How goats avoid ingesting noxious insects while feeding

Berman, Tali S.; Ben-Ari, Matan; Glasser, Tzach; Gish, Moshe; Inbar, Moshe

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-14940-6

Cited by 11 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…It is well known that mammalian herbivores have great impacts on the diversity, distribution, and fitness of plant communities and other herbivores, including insects [15,48]. Mammalian and insect herbivores often interact directly [49,50]. Here we demonstrate for the first time that…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Cascading effects on bacterial communities: cattle grazing causes a shift in the microbiome of a herbivorous caterpillar

et al. 2018

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Large mammalian herbivores greatly influence the functioning of grassland ecosystems. Through plant consumption, excreta, and trampling, they modify biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and soil properties. Grazing mammals can also alter soil and rhizosphere bacterial communities, but their effect on the microbiome of other animals in the habitat (i.e., insects) is unknown. Using an experimental field approach and Illumina MiSeq 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we analyzed the influence of cattle grazing on the microbial community of spring webworm caterpillars, Ocnogyna loewii. Our experimental setup included replicated grazed and non-grazed paddocks from which caterpillars were collected twice (first-second and fourth-fifth instar). The caterpillars' microbiome is composed mostly of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes, and contains a potential symbiont from the genus Carnobacterium (55% of reads). We found that grazing significantly altered the microbiome composition of late instar caterpillars, probably through changes in diet (plant) composition and availability. Furthermore, the microbiome composition of early instar caterpillars significantly differed from late instar caterpillars in 221 OTUs (58 genera). Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter were dominant in early instars, while Carnobacterium and Acinetobacter were dominant in late instars. This study provides new ecological perspectives on the cascading effects mammalian herbivores may have on the microbiome of other animals in their shared habitat.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Cascading effects on bacterial communities: cattle grazing causes a shift in the microbiome of a herbivorous caterpillar

et al. 2018

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“…This ability to pick and choose forages results in relatively higher nutritional intake quality than would be predicted from analysis of the whole-plant diet ( Lu, 1988 ). Goats also possess an ability to “probe” and “shake” parts of individual plants, which can help them avoid noxious insects on individual leaves ( Berman et al, 2017 ). An ability to differentiate between and tolerate bitter flavors ( Bell, 1959 ) likely contributes to this diet flexibility.…”

Section: Natural Behavior Of Goatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding natural behavior to improve dairy goat (Capra hircus) management systems

Zobel

Neave

Webster

2018

Translational Animal Science

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Public interest is stimulating farming industries to improve animal welfare in production systems. Indoor housing of ruminants has received scrutiny because of perceived intensiveness and lack of naturalness. Animal welfare has traditionally focused on health benefits (e.g., bedding management and reducing disease) and reducing negative experiences (e.g., painful husbandry practices). Recent attention to animals having “a life worth living” extends expectations to provide increased care and opportunities for positive experiences and natural behaviors. Although not all natural behaviors necessarily contribute to improved welfare, we present evidence for why many are important, and for how they can be promoted in commercial systems. Worldwide, commercial dairy goats (Capra hircus) are frequently housed in large open barns with space to move and soft bedding for lying; however, this is not sufficient to promote the range of natural behaviors of goats, which in turn suggests that commercial housing could be improved. The basis for this thinking is from the range of behaviors expressed by the Capra genus. Collectively, these species have evolved cognitive and behavioral strategies to cope with harsh and changing environments, as well as variable and limited vegetation. The rocky and often steep terrain that goats inhabit allows for predator avoidance and access to shelter, so it is not surprising that domesticated goats also seek out elevation and hiding spaces; indeed, their hoof structure is designed for the movement and grip in such rugged environments. The browsing techniques and flexibility in diet selection of wild, feral and extensively managed goats, appears to be equally important to housed goats, highlighting the need for more complexity in how and what goats are fed. Goats naturally live in small, dynamic groups, governed by complex social structures in which horns play a strong role. Commercial housing systems should consider the benefits of more natural-sized social groups and revisit the rationale behind horn removal. We suggest that cognitive stimulation is a potential welfare improvement for goats in commercial settings. Goat cognitive abilities, which enabled success in complex and variable social and physical environments, are unchallenged in uniform environments, potentially leading to negative affective states. We make suggestions for housing improvements that could be readily adopted into current systems without compromising production efficiency.

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“…We performed dual and non-choice experiments as described by Berman et al . [13]. Briefly, we presented the kids with a choice between two bowls (in randomized order) containing leaves alone and leaves with webworms (henceforth ‘control leaves’ and ‘webworm leaves’, respectively).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies revealed that ungulates possess highly efficient behavioural mechanisms to avoid ingesting noxious IH while feeding [13,14]. Berman et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innate ability of goats to sense and avoid ingestion of noxious insects while feeding

et al. 2019

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Large mammalian herbivores regularly encounter noxious insects on their food plants. Recent evidence revealed that goats efficiently avoid insect ingestion while feeding, yet it is unknown whether this ability is innate. We experimentally examined the behavioural responses of naive goat kids to a common insect, the spring-webworm ( Ocnogyna loewii ). We filmed and analysed the kids' behaviour while feeding and compared it to the behaviour described in adults. Naive kids sorted the webworms apart from the food without ingesting them (all webworms survived). They exhibited behaviours similar to those displayed by adults, demonstrating an innate ability to avoid insect ingestion. The kids detected webworms using tactile stimulation, obtained by repeatedly touching the leaves with their muzzles. This enabled them to pick webworm-free leaves (leaving 93% of webworms behind). While adults frequently shook or discarded leaves with webworms or spat out webworms, these behaviours were rare in kids. The kids’ mean feeding rates doubled over the trials, indicating that their feeding efficiency on plants with and without insects improved with experience. As ingesting noxious insects could be fatal, innate avoidance is critical. These findings highlight the importance of direct interactions between mammalian and insect herbivores.

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How goats avoid ingesting noxious insects while feeding

Cited by 11 publications

References 49 publications

Cascading effects on bacterial communities: cattle grazing causes a shift in the microbiome of a herbivorous caterpillar

Cascading effects on bacterial communities: cattle grazing causes a shift in the microbiome of a herbivorous caterpillar

Understanding natural behavior to improve dairy goat (Capra hircus) management systems

Innate ability of goats to sense and avoid ingestion of noxious insects while feeding

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