Seasonal resource selection of free-ranging Zhongwei goats in the semi-arid grassland
Goats rarely move and forage randomly. They tend to move in ways generally influenced by biotic and abiotic factors, respectively. However, few studies have explored the foraging behaviour of goats in the absence of predation and human disturbance. Based on step selection function modelling framewor...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Animal |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751731123002896 |
| _version_ | 1797672780859179008 |
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| author | Hua Cheng Bao-Cheng Jin Kai Luo Xue-Li Zhang Jiu-Ying Pei Yong-Hong Zhang Li-Qin Han Jia-Qi Tang Feng-Min Li Guo-Jun Sun X. Ben Wu |
| author_facet | Hua Cheng Bao-Cheng Jin Kai Luo Xue-Li Zhang Jiu-Ying Pei Yong-Hong Zhang Li-Qin Han Jia-Qi Tang Feng-Min Li Guo-Jun Sun X. Ben Wu |
| author_sort | Hua Cheng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Goats rarely move and forage randomly. They tend to move in ways generally influenced by biotic and abiotic factors, respectively. However, few studies have explored the foraging behaviour of goats in the absence of predation and human disturbance. Based on step selection function modelling framework, Normalised Difference Vegetation Index, vegetation surveys, and Global Positioning System tracking of 124 free-ranging domestic adult male Zhongwei goats over one year (2016–2017) were used to assess how biotic and abiotic environmental factors affected their spatiotemporal distribution, and developed a conceptual model to represent the goats’ trade-off between forage quantity and preference at different seasons, in the semi-arid grassland of Loess Plateau of 1 178 hectare. The results showed that spatial distributions of goats responded to spatiotemporal variation of biotic factors rather than abiotic factors of elevation, slope and solar radiation, which indicated that biotic factors were of priority to abiotic factors in the foraging process for the goats. According to the season changing, the goats positively used areas with higher forage quantity in the spring and winter, areas of higher forage quantity and preferred species in summer, and areas of abundance of preferred species in autumn. We developed a model to describe the phenomenon that the goats selected areas with higher preferred species only when the forage quantity was plentiful, otherwise they selected areas with higher forage quantity. Better understanding of the patterns and drivers of spatiotemporal distribution of the goats can improve our ability to predict foraging behaviour of livestock in heterogeneous environment and lead to better management practices and policies for the sustainability of these semi-arid landscapes and associated ecosystem services. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T21:35:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c9a376a32b0448709f162ff877a3ca4e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1751-7311 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T21:35:11Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animal |
| spelling | doaj.art-c9a376a32b0448709f162ff877a3ca4e2023-09-27T04:42:11ZengElsevierAnimal1751-73112023-10-011710100972Seasonal resource selection of free-ranging Zhongwei goats in the semi-arid grasslandHua Cheng0Bao-Cheng Jin1Kai Luo2Xue-Li Zhang3Jiu-Ying Pei4Yong-Hong Zhang5Li-Qin Han6Jia-Qi Tang7Feng-Min Li8Guo-Jun Sun9X. Ben Wu10School of Tourism, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China; Institute of Arid Agroecology, State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China; Corresponding author at: School of Tourism, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China.College of Animal Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025 ChinaInstitute of Arid Agroecology, State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaCollege of Water Conservancy Science & Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, ChinaInstitute of Arid Agroecology, State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaInstitute of Arid Agroecology, State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaSchool of Tourism, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, ChinaInstitute of Arid Agroecology, State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaInstitute of Arid Agroecology, State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaInstitute of Arid Agroecology, State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem, and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaDepartment of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USAGoats rarely move and forage randomly. They tend to move in ways generally influenced by biotic and abiotic factors, respectively. However, few studies have explored the foraging behaviour of goats in the absence of predation and human disturbance. Based on step selection function modelling framework, Normalised Difference Vegetation Index, vegetation surveys, and Global Positioning System tracking of 124 free-ranging domestic adult male Zhongwei goats over one year (2016–2017) were used to assess how biotic and abiotic environmental factors affected their spatiotemporal distribution, and developed a conceptual model to represent the goats’ trade-off between forage quantity and preference at different seasons, in the semi-arid grassland of Loess Plateau of 1 178 hectare. The results showed that spatial distributions of goats responded to spatiotemporal variation of biotic factors rather than abiotic factors of elevation, slope and solar radiation, which indicated that biotic factors were of priority to abiotic factors in the foraging process for the goats. According to the season changing, the goats positively used areas with higher forage quantity in the spring and winter, areas of higher forage quantity and preferred species in summer, and areas of abundance of preferred species in autumn. We developed a model to describe the phenomenon that the goats selected areas with higher preferred species only when the forage quantity was plentiful, otherwise they selected areas with higher forage quantity. Better understanding of the patterns and drivers of spatiotemporal distribution of the goats can improve our ability to predict foraging behaviour of livestock in heterogeneous environment and lead to better management practices and policies for the sustainability of these semi-arid landscapes and associated ecosystem services.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751731123002896Forage preferenceForage quantityForaging strategyMovement patternResource selection |
| spellingShingle | Hua Cheng Bao-Cheng Jin Kai Luo Xue-Li Zhang Jiu-Ying Pei Yong-Hong Zhang Li-Qin Han Jia-Qi Tang Feng-Min Li Guo-Jun Sun X. Ben Wu Seasonal resource selection of free-ranging Zhongwei goats in the semi-arid grassland Animal Forage preference Forage quantity Foraging strategy Movement pattern Resource selection |
| title | Seasonal resource selection of free-ranging Zhongwei goats in the semi-arid grassland |
| title_full | Seasonal resource selection of free-ranging Zhongwei goats in the semi-arid grassland |
| title_fullStr | Seasonal resource selection of free-ranging Zhongwei goats in the semi-arid grassland |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seasonal resource selection of free-ranging Zhongwei goats in the semi-arid grassland |
| title_short | Seasonal resource selection of free-ranging Zhongwei goats in the semi-arid grassland |
| title_sort | seasonal resource selection of free ranging zhongwei goats in the semi arid grassland |
| topic | Forage preference Forage quantity Foraging strategy Movement pattern Resource selection |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751731123002896 |
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