Dietary overlap between cattle and chital in the Queensland dry tropics
Kurt Watter
A , Greg S. Baxter A , Anthony Pople B and Peter J. Murray A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Qld 4343, Australia.
B Biosecurity Queensland, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Brisbane, Qld 4109, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Email: watter@bigpond.net.au
The Rangeland Journal 42(3) 221-225 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ20075
Submitted: 22 July 2020 Accepted: 3 October 2020 Published: 4 November 2020
Abstract
Chital deer (Axis axis) are an ungulate species introduced to northern Queensland, Australia, in an environment where land is managed for large scale cattle production. Rainfall and pasture growth are markedly seasonal and cattle experience a nutritional shortfall each year before monsoon rain. The presence of chital is perceived by land managers to reduce dry-season grass availability and this study sought to estimate the potential effect of free-living chital on regional cattle production. Diet overlap was greatest during the wet season when both ungulates principally consumed grass, and least during the dry season when chital diet comprised only ~50% grass. Using local estimates for energy values of wet and dry season grass, and the maintenance energy requirements of chital and cattle, we estimated the relative dry-matter seasonal grass intakes of both ungulates. The grass consumed annually by 100 chital could support an additional 25 cattle during the wet season and an additional 14 cattle during the dry season.
Keywords: Axis axis, cattle, Chital deer, co-grazing, diet, dry matter digestibility, dry tropics, forage, grazing, grazing equivalents, introduced species, rangelands, seasonal, ungulates.
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