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Barbero-Palacios L, Ferraro KM, Barrio IC, Krumins JA, Bartolomé J, Albanell E, Jarque-Bascuñana L, Lavín S, Calleja JA, Carreira JA, Serrano E. Faecal nutrient deposition of domestic and wild herbivores in an alpine grassland. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 903:166616. [PMID: 37647958 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
The contribution of herbivores to ecosystem nutrient fluxes through dung deposition has the potential to, directly and indirectly, influence ecosystem functioning. This process can be particularly important in nutrient-limited ecosystems such as alpine systems. However, herbivore dung content (carbon, C; nitrogen, N; phosphorus, P; potassium, K) and stoichiometry (C/N) may differ among species due to differences in diet, seasonality, body type, feeding strategy, and/or digestive system with consequences for soil biogeochemistry. Here we explore how species, body size, and seasonality may result in differences in dung stoichiometry for four alpine herbivores (chamois, sheep, horse, and cattle). We found that herbivore dung nutrient content often varies among species as well as with body size, with the dung of small herbivores having larger C, N, and P faecal content. Seasonality also showed marked effects on faecal nutrient content, with a general pattern of decreasing levels of faecal P, N and an increase of C/N as the summer progresses following the loss of nutrient value of the vegetation. Moreover, we showed how herbivores play an important role as natural fertilizers of C, N, and P in our study area, especially cattle. Our study highlights the importance of considering the relative contribution of different herbivores to ecosystem nutrient fluxes in management practices, especially with ongoing changes in wild and domestic herbivore populations in alpine ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Barbero-Palacios
- Faculty of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Agricultural University of Iceland, Árleyni 22, Keldnaholt, IS-112 Reykjavík, Iceland.
| | - Kristy M Ferraro
- Yale University School of the Environment, 370 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Isabel C Barrio
- Faculty of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Agricultural University of Iceland, Árleyni 22, Keldnaholt, IS-112 Reykjavík, Iceland.
| | | | - Jordi Bartolomé
- Grup de Recerca en Remugants, Departament de Ciència Animal i dels Aliments, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra, Spain.
| | - Elena Albanell
- Grup de Recerca en Remugants, Departament de Ciència Animal i dels Aliments, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra, Spain.
| | - Laia Jarque-Bascuñana
- Wildlife Ecology & Health Group (WE&H) and Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge (SEFaS), Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Santiago Lavín
- Wildlife Ecology & Health Group (WE&H) and Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge (SEFaS), Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Juan A Calleja
- Departamento de Biología (Botánica), Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain; CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain.
| | - José A Carreira
- Departamento de Biología Animal, Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
| | - Emmanuel Serrano
- Wildlife Ecology & Health Group (WE&H) and Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge (SEFaS), Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
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2
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Late Pleistocene megafauna extinction leads to missing pieces of ecological space in a North American mammal community. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2115015119. [PMID: 36122233 PMCID: PMC9522422 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2115015119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The conservation status of large-bodied mammals is dire. Their decline has serious consequences because they have unique ecological roles not replicated by smaller-bodied animals. Here, we use the fossil record of the megafauna extinction at the terminal Pleistocene to explore the consequences of past biodiversity loss. We characterize the isotopic and body-size niche of a mammal community in Texas before and after the event to assess the influence on the ecology and ecological interactions of surviving species (>1 kg). Preextinction, a variety of C4 grazers, C3 browsers, and mixed feeders existed, similar to modern African savannas, with likely specialization among the two sabertooth species for juvenile grazers. Postextinction, body size and isotopic niche space were lost, and the δ13C and δ15N values of some survivors shifted. We see mesocarnivore release within the Felidae: the jaguar, now an apex carnivore, moved into the specialized isotopic niche previously occupied by extinct cats. Puma, previously absent, became common and lynx shifted toward consuming more C4-based resources. Lagomorphs were the only herbivores to shift toward C4 resources. Body size changes from the Pleistocene to Holocene were species-specific, with some animals (deer, hare) becoming significantly larger and others smaller (bison, rabbits) or exhibiting no change to climate shifts or biodiversity loss. Overall, the Holocene body-size-isotopic niche was drastically reduced and considerable ecological complexity lost. We conclude biodiversity loss led to reorganization of survivors and many "missing pieces" within our community; without intervention, the loss of Earth's remaining ecosystems that support megafauna will likely suffer the same fate.
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3
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Malindie S, Buschke F, Codron D. Carbon isotope differences between grassland and savanna herbivores reveal environmentally driven rather than phylogenetically conserved niches. J Zool (1987) 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- S. Malindie
- Centre for Environmental Management (IB 67) University of Free State Bloemfontein South Africa
| | - F.T. Buschke
- Centre for Environmental Management (IB 67) University of Free State Bloemfontein South Africa
| | - D. Codron
- Department of Zoology and Entomology (IB 49) University of Free State Bloemfontein South Africa
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Valdés-Correcher E, Sitters J, Wassen M, Brion N, Olde Venterink H. Herbivore dung quality affects plant community diversity. Sci Rep 2019; 9:5675. [PMID: 30952928 PMCID: PMC6450897 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-42249-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Nutrient availability is important for plant community composition and diversity, but most studies focus on inorganic nutrients. Far less is known about the impact of nutrients in organic forms such as herbivore dung. Here we show that dung of 11 European herbivore species varies widely in nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations, as well as in C:N:P ratios. We demonstrate that variation in dung quality of five herbivore species influences the diversity and composition of a mesocosm plant community. The impact of dung quality was at least as strong as, or stronger than, the effect of manipulating the quantity of dung by a factor six. Our study supports the hypothesis that both nutrient quantity and nutrient imbalances are important controlling factors for plant species diversity, and stresses the important role of herbivores on plant communities, not only via selective foraging, but also via stoichiometric variation of nutrients in their dung.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Valdés-Correcher
- Department of Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
- Biogeco, INRA, University of Bordeaux, F-33610, Cestas, France
| | - Judith Sitters
- Department of Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
- Departments of Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Martin Wassen
- Environmental Sciences, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Natacha Brion
- Analytical, Environmental and Geochemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Harry Olde Venterink
- Department of Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium.
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5
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Tédonzong LRD, Willie J, Tagg N, Tchamba MN, Angwafo TE, Keuko AMP, Kuenbou JK, Petre C, Lens L. The distribution of plant consumption traits across habitat types and the patterns of fruit availability suggest a mechanism of coexistence of two sympatric frugivorous mammals. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:4473-4494. [PMID: 31031921 PMCID: PMC6476771 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Revised: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 02/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms governing the coexistence of organisms is an important question in ecology, and providing potential solutions contributes to conservation science. In this study, we evaluated the contribution of several mechanisms to the coexistence of two sympatric frugivores, using western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) in a tropical rainforest of southeast Cameroon as a model system. We collected great ape fecal samples to determine and classify fruit species consumed; we conducted great ape nest surveys to evaluate seasonal patterns of habitat use; and we collected botanical data to investigate the distribution of plant species across habitat types in relation to their "consumption traits" (which indicate whether plants are preferred or fallback for either gorilla, chimpanzee, or both). We found that patterns of habitat use varied seasonally for both gorillas and chimpanzees and that gorilla and chimpanzee preferred and fallback fruits differed. Also, the distribution of plant consumption traits was influenced by habitat type and matched accordingly with the patterns of habitat use by gorillas and chimpanzees. We show that neither habitat selection nor fruit preference alone can explain the coexistence of gorillas and chimpanzees, but that considering together the distribution of plant consumption traits of fruiting woody plants across habitats as well as the pattern of fruit availability may contribute to explaining coexistence. This supports the assumptions of niche theory with dominant and subordinate species in heterogeneous landscapes, whereby a species may prefer nesting in habitats where it is less subject to competitive exclusion and where food availability is higher. To our knowledge, our study is the first to investigate the contribution of plant consumption traits, seasonality, and habitat heterogeneity to enabling the coexistence of two sympatric frugivores. OPEN RESEARCH BADGES This article has earned an Open Data Badge for making publicly available the digitally-shareable data necessary to reproduce the reported results. The data is available at https://datadryad.org/resource/doi:10.5061/dryad.ms65f29.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luc Roscelin Dongmo Tédonzong
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
- Department of ForestryUniversity of DschangDschangCameroon
| | - Jacob Willie
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
| | - Nikki Tagg
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
| | | | - Tsi Evaristus Angwafo
- Department of ForestryUniversity of DschangDschangCameroon
- Department of Fundamental SciencesThe University of Bamenda, HTTTCBambiliCameroon
| | - Ada Myriane Patipe Keuko
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
- Department of ForestryUniversity of DschangDschangCameroon
| | - Jacques Keumo Kuenbou
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
- Department of ForestryUniversity of DschangDschangCameroon
| | - Charles‐Albert Petre
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Cameroun, Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC)Royal Zoological Society of Antwerpen (RZSA)AntwerpenBelgium
- Laboratory of Tropical ForestryUniversity of LiègeGembloux Agro‐Bio TechLiègeBelgium
- Conservation Biology Unit, Directorate Natural EnvironmentRoyal Belgian Institute of Natural SciencesBrusselsBelgium
| | - Luc Lens
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of BiologyGhent University (UGent)GhentBelgium
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6
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Sitters J, Olde Venterink H. A stoichiometric perspective of the effect of herbivore dung on ecosystem functioning. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:1043-1046. [PMID: 29375777 PMCID: PMC5773295 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2017] [Revised: 10/26/2017] [Accepted: 11/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Ungulate herbivores play a prominent role in maintaining the tree-grass balance in African savannas. Their top-down role through selective feeding on either trees or grasses is well studied, but their bottom-up role through deposition of nutrients in dung and urine has been overlooked. Here, we propose a novel concept of savanna ecosystem functioning in which the balance between trees and grasses is maintained through stoichiometric differences in dung of herbivores that feed on them. We describe a framework in which N2-fixing trees and grasses, as well as ungulate browsing and grazing herbivores, occupy opposite positions in an interconnected cycle of processes. The framework makes the testable assumption that the differences in dung N:P ratio among browsers and grazers are large enough to influence competitive interactions between N2-fixing trees and grasses. Other key elements of our concept are supported with field data from a Kenyan savanna.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Sitters
- Ecology and Biodiversity Department Biology Vrije Universiteit Brussel Brussels Belgium.,Mpala Research Centre Nanyuki Kenya.,Departments of Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecology Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Harry Olde Venterink
- Ecology and Biodiversity Department Biology Vrije Universiteit Brussel Brussels Belgium
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7
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Garnick S, Di Stefano J, Moore BD, Davis NE, Elgar MA, Coulson G. Interspecific and intraspecific relationships between body mass and diet quality in a macropodid community. J Mammal 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyx183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Garnick
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Julian Di Stefano
- School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne, Creswick, Victoria, Australia
| | - Ben D Moore
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Naomi E Davis
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Mark A Elgar
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Graeme Coulson
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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8
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Wang J, Wang D, Li C, Seastedt TR, Liang C, Wang L, Sun W, Liang M, Li Y. Feces nitrogen release induced by different large herbivores in a dry grassland. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2018; 28:201-211. [PMID: 29034532 DOI: 10.1002/eap.1640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2017] [Revised: 07/29/2017] [Accepted: 10/02/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Large herbivores have pronounced effects on nutrient cycling in grasslands. These organisms are known to alter the quality and quantity of plant production as well as the amounts and quality of plant litter and animal wastes. The generalization that the relative quality of detritus inputs is enhanced by herbivores is well known, but how this process is affected by diet selection processing and feces production of different large herbivores remains largely unstudied. Here, we measured how these differences for cattle and sheep on a dry grassland might influence nitrogen (N) mineralization from feces. We found that cattle of larger body size tended to select the low quality grass Stipa grandis as their major food source. In contrast, the subdominant grass Leymus chinensis, with relatively high N content, was a majority in the diet of smaller sheep, when palatable forbs were insufficient in the field. This diverse diet quality resulted in a C:N ratio of cattle feces that was higher than that of sheep feces. Relatively higher labile C availability in the cattle feces, namely relatively higher cellulose/hemicellulose contents, promoted microbial growth and in turn accelerated cattle feces decomposition. A surprise finding was that the feces from cattle mineralized about twice as much N as feces from sheep, despite the latter having slightly higher N content. From a grassland productivity perspective, increasing the proportion of large body-sized species in grazing herbivore assemblages perhaps is beneficial to forage productivity and nutrient recycling by the rapid degradation of feces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingzhi Wang
- School of Environment and Institute of Grassland Science, and Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology and Key Laboratory for Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, 130024, China
| | - Deli Wang
- School of Environment and Institute of Grassland Science, and Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology and Key Laboratory for Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, 130024, China
| | - Chunqiang Li
- School of Environment and Institute of Grassland Science, and Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology and Key Laboratory for Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, 130024, China
| | - Timothy R Seastedt
