Assessing competitive interactions among white-tailed deer and Angora goats /
I evaluated the influence of intra- and interspecific competitors on the feeding behavior and performance of white-tailed deer oileus and Angora goats by exposing animals to increasing numbers of intra- and interspecific competitors in experimental enclosures. Animal responses to competitors were e...
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| Format: | Thesis eBook |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
1993.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Link to OAK Trust copy |
| Summary: | I evaluated the influence of intra- and interspecific competitors on the feeding behavior and performance of white-tailed deer oileus and Angora goats by exposing animals to increasing numbers of intra- and interspecific competitors in experimental enclosures. Animal responses to competitors were evaluated based on changes in the foraging behavior and feeding efficiency of individuals. Intra- and interspecific competitors had few measurable effects on deer and goat diet selectivity, nutrient capture rates, or diet quality. Although forage availability was not homogeneous among enclosures, I found no evidence that this habitat heterogeneity influenced animal foraging behavior and performance. The behavior of deer and goats varied among individuals but in general was similar across treatments. In agreement with similar studies, diet overlap among deer and goats was high during experimental trials. However, this high degree of diet overlap was not reflected by animal behavior during competition trials. In contrast, measures of specific feeding niche overlap were relatively low and suggested deer may be having a greater effect on goat performance than goats are having on deer performance. Overall, results from this study do not support the prevailing tenet that deer and goats are in competition for forage resources. In a second study, deer and goats were offered a pelleted ration ad libitum in order to evaluate the effects of supplementation on deer and goat use of native forages. When a high quality supplement was provided, both species responded by increasing foraging effort and by feeding more selectively on natural forages. Supplemented animals consumed a greater proportion of plants containing high concentrations of crude protein (CP) and digestible energy (DE), which resulted in increased average diet quality. Responses of individual deer and goats varied and appeared to be related to differences in habitat heterogeneity among trial enclosures. Results suggest that supplementation may be disruptive to normal behavioral processes affecting the distribution of free-ranging herbivores on the landscape. These processes may be important in reducing the probability of excessive utilization of palatable forage species, and to the competitive relationships between range plants. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major subject: Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences". |
| Physical Description: | x, 75 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm. Also available online. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |