Grazing Animal Behavior

Launchbaugh, Karen L.

doi:10.1002/9781119436669.ch46

Cited by 9 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 105 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Pasture production systems represent a significant opportunity for increasing the sustainable production of ruminant animals worldwide. Under this scenario, animal performance depends of sward attributes such the quality and quantity of forage harvested during the grazing process (1). For instance, the ingestive behavior of young lambs kept on tropical pastures may be influenced by the different structures of swards at which they are exposed during grazing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ingestive Behavior of Young Lambs on Contrasting Tropical Grass Sward Heights

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The efficiency of grazing ruminant production systems is directly associated to the animals' ingestive behavior, and to structural characteristics of the pastures. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ingestive behavior of young lambs grazing three different heights of Capim Aruana (Panicum maximum). The experiment was carried out in two consecutive years, in which 30 tester lambs (4-5 months old) were equally divided into three paddocks (treatments) corresponding to different average sward heights of Aruana grass: (1) Tall-75 cm; (2) Medium-50 cm; and (3) Short-25 cm in a randomized block design. Ingestive behavior assessments were carried out every 28 days through 10-min observations of the main activities of the animals (grazing, ruminating, idling) and biting rate, from sunrise to sunset. In addition, the productive and qualitative characteristics of the pastures were assessed. Despite differences in pasture structure, grazing time (GT) and idling time were similar among treatments (P = 0.4266 and P = 0.2939, respectively). The shortest ruminating time (RT, P = 0.0181) was recorded in the treatment of lowest sward height. Lambs grazing on this treatment also showed 23% more bites per minute (P= < 0.0001) than animals in the Tall and Medium treatments. A Decision Tree analysis was performed for GT, identifying in a hierarchical order that the initial weight of the animals and sward height explained 62% (R 2 = 0.621) of the variation, representing the variables with the greatest influence on GT. Initial body weight explained 48% of the model. Thus, our research shows that the different sward heights of Capim Aruana mainly alter the lamb's RT and biting rate, and that the animals' initial body weight is a key factor influencing GT, given that this variable makes lambs more susceptible to changes in sward height.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ingestive Behavior of Young Lambs on Contrasting Tropical Grass Sward Heights

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In contrast to mammalian herbivores, green turtles lack the ability to masticate (Fritz et al, 2010), which has important implications for digestive efficiency (Bjorndal et al, 1990; Lanyon & Sanson, 2006). Green turtles also do not appear to utilize lingual protrusion (based on our video footage), which is important in terrestrial turtles and tortoises (Natchev et al, 2015) and mammalian herbivores (Hofmann, 1989; Launchbaugh, 2020) for forage retention in the mouth prior to swallowing. Small bite size is a mechanism previously documented in herbivorous freshwater turtles, that reduces ingesta particle size, and thereby increases intake (Bjorndal & Bolten, 1992).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Therefore, the maintenance of grazed areas with shorter leaves and high leaf biomass concentrations via cultivation grazing is an important mechanism for maximizing foraging efficiency and short‐term intake for green turtles. We expect that cultivation grazing by green turtles also plays a role in maximizing daily intake while minimizing daily grazing duration and energy expenditure, given that most of the variability in daily intake by terrestrial megaherbivores (specifically grass and roughage grazers) is explained by the time devoted to grazing on a daily basis (Launchbaugh, 2020; Trudell & White, 1981).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For terrestrial megaherbivores that consume grasses/roughage and rely on efficient fiber digestion for energy acquisition, their grazing strategy is largely driven by the need to maximize rates of intake with minimum energy expenditure (Launchbaugh, 2020; McNaughton, 1984). Plant characteristics and mechanisms for foraging efficiency (i.e., bite rate, bite size, bites per swallow, time spent searching for and/or handling forage) are important factors that can interactively influence megaherbivore grazing behavior and control forage intake on a short‐term basis (in milligrams of dry mass [DM] per minute; hereafter referred to as short‐term intake) (Chapman et al, 2007; Gross et al, 1993; Launchbaugh, 2020; McNaughton, 1984; Trudell & White, 1981). By contrast, variation in daily intake (in grams of DM per day; hereafter referred to as daily intake) is mostly explained by daily foraging duration and not plant morphology or nutrient content (Launchbaugh, 2020; Trudell & White, 1981).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

An underwater Serengeti: Seagrass‐mediated effects on intake and cultivation grazing behavior of a marine megaherbivore

