Factors Influencing Spring Feeding Site Selection by Elk in the Elkhorn Mountains, Montana

1986 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl E. Grover ◽  
Michael J. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Site Selection ◽  
Feeding Site ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Feeding Site Selection

scholarly journals Maternal influence on feeding site selection of male and female lambs

animal ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 991-999
Author(s):  
R.L. Wesley ◽  
A.F. Cibils ◽  
C.M. Black-Rubio ◽  
E.R. Pollak ◽  
S.A. Utsumi
Keyword(s):  
Site Selection ◽  
Maternal Influence ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Feeding Site ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Feeding Site Selection

scholarly journals Effect of terrain heterogeneity on feeding site selection and livestock movement patterns

2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek W. Bailey ◽  
Mitchell B. Stephenson ◽  
Marco Pittarello
Keyword(s):  
Site Selection ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Heterogeneous Environments ◽  
Feeding Site ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Feeding Sites ◽  
Nutrient Profiles ◽  
Tracking Period ◽  
Feeding Site Selection

Feeding site selection is a critical part of livestock foraging that can constrain and/or increase the choices available during diet selection. When livestock choose new feeding sites, vegetation and nutrient profiles can differ from other areas, especially in heterogeneous environments with rugged terrain. Correspondingly, livestock should remain longer in feeding sites in rugged heterogeneous pastures than in homogeneous pastures where animals may alternate among feeding sites to facilitate diet mixing and to prevent satiation. The objective of this study was evaluate how terrain and corresponding heterogeneity may affect the sequence and pattern of feeding site selection of free-roaming livestock. Grazing patterns of mature cows were evaluated on six ranches located in Arizona, Montana and New Mexico. In total, 11–19 cows were tracked for 1–3-month periods at each ranch by using global positioning system (GPS) collars. Positions were recorded at 10- or 15-min intervals and used to identify where cows grazed during the early morning (0500 hours to 1000 hours). Pastures (336–9740 ha) at each ranch were divided into seven to nine sections (48–1082 ha) as an indicator of feeding sites. Classification was based on cattle density and topographical and vegetation types. Sequences of daily section selection were evaluated using transition matrixes. For all ranches, the sequence of section selection differed from what would be expected by chance, indicating that the section selected on the following day depended on the section selected on the previous day. For ranches with relatively gentle terrain, cattle selected different feeding sites ~70% of the tracking period. In contrast, cows at the ranch with the largest pasture and enclosing both mountainous and gentle terrain stayed in the same feeding site for over 10 successive days for 42% of the tracking period. Smaller pastures with only mountainous terrain were intermediate. Cows grazing gentle topography and relatively homogeneous vegetation alternated among feeding sites (sections in the present study) more frequently than cows grazing pastures with more rugged topography and more heterogeneous vegetation. This pattern could help livestock mix forages and select a more diverse diet.

Daily feeding site selection of cattle and sheep co-grazing a heterogeneous subtropical grassland

2014 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 147-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Estanislao Martín Díaz Falú ◽  
Miguel Ángel Brizuela ◽  
María Silvia Cid ◽  
Andrés Francisco Cibils ◽  
María Gabriela Cendoya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Site Selection ◽  
Feeding Site ◽  
Daily Feeding ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Feeding Site Selection ◽  
Cattle And Sheep
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