Water Buffaloes grazing behaviour at the Lake Kerkini National Park, Northern Greece

Tsiobani, Eleni T.; Yiakoulaki, M. D.; Hasanagas, Nikolaos; Menexes, George; Παπανικολάου, Κωνσταντίνος

doi:10.1515/hacq-2016-0015

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This structure was observed only during the activity of grazing. This finding is consistent with Sowell et al (2000) and Ungerfeld et al (2014), who reported that during grazing cattle form subgroups through which they learn and develop different foraging strategies in relation to the behavior of the other members of the herd. Additionally, the lack of hierarchies as depicted through the eigenvector centrality could be attributed to the fact that the socializing implied above does not allow the appearance of acute ranking differences.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Proximity patterns in water buffaloes' activities on pasture

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Water buffaloes are considered social animals and perform several activities on pasture, such as grazing, moving, standing, ruminating, wallowing, lying, and drinking. However, the way these animals form their social structure in the herd during each one of these activities is still unknown. Literature for water buffaloes has focused mainly on their productive characteristics, impact of grazing on wetlands and behavior during grazing but failed to address the way these animals form their social organization during their activities on pasture. In this study, the tools of social network analysis are used to analyze, detect, and depict the proximity patterns in water buffaloes' activities on pasture and the effect of their age and gender on them. We describe and interpret a series of global and local network indices, and show that the water buffaloes differentiate their social structure in their activities on pasture and that the animals' age and gender affect their interacting patterns, and provide a framework for the application of social network analysis on grazing animals' social behavioral studies. We expect that this framework could be used in future research to provide information regarding the social structure of other kinds of animals that graze in different forage and climatic environments and help animal breeders to improve their management practices.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Proximity patterns in water buffaloes' activities on pasture

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In contrast, the results showed that there is a positive change in terms of reduction of shrubs and increase of legume species and grass species as well. Some research confirmed our findings that buffaloes eat woody plants [62,65], but other studies claimed that herbaceous vegetation is highlighted and reported the absence of woody species in the water buffaloes' diet [66,67]. Considering the results of the observed effect, we can confirm that domestic water buffaloes have a different diet than cattle and sheep [68][69][70].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…On the other hand, they eat less selectively in order to fill their stomachs among grazing animals [60]. Nevertheless, data on water buffaloes' dietary behavior is very limited in terms of professional literature [61,62]. For example, the use of trees as a source of feed for ruminants is limited to understanding of their positive impact on production systems [63].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examination of the Effects of Domestic Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) Grazing on Wetland and Dry Grassland Habitats

Fűrész,

Penksza,

Sipos

et al. 2023

Plants

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In nature conservation today, there is a global problem with the aggressive expansion of invasive plant species and the conservation of valuable grassland vegetation. Based on this, the following question has been formed: Is the domestic water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) appropriate for managing various habitat types? How does grazing by water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) affect on grassland vegetation? This study was carried out in four areas of Hungary. One of the sample areas was in the Mátra Mountains, on dry grassland areas where grazing had been applied for two, four and six years. The other sample areas were in the Zámolyi Basin, where wet fens with a high risk of Solidago gigantea and in a typic Pannonian dry grassland were investigated. In all areas, grazing was carried out with domestic water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). During the study, we carried out a coenological survey, examining the change of cover of plant species, their feed values and the biomass of the grassland. According to the results, both the number and cover of economically important grasses (from 28% to 34.6%) and legumes (from 3.4% to 25.4%) increased in Mátra as well as the high proportion of shrubs (from 41.8% to 4.4%) shifted toward grassland species. In the areas of the Zámolyi Basin, invasive Solidago has been suppressed completely, the pasture has been converted completely (from 16% to 1%) and the dominant species has become Sesleria uliginosa. Thus, we have found that grazing with buffalo is suitable as a habitat management method in both dry grasslands and wet grasslands. Therefore, in addition to its effectiveness in the control of Solidago gigantea, grazing with buffalo is successful in both nature conservation and economic aspects of grassland vegetation.

show abstract

“…The Greek water buffalo is an endangered local breed of the Eurasian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) (FAO 2007, Tsiobani et al 2016, which has been extensively raised in the wetlands of the country since the end of the 19 th century (Georgoudis 1993). Water buffaloes, like cattle, are characterized as bulk grazers, meaning that they are less selective in order to fill their stomachs (Whitmore 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variation in water buffaloes’ diet grazing in wet grasslands in Northern Greece

2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Seasonal variability in grasslands’ vegetation affects animals’ diet selection. We studied the seasonal changes in water buffaloes’ diet during grazing in wet grasslands in Northern Greece. We recorded each month the plant species of the vegetation and the species consumed by buffaloes. We categorized the former into three functional groups (graminoids, legumes, and forbs) and the latter into five groups (graminoids, legumes, forbs, shrubs, and trees). There were significant differences in the proportions (%) of functional groups in the vegetation and in buffaloes’ diet between seasons (χ2 test, P<0.05). Graminoids, legumes, and forbs participated in buffaloes’ diet in all seasons, while the less preferred functional groups were trees and shrubs. Buffaloes consumed ten species in all seasons but we observed the most diverse diet, in terms of plant species, in spring. The most frequently consumed species in each functional group were Cynodon dactylon (graminoids), Trifolium repens (legumes), Cichorium intybus (forbs), Rubus sp. (shrubs), and Populus sp. (trees). However, the majority of plant species in buffaloes’ diet was in very low proportions (<1%), while buffaloes did not sample at all 38 herbaceous species. Researchers need to conduct further research to understand water buffaloes’ foraging strategy regarding plants’ anti-quality characteristics.

show abstract

Water Buffaloes grazing behaviour at the Lake Kerkini National Park, Northern Greece

Cited by 7 publications

References 19 publications

Proximity patterns in water buffaloes' activities on pasture

Proximity patterns in water buffaloes' activities on pasture

Examination of the Effects of Domestic Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) Grazing on Wetland and Dry Grassland Habitats

Seasonal variation in water buffaloes’ diet grazing in wet grasslands in Northern Greece

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About