Mellado, M., Olvera, A., Dueiiez, J. and Rodriguez, A. 2004
Diets of prairie dogs, goats, and sheep were examined by microhistological fecal analysis during 4 periods of a year in a desert rangeland in northern Mexico. Prairie dogs selected more grasses (79% across all seasons; P , 0.05) than goats and sheep during most of the year. Total grasses in goat diets were consistent (20%) in all seasons, whereas this forage class was highest during winter (72%) and lowest during summer (62%) in sheep diets. The diet of goats was predominantly shrubs (45%-62%) in all seasons, whereas sheep and prairie dogs ate little browse throughout the study. All 3 species preferred forbs, which contributed about one-third to the composition of the prairie dog (winter), goat (summer), and sheep (spring) diets. Acacia greggii Gray and Opuntia rastrera Weber were the most preferred species by goats, whereas prairie dogs and sheep showed particular preference for Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm. and Bouteloua gracilis (Willd. ex Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths. During summer and spring, concentration of nitrogen in the feces of sheep was 36% and 17% higher (P , 0.05) than in the feces of goats. There was a high overlap in diets between prairie dog and sheep in all seasons, whereas diets of prairie dogs and goats, and goats and sheep were significantly different from each other in all seasons. These results showed that competition was keen between prairie dogs and sheep for a limited quantity of forage in this arid zone pasture, whereas goats were better able to use common resources with prairie dogs. Resumen Se determinó la composició n botá nica de la dieta del perro de la pradera, cabras y ovejas utilizando la técnica microhistoló gica, durante cuatro periodos en un añ o en un pastizal desértico mediano abierto en el norte de México. Durante la mayor parte del añ o, los perros de la pradera seleccionaron una mayor cantidad de pastos (un 79% de promedio a través del todas las estaciones añ o; P , 0.05) que las cabras y ovejas. El total de pastos en la dieta de las cabras fue consistente (20%) en todas las estaciones, mientras que en la dieta de las ovejas esta clase de forraje alcanzó su má ximo nivel en el invierno (72%) y su nivel má s bajo en el verano (62%). Las arbustivas predominaron (45%-62% del total del forraje utilizado) en la dieta de las cabras en todas las estaciones del añ o, mientras que las ovejas y perro de la pradera prá cticamente ignoraron esta clase de forraje. Las 3 especies de animales mostraron una alta preferencia por las herbá ceas, constituyendo éstas un tercio de la dieta de los perros de la pradera (invierno), cabras (verano) y ovejas (primavera). Acacia greggii y Opuntia rastrera fueron las especies más apetecidas por las cabras, en tanto que los perros de la pradera y ovejas mostraron una preferencia particular por Buchloe dactyloides y Bouteloua gracilis. Durante el verano y la primavera la concentració n de nitró geno en las heces de las ovejas fue 36% y 17% má s alto (P , 0.05) que en las heces de las cabras. Se observó un marcado traslape en las dietas de los perro...
Diet selection by juvenile and adult non -pregnant, non-lactating goats and the diets of adult non -productive goats with low (<1.5; grading scale 0-5) and moderate ( >_ 2.5) body condition score (BCS) are described by microhistological analysis of fecal samples for a Chihuahuan desert vegetation in northern Mexico. In the rainy season, adult goats utilized more (P < 0.10) shrubs than juvenile goats (70.4 vs 58.6 %), but, in the dry season, the diet of both groups contained equal amounts of shrubs. The proportion of forbs and grasses in the goats' diet also tended to vary (P < 0.10) between age groups in the rainy season. Juvenile goats generally had lower consumption of plants with spines than adult goats. Goats with low BCS selected more (P < 0.10) shrubs than goats with moderate BCS in the rainy season. Forbs were eaten in larger amounts by does with moderate BCS (38% of the diet) during the rainy season compared to goats with low BCS (30.9 %). Regardless of age and body reserves, grasses formed less than 5% of goat diets in both seasons. Mean similarity index for juvenile and adult goats was 75, while mean similarity index for goats with low and moderate BCS was 78. For all classes of goats, Larrea tridentata (DC.) Cov., the dominating species in the plant community, was the only plant selected at proportions below those found in ground cover in the rainy season. These data indicate that, during the rainy season, juvenile goats mixed their diets to achieve more even use of forages than adult goats. These results also indicate that high utilization of shrubs, including resinous and fibrous forages, appeared to be an adaptive foraging strategy of goats with low fat reserves, when forage was readily available.
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