Foraging behaviour of adult female apennine chamois in relation to seasonal variation in food supply

Abstract

S., 1989: Foraging behaviour of adult female Apennine chamois in relation to seasonal variation in food supply. Acta theriol., We tested the prediction that qualitative and quantitative seasonal variations of food resources influenced the foraging behaviour and efficiency of Apennine chamois, Rupicapra pyrenaica omata (Neuman, 1899). In summer, when the abundance and diversity of food resources were greater, we found a greater rate of food intake and a reduced search for food, as well as lower aggressiveness, than in the autumn. Furthermore in summer the median group size of grazing chamois was greater than in the autumn, in accordance with the availability of rich, but concentrated, food resources in the former season. No seasonal difference intime devoted to foraging was found. Apparently, the Apennine chamois maximize food intake during summer to compensate for later shortages in the colder season.

Activity rhythms and the influence of some environmental variables on summer ungulate behaviour in Ordesa-Monte Perdido National Park

“…Thus, the daily activity rhythm is similar to those described by other authors for the same species (PEPIN et al, 1991;BRUNO & LOVARI, 1989;CIOFOLO & BOISSIER, 1992), which suggests that grazing is the main daytime activity of the chamois, followed by resting, and finally change of location.…”

“…Chamois may show some night-time activity although during the summer there is likely to be twilight (HUTTER & GLAUSER, 1974). In any case, the activity could not be recorded due to difficulties in following the chamois at night in mountainous areas (CIOFOLO & BOISIER, 1992;BRUNO & LOVARI, 1989).…”

Reproductive parameters, kidney fat index, and grazing activity relationships between the sexes in Cantabrian chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica parva

“…Nevertheless this increase in grazing activity was not enough to maintain a good condition throughout the winter. This is consistent with the results of Reimers and Ringberg (1983) and Bruno and Lovari (1989), the former found a decrease in the food intake during winter, and the latter in autumn in relation to summer. In the present study, the time spent in feeding activity by both sexes tended to be at maximum during winter, presumably to compensate for the lack of food and the low quality of the pastures (Pérez-- Barbería et al 1997).…”

Unbiased sex-specific survival in Alpine chamois

“…However, the growing evidence for a weak differential mortality of the two sexes, together with a highly seasonal SSD might indicate the occurrence of a unique conservative strategy to accumulate fat resources in summer (Pérez-Barberìa et al 1998;Bruno and Lovari 1989) to be used during the rut and thus reduce mortality costs over the winter, contradicting the commonly assumed high level of polygyny and suggesting the adoption of a less risky mating strategy. The compensatory body growth observed for young males (Rughetti and Festa-Bianchet 2010) and the surprisingly long lifespan observed in our study site, as well as in other studies (e.g., Gonzalez and Crampe 2001) support this hypothesis.…”