gazella acaciae ) (Breslau et al 2020 ).…”