Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Wildlife Research Wildlife Research Society
Ecology, management and conservation in natural and modified habitats
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > WR > WR06052
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 34(2)

Resource selection by grazing herbivores on post-fire regrowth in a West African woodland savanna

Erik Klop A B , Janneke van Goethem A and Hans H. de Iongh A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, PO Box 9518, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.

B Corresponding author. Present address: Thorbeckestraat 160, 6702 BW Wageningen, The Netherlands. Email: eklop@cs.com

Wildlife Research 34(2) 77-83 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR06052
Submitted: 13 May 2006  Accepted: 2 March 2007   Published: 24 April 2007

Abstract

The preference of grazing herbivores to feed on grass regrowth following savanna fires rather than on unburnt grass swards is widely recognised. However, there is little information on which factors govern patterns of resource selection within burnt areas. In this study, we attempted to disentangle the effects of different habitat and grass sward characteristics on the utilisation of post-fire regrowth by nine species of ungulates in a fire-dominated woodland savanna in north Cameroon. We used resource-selection functions based on logistic regression. Overall, the resource-selection functions identified the time elapsed since burning as the most influential parameter in determining probability of use by ungulates, as most species strongly selected swards that were recently burned. This pattern might be related to nutrient levels in the grass sward. In addition, most species selected areas with high grass cover and avoided grass swards with high amounts of dead stem material. This is likely to increase bite mass and, hence, intake rates. The avoidance of high tree cover by some species may suggest selection for open areas with good visibility and, hence, reduced risk of predation. Body mass seemed to have no effect on differential selection of post-fire regrowth, irrespective of feeding style.


Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Directoraat Generaal Internationale Samenwerking of the Dutch government and the Institute of Environmental Sciences of Leiden University. In Cameroon we were greatly assisted by many people, most notably Stephen van der Mark, Assan Gomse, Kadri, Moussa, and Amadou Yadji. Marjan van de Weg did an excellent job in monitoring grass quality. Herbert Prins and Helias Udo de Haes provided valuable comments on earlier drafts of this paper. To all these people and organisations we are immensely grateful.


References

Archibald, S. , and Bond, W. J. (2004). Grazer movements: spatial and temporal responses to burning in a tall-grass African savanna. International Journal of Wildland Fire 13, 377–385.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Derry J. F. (2004). Piospheres in semi-arid rangeland: consequences of spatially constrained plant–herbivore interactions. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Edinburgh, UK.

Drescher M. (2003). Grasping complex matter: large herbivore foraging in patches of heterogeneous resources. Ph.D. Thesis, Wageningen University, The Netherlands.

Edwards, G. R. , Newman, J. A. , Parsons, A. J. , and Krebs, J. R. (1994). Effects of the scale and spatial distribution of the food resource and animal state on diet selection: an example with sheep. Journal of Animal Ecology 63, 816–826.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Estes R. D. (1991). ‘The Behavior Guide to African Mammals, including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates.’ (University of California Press: Berkeley.)

Fryxell, J. M. (1991). Forage quality and aggregation by large herbivores. American Naturalist 138, 478–498.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Kingdon J. (1997). ‘The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals.’ (Academic Press: San Diego.)

Kull C. A. (2004). ‘Isle of Fire: the Political Ecology of Landscape Burning in Madagascar.’ (The University of Chicago Press: Chicago.)

Laca, E. A. , Ungar, E. D. , Seligman, N. G. , and Demment, M. W. (1992). Effects of sward height and bulk density on bite dimensions of cattle grazing homogeneous swards. Grass and Forage Science 47, 91–102.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Manly B. F. J., McDonald L. L., Thomas D. L., McDonald T. L., and Erickson W. P. (2002). ‘Resource Selection by Animals: Statistical Design and