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA
| | - Cunzhu Liang
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, 010021, China
| | - Ling Wang
- School of Environment and Institute of Grassland Science, and Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology and Key Laboratory for Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, 130024, China
| | - Wei Sun
- School of Environment and Institute of Grassland Science, and Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology and Key Laboratory for Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, 130024, China
| | - Maowei Liang
- Department of Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, 010021, China
| | - Yu Li
- Institute of Mycology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin, 130118, China
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9
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Abstract
Plant-herbivore interactions shape community dynamics across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats. From amphipods to elephants and from algae to trees, plant-herbivore relationships are the crucial link generating animal biomass (and human societies) from mere sunlight. These interactions are, thus, pivotal to understanding the ecology and evolution of virtually any ecosystem. Here, we briefly highlight recent advances in four areas of plant-herbivore interactions: (1) plant defense theory, (2) herbivore diversity and ecosystem function, (3) predation risk aversion and herbivory, and (4) how a changing climate impacts plant-herbivore interactions. Recent advances in plant defense theory, for example, highlight how plant life history and defense traits affect and are affected by multiple drivers, including enemy pressure, resource availability, and the local plant neighborhood, resulting in trait-mediated feedback loops linking trophic interactions with ecosystem nutrient dynamics. Similarly, although the positive effect of consumer diversity on ecosystem function has long been recognized, recent advances using DNA barcoding to elucidate diet, and Global Positioning System/remote sensing to determine habitat selection and impact, have shown that herbivore communities are probably even more functionally diverse than currently realized. Moreover, although most diversity-function studies continue to emphasize plant diversity, herbivore diversity may have even stronger impacts on ecosystem multifunctionality. Recent studies also highlight the role of risk in plant-herbivore interactions, and risk-driven trophic cascades have emerged as landscape-scale patterns in a variety of ecosystems. Perhaps not surprisingly, many plant-herbivore interactions are currently being altered by climate change, which affects plant growth rates and resource allocation, expression of chemical defenses, plant phenology, and herbivore metabolism and behavior. Finally, we conclude by noting that although the field is advancing rapidly, the world is changing even more rapidly, challenging our ability to manage these pivotal links in the food chain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deron E. Burkepile
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - John D. Parker
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA
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10
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Mramba RP, Mahenya O, Siyaya A, Mathisen KM, Andreassen HP, Skarpe C. Sexual segregation in foraging giraffe. ACTA OECOLOGICA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2016.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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11
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Djagoun CAMS, Codron D, Sealy J, Mensah GA, Sinsin B. Isotopic niche structure of a mammalian herbivore assemblage from a West African savanna: Body mass and seasonality effect. Mamm Biol 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mambio.2016.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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12
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Diet of the puku antelope (Kobus vardonii) and dietary overlap with selected other bovids in Kasanka National Park, Zambia. MAMMAL RES 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s13364-016-0268-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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13
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Garnick S, Di Stefano J, Elgar MA, Coulson G. Do body size, diet type or residence time explain habitat use in a vertebrate herbivore community? AUST J ZOOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1071/zo15061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Many theories attempt to explain patterns of community organisation among large herbivores. We explored the role of body size, diet type and residence time on habitat use in a community comprising four metatherians (western grey kangaroo, Macropus fuliginosus; eastern grey kangaroo, M. giganteus; red-necked wallaby, Notamacropus rufogriseus; swamp wallaby, Wallabia bicolor) and two eutherians (red deer, Cervus elaphus; European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus) in south-eastern Australia. We used camera traps to estimate habitat occupancy, quantified habitat specialisation using relative entropy, and ran regressions using percentage grass consumed, log(mass) and log(time at site) as predictor variables and relative entropy as the response. If body size influenced habitat use, we predicted smaller species would occupy fewer habitats. If diet type influenced habitat use, we predicted intermediate feeders would use more habitats. If the time that a species had been present at a site predicted community organisation, newer species would use more habitats. None of these theories explained habitat use in our community. Red deer used a narrower range of habitats than expected, perhaps due to the poor suitability of habitats available in the Grampians. While interactions between our hypotheses are likely to be important, the body size model deserves further attention in this community.