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Populations of green turtles (Chelonia mydas), a megaherbivore that consumes seagrasses via cultivation grazing, are recovering worldwide. Information on plant‐mediated effects on herbivore foraging behavior is critical to understanding plant–herbivore interactions and sustainability of grazing as ecosystems continue to change. In a Caribbean seagrass ecosystem, we use stationary cameras and benthic surveys to evaluate the effects of seagrass morphology and leaf nitrogen content on green turtle grazing behavior. Thalassia testudinum leaf morphology has significant effects on forage intake (in milligrams of dry mass [DM] per minute) for green turtles, whereas leaf nitrogen content has no effect. Intake increases in grazed areas with shorter leaves and higher leaf biomass concentration (in milligrams of DM per cubic centimeter), indicating more efficient foraging under these conditions. Bite rate (in bites per minute) increases in grazed areas with short leaves, a result of reduced search time. Bite size (in milligrams of DM per bite) increases in grazed areas with short but dense canopies, because a turtle crops more shoots with each bite. Increased foraging efficiency and reduced search time in grazed areas with high biomass concentrations collectively maximize intake. Ingested leaves are shorter than the mean height of all available leaves in grazed areas, indicating herbivore selection for shorter leaves. Our estimate for daily intake is 86.1 g DM day−1 33‐kg turtle−1. Our study provides a novel contribution on the effects of plant‐level cues on the grazing behavior of a marine megaherbivore, and how cultivation grazing behavior optimizes the green turtle foraging strategy by maximizing foraging efficiency and intake.

show abstract

“…Feedlot herbivorous animals exploit the diet faster and, consequently, select more efficiently (choice time vs. consumption). On the other hand, grazing herbivores need to make several decisions during the foraging process, deciding what to eat (diet selection), where to eat (feeding site selection), and when to eat (ingestion) (Launchbaugh, 2020). Sheep consume approximately 2 to 5% BW in DM day -1 , with grazing time varying according to food availability and type (NRC, 2007;Moreira et al, 2018).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of pasture, silvopastoral, and feedlot production systems and the recording interval of behavioral activities on the ingestive behavior of lambs

Bettencourt

Silva

Menezes

et al. 2022

Semina: Ciênc. Agrár.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The evaluation of the ingestive behavior of ruminant animals is important to identify the animal response to the particularities of the different production systems. However, the five-minute evaluation technique requires personnel, making it difficult to adhere to farms and research in more complex pastoral systems. Thus, this study objected to evaluating the influence of pasture, silvopastoral, and feedlot production systems on the ingestive behavior of lambs and to defining the behavior recording interval in each of the systems. Twenty-four lambs were distributed in an experimental design in split plots. The plots were the production systems (pasture without shading - PS, silvopastoral - SS, and feedlot systems - FS) and the subplots were the behavior observation intervals (5, 10, 15, and 20 min.). In the pasture without shading and silvopastoral systems, the lambs were kept on Aruana grass (Megathyrsus maximus) pasture and supplemented with concentrate at 1.5% of body weight per day, on a dry matter (DM) basis. In the feedlot system, the lambs received a diet consisting of 200 g kg DM-1 of annual ryegrass hay (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) and 800 g kg DM-1 of concentrate. There was no interaction (P > 0.05) between the production system and the recording interval of behavioral activities. The time spent on food intake was higher (P < 0.05) in the pasture (533 min d-1) and silvopastoral (513 min d-1) systems than in the feedlot (225 min d-1). In contrast, for water intake, time was higher (P < 0.05) in the feedlot (21 min d-1) and lower in the silvopastoral system (5 min d-1). There was no difference (P > 0.05) between the systems for rumination and idle activities, of which daily averages were 378 and 587 min d-1, respectively. There was also no difference (P > 0.05) between the observation intervals for feed, water, rumination, and idleness activities. Lambs in pasture-based systems spend more time feeding, and feedlot lambs spend more time ingesting water. Feedlot lambs ruminate as much as grazing animals when fed hay, even though hay represents only 20% of the total diet. The recording interval of behavioral activities in these production systems can be up to 20 minutes.

show abstract

Grazing Animal Behavior

Cited by 9 publications

References 105 publications

Ingestive Behavior of Young Lambs on Contrasting Tropical Grass Sward Heights

Ingestive Behavior of Young Lambs on Contrasting Tropical Grass Sward Heights

An underwater Serengeti: Seagrass‐mediated effects on intake and cultivation grazing behavior of a marine megaherbivore

Influence of pasture, silvopastoral, and feedlot production systems and the recording interval of behavioral activities on the ingestive behavior of lambs

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About