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Esmaeili S, Jesmer BR, Albeke SE, Aikens EO, Schoenecker KA, King SRB, Abrahms B, Buuveibaatar B, Beck JL, Boone RB, Cagnacci F, Chamaillé-Jammes S, Chimeddorj B, Cross PC, Dejid N, Enkhbyar J, Fischhoff IR, Ford AT, Jenks K, Hemami MR, Hennig JD, Ito TY, Kaczensky P, Kauffman MJ, Linnell JDC, Lkhagvasuren B, McEvoy JF, Melzheimer J, Merkle JA, Mueller T, Muntifering J, Mysterud A, Olson KA, Panzacchi M, Payne JC, Pedrotti L, Rauset GR, Rubenstein DI, Sawyer H, Scasta JD, Signer J, Songer M, Stabach JA, Stapleton S, Strand O, Sundaresan SR, Usukhjargal D, Uuganbayar G, Fryxell JM, Goheen JR. Body size and digestive system shape resource selection by ungulates: A cross-taxa test of the forage maturation hypothesis. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:2178-2191. [PMID: 34311513 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The forage maturation hypothesis (FMH) states that energy intake for ungulates is maximised when forage biomass is at intermediate levels. Nevertheless, metabolic allometry and different digestive systems suggest that resource selection should vary across ungulate species. By combining GPS relocations with remotely sensed data on forage characteristics and surface water, we quantified the effect of body size and digestive system in determining movements of 30 populations of hindgut fermenters (equids) and ruminants across biomes. Selection for intermediate forage biomass was negatively related to body size, regardless of digestive system. Selection for proximity to surface water was stronger for equids relative to ruminants, regardless of body size. To be more generalisable, we suggest that the FMH explicitly incorporate contingencies in body size and digestive system, with small-bodied ruminants selecting more strongly for potential energy intake, and hindgut fermenters selecting more strongly for surface water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saeideh Esmaeili
- Department of Zoology and Physiology and Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - Brett R Jesmer
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.,Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Shannon E Albeke
- Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - Ellen O Aikens
- Department of Zoology and Physiology and Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - Kathryn A Schoenecker
- US Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, CO, USA.,Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Sarah R B King
- Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Briana Abrahms
- Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Jeffrey L Beck
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - Randall B Boone
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability and the Natural Resources Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Francesca Cagnacci
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all'Adige, Italy
| | - Simon Chamaillé-Jammes
- CEFE, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France.,Department of Zoology & Entomology, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Buyanaa Chimeddorj
- Mongolia Program Office, World Wide Fund for Nature, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
| | - Paul C Cross
- U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Bozeman, MT, USA
| | - Nandintsetseg Dejid
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt (Main), Germany
| | | | | | - Adam T Ford
- Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, Okanagan, BC, Canada
| | | | - Mahmoud-Reza Hemami
- Department of Natural Resources, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Jacob D Hennig
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - Takehiko Y Ito
- Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan.,International Platform for Dryland Research and Education, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan
| | - Petra Kaczensky
- Department of Terrestrial Biodiversity, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim, Norway.,Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences, Vienna, Austria.,Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Koppang, Norway
| | - Matthew J Kauffman
- Department of Zoology and Physiology and Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA.,U.S. Geological Survey, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - John D C Linnell
- Department of Terrestrial Biodiversity, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim, Norway.,Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Koppang, Norway
| | - Badamjav Lkhagvasuren
- Institute of General and Experimental Biology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
| | - John F McEvoy
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, USA
| | - Joerg Melzheimer
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jerod A Merkle
- Department of Zoology and Physiology and Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - Thomas Mueller
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt (Main), Germany.,Department of Biological Sciences, Goethe University, Frankfurt (Main), Germany
| | - Jeff Muntifering
- Minnesota Zoo, Apple Valley, MN, USA.,Namibia University of Science and Technology, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Atle Mysterud
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Kirk A Olson
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Mongolia Program, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
| | - Manuela Panzacchi
- Department of Terrestrial ecology, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim, Norway
| | - John C Payne
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Mongolia Program, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.,Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Luca Pedrotti
- Stelvio-Stilfserjoch National Park, Bormio, SO, Italy
| | - Geir R Rauset
- Department of Terrestrial ecology, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Daniel I Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Hall Sawyer
- Western Ecosystems Technology, Inc, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - John D Scasta
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - Johannes Signer
- Wildlife Sciences, Faculty of Forest and Forest Ecology, University of Goettingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Melissa Songer
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, USA
| | - Jared A Stabach
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, USA
| | | | - Olav Strand
- Department of Terrestrial ecology, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim, Norway
| | | | | | | | - John M Fryxell
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Jacob R Goheen
- Department of Zoology and Physiology and Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
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