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14
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Dudley JP, Hang'Ombe BM, Leendertz FH, Dorward LJ, Castro J, Subalusky AL, Clauss M. Carnivory in the common hippopotamus
H
ippopotamus amphibius
: implications for the ecology and epidemiology of anthrax in
A
frican landscapes. Mamm Rev 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/mam.12056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph P. Dudley
- Leidos Inc. 20201 Century Boulevard Germantown MD 20874 USA
- Institute of Arctic Biology University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks AK 99775‐7000 USA
| | | | | | | | - Julio Castro
- Departamento de Colonia Zorrilla 348 Carmelo Uruguay
| | - Amanda L. Subalusky
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Yale University 165 Prospect St. New Haven CT 06511 USA
| | - Marcus Clauss
- Clinic for Zoo Animals Exotic Pets and Wildlife Vetsuisse Faculty University of Zurich Winterthurerstr. 260 8057 Zurich Switzerland
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15
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Stähli A, Edwards PJ, Olde Venterink H, Suter W. Convergent grazing responses of different-sized ungulates to low forage quality in a wet savanna. AUSTRAL ECOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Annette Stähli
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL; Zürcherstrasse 111 Birmensdorf 8903 Switzerland
| | - Peter J. Edwards
- Institute of Integrative Biology; Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ); Zurich Switzerland
| | - Harry Olde Venterink
- Institute of Integrative Biology; Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ); Zurich Switzerland
- Plant Biology and Nature Management; Vrije Universiteit Brussel; Brussels Belgium
| | - Werner Suter
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL; Zürcherstrasse 111 Birmensdorf 8903 Switzerland
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16
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DNA metabarcoding illuminates dietary niche partitioning by African large herbivores. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:8019-24. [PMID: 26034267 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1503283112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 302] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Niche partitioning facilitates species coexistence in a world of limited resources, thereby enriching biodiversity. For decades, biologists have sought to understand how diverse assemblages of large mammalian herbivores (LMH) partition food resources. Several complementary mechanisms have been identified, including differential consumption of grasses versus nongrasses and spatiotemporal stratification in use of different parts of the same plant. However, the extent to which LMH partition food-plant species is largely unknown because comprehensive species-level identification is prohibitively difficult with traditional methods. We used DNA metabarcoding to quantify diet breadth, composition, and overlap for seven abundant LMH species (six wild, one domestic) in semiarid African savanna. These species ranged from almost-exclusive grazers to almost-exclusive browsers: Grass consumption inferred from mean sequence relative read abundance (RRA) ranged from >99% (plains zebra) to <1% (dik-dik). Grass RRA was highly correlated with isotopic estimates of % grass consumption, indicating that RRA conveys reliable quantitative information about consumption. Dietary overlap was greatest between species that were similar in body size and proportional grass consumption. Nonetheless, diet composition differed between all species-even pairs of grazers matched in size, digestive physiology, and location-and dietary similarity was sometimes greater across grazing and browsing guilds than within them. Such taxonomically fine-grained diet partitioning suggests that coarse trophic categorizations may generate misleading conclusions about competition and coexistence in LMH assemblages, and that LMH diversity may be more tightly linked to plant diversity than is currently recognized.
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Green K, Davis NE, Robinson WA. The diet of the common wombat (Vombatus ursinus) above the winter snowline in the decade following a wildfire. AUSTRALIAN MAMMALOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1071/am14037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The use of high elevations with deep snow cover presents a challenge to mammalian herbivores, which is exacerbated by subalpine vegetation dynamics such as slow regrowth following disturbance. We postulated that post-fire responses of common wombats (Vombatus ursinus) at high elevations would differ from those at low elevations. We examined the winter diet of common wombats in the Snowy Mountains in the decade after fire in burnt and unburnt areas and compared our results to published diet studies from low elevations. Optimal foraging theory predicts that as food resources become scarce herbivores respond by widening their choice of foods, yet we found that wombats have only marginally wider dietary breadth at higher than at lower elevations in terms of plant forms and diet breadth in terms of species was not greater. The use of shrubs and the tall herb Dianella tasmanica enables wombats to reduce the energetic costs of digging for food in snow. Able to survive fire in a burrow, the wombat is then capable of responding to reduced foraging opportunities following fire by broadening the range of species consumed and adopting foraging strategies that exploit temporally improved food quality, demonstrated by the greater proportion of grass consumed in burnt sites.
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Redjadj C, Darmon G, Maillard D, Chevrier T, Bastianelli D, Verheyden H, Loison A, Saïd S. Intra- and interspecific differences in diet quality and composition in a large herbivore community. PLoS One 2014; 9:e84756. [PMID: 24586233 PMCID: PMC3933327 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2012] [Accepted: 11/26/2013] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Species diversity in large herbivore communities is often explained by niche segregation allowed by differences in body mass and digestive morphophysiological features. Based on large number of gut samples in fall and winter, we analysed the temporal dynamics of diet composition, quality and interspecific overlap of 4 coexisting mountain herbivores. We tested whether the relative consumption of grass and browse differed among species of different rumen types (moose-type and intermediate-type), whether diet was of lower quality for the largest species, whether we could identify plant species which determined diet quality, and whether these plants, which could be “key-food-resources” were similar for all herbivores. Our analyses revealed that (1) body mass and rumen types were overall poor predictors of diet composition and quality, although the roe deer, a species with a moose-type rumen was confirmed as an “obligatory non grazer”, while red deer, the largest species, had the most lignified diet; (2) diet overlap among herbivores was well predicted by rumen type (high among species of intermediate types only), when measured over broad plant groups, (3) the relationship between diet composition and quality differed among herbivore species, and the actual plant species used during winter which determined the diet quality, was herbivore species-specific. Even if diets overlapped to a great extent, the species-specific relationships between diet composition and quality suggest that herbivores may select different plant species within similar plant group types, or different plant parts and that this, along with other behavioural mechanisms of ecological niche segregation, may contribute to the coexistence of large herbivores of relatively similar body mass, as observed in mountain ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Redjadj
- Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Savoie, Le Bourget-du-Lac, France
- Centre national d’Etudes et de la Recherches Appliquées sur la Faune de Montagne et les Cervidés-Sanglier, Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Le Perray-en-Yvelines, France
| | - Gaëlle Darmon
- Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Savoie, Le Bourget-du-Lac, France
- Chaire de recherche industrielle Produits forestiers Anticosti, Département de Biologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | - Daniel Maillard
- Centre national d’Etudes et de la Recherches Appliquées sur la Faune de Montagne et les Cervidés-Sanglier, Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Le Perray-en-Yvelines, France
| | - Thierry Chevrier
- Centre national d’Etudes et de la Recherches Appliquées sur la Faune de Montagne et les Cervidés-Sanglier, Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Le Perray-en-Yvelines, France
| | - Denis Bastianelli
- Systèmes d’élevage méditerranéens et tropicaux, Centre de coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Montpellier, France
| | - Hélène Verheyden
- Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Castanet-Tolosan, France
| | - Anne Loison
- Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Savoie, Le Bourget-du-Lac, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Sonia Saïd
- Centre national d’Etudes et de la Recherches Appliquées sur la Faune de Montagne et les Cervidés-Sanglier, Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Le Perray-en-Yvelines, France
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Sitters J, Maechler M, Edwards PJ, Suter W, Olde Venterink H. Interactions between
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stoichiometry and soil macrofauna control dung decomposition of savanna herbivores. Funct Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Judith Sitters
- Institute of Integrative Biology ETH Zurich Universitätsstrasse 168092 Zurich Switzerland
| | - Marc‐Jacques Maechler
- Institute of Integrative Biology ETH Zurich Universitätsstrasse 168092 Zurich Switzerland
| | - Peter J. Edwards
- Institute of Integrative Biology ETH Zurich Universitätsstrasse 168092 Zurich Switzerland
| | - Werner Suter
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL Zürcherstrasse 1118903 Birmensdorf Switzerland
| | - Harry Olde Venterink
- Institute of Integrative Biology ETH Zurich Universitätsstrasse 168092 Zurich Switzerland
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