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

Abstract

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.

Conflicts between traditional pastoralism and conservation of Himalayan ibex (Capra sibirica) in the Trans‐Himalayan mountains

“…Such differentiation is necessary for facilitating co-existence (Schoener, 1974;Harris & Miller, 1995;Bagchi et al, 2003) and, in its absence, high levels of resourceuse similarity could imply competition between species (Sale, 1974;Voeten & Prins, 1999). Given that livestock in the study area are maintained at high densities through supplementary winter-feeding ) they can also out-compete ibex.…”

“…Competition occurs when the amount of available resources for a species is depleted due the presence of another species (Sale, 1974;Abrams, 1998). Such density dependent interactions between domestic and wild herbivores have been debated in many regions (Stover, 1985;Prins, 1992;Fleischner, 1994;Noss, 1994;Voeten & Prins, 1999;Mishra, 2001). Theoretically, species populations can grow (by consuming resources) until resource availability is reduced to the point where the population growth rate is balanced by mortalitythe point of resource limitation (Huisman, 1997).…”

Partitioned Nature, Privileged Knowledge: Community‐based Conservation in Tanzania

“…27. The author's current research is looking at the co-use of grazing resources by Maasai livestock and wildlife in the Kwakuchinja corridor region; also see Lama (1998);Voeten (1999); Voeten and Prins (1999). On Ngorongoro see Arhem (1985) and Homewood and Rodgers (1991).…”

Dry season diets of sympatric ungulates in lowland Nepal: competition and facilitation in alluvial tall grasslands

“…Many studies on food interactions among sympatric ungulates have already been carried out in temperate and Afro-tropical large mammal assemblages (VeseyFitzgerald 1960;Gwynne and Bell 1968;Bell 1970;McNaughton 1979;Jarman and Sinclair 1979;Jenkins and Wright 1988;Gordon and Illius 1989;Putman 1996;Johnson et al 2000;Voeten and Prins 1999;Mysterud 2000;Woolnough and du Toit 2001;Stewart et al 2003;du Toit 2003;Gayot et al 2004). However, few studies have compared the diets of wild sympatric herbivores in the Asian subtropics (Dinerstein 1980;Martin 1982;Johnsingh and Sankar 1991;Bagchi et al 2003;Steinheim et al 2005).…”