Nutrition of bison (Bison bison), camels (Сamelus bactrianus), and horses (Equus caballus) from their joint grazing on an isolated steppe pasture

Abaturov, B. D.; Kazmin, V. D.

doi:10.1134/s1062359016080021

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 22 publications

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“…Despite having unique dietary niches, grazers and browsers tend to have dietary niches with similar breadths (in terms of the diversity of plants consumed) that are narrower than intermediate feeders (Jung et al, 2015 ). The grazer/browser framework has been used to explain the coexistence or potential coexistence of multiple ruminants in a community (Abaturov et al, 2016 ; Fischer & Gates, 2005 ; Jung et al, 2015 ). However, many species classically defined as browsers or grazers will switch between the two foraging behaviors in response to changes in local availability and seasonal quality of vegetation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the nutritional consequences of switching foraging behavior in wood bison

Hecker

Edwards

Nielsen

2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Diet is one of the most common traits used to organize species of animals into niches.For ruminant herbivores, the breadth and uniqueness of their dietary niche are placed on a spectrum from browsers that consume woody (i.e., browse) and herbaceous (i.e., forbs) plants, to grazers with graminoid-rich diets. However, seasonal changes in plant availability and quality can lead to switching of their dietary niche, even within species. In this study, we examined whether a population of wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) in northeast Alberta, Canada, seasonally switched their foraging behavior, and if so, whether this was associated with changes in nutrient acquisition. We hypothesized that bison should switch foraging behaviors from grazing in the winter when standing, dead graminoids are the only foliar plants readily available to browsing during spring and summer as nutritious and digestible foliar parts of browse and forbs become available. If bison are switching foraging strategy to maximize protein consumption, then there should be a corresponding shift in the nutritional niche.Alternatively, if bison are eating different plants, but consuming similar amounts of nutrients, then bison are switching their dietary niche to maintain a particular nutrient composition. We found wood bison were grazers in the winter and spring, but switch to a browsing during summer. However, only winter nutrient consumption of consumed plants differed significantly among seasons. Between spring and summer, bison maintained a specific nutritional composition in their diet despite compositional differences in the consumed plants. Our evidence suggests that bison are selecting plants to maintain a target macronutrient composition. We posit that herbivore's can and will switch their dietary niche to maintain a target nutrient composition.

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