Video recording and vegetation classification elucidate sheep foraging ecology in species‐rich grassland
| Autor: | Elis Vollmer, Stephen J. G. Hall, David Arney, Robert G. H. Bunce |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
geography
geography.geographical_feature_category Ecology Vegetation classification Foraging Woodland Vegetation Pasture Grassland Grazing plant‐animal interactions animal‐borne video grazing behavior sheep behavior Conservation grazing QH540-549.5 Research Articles Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Research Article Nature and Landscape Conservation |
| Zdroj: | Ecology and Evolution Ecology and Evolution, Vol 11, Iss 21, Pp 14873-14887 (2021) |
| ISSN: | 2045-7758 |
| Popis: | Factors influencing grazing behavior in species‐rich grasslands have been little studied. Methodologies have mostly had a primary focus on grasslands with lower floristic diversity.We test the hypothesis that grazing behavior is influenced by both animal and plant factors and investigate the relative importance of these factors, using a novel combination of video technology and vegetation classification to analyze bite and step rates.In a semi‐natural, partially wooded grassland in northern Estonia, images of the vegetation being grazed and records of steps and bites were obtained from four video cameras, each mounted on the sternum of a sheep, during 41 animal‐hours of observation over five days. Plant species lists for the immediate field of view were compiled. Images were partnered by direct observation of the nearest‐neighbor relationships of the sheep. TWINSPAN, a standard vegetation classification technique allocating species lists to objectively defined classes by a principal components procedure, was applied to the species lists and 25 vegetation classes (15 open pasture and 10 woodland) were identified from the images.Taking bite and step rates as dependent variables, relative importance of animal factors (sheep identity), relative importance of day, and relative importance of plant factors (vegetation class) were investigated. The strongest effect on bite rates was of vegetation class. Sheep identity was less influential. When the data from woodland were excluded, sheep identity was more important than vegetation class as a source of variability in bite rate on open pasture.The original hypothesis is therefore supported, and we further propose that, at least with sheep in species‐rich open pastures, animal factors will be more important in determining grazing behavior than plant factors. We predict quantifiable within‐breed and between‐breed differences, which could be exploited to optimize conservation grazing practices and contribute to the sustainability of extensive grazing systems. Sheep carried video cameras enabling their interactions with the vegetation of their species‐rich pasture to be evaluated. Their behavior, as measured by bite rates, depended far more on their individuality than on the vegetation. This novel combination of vegetation analysis and video technology could provide underpinning for the practice of grazing in areas of conservation importance. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|
Plný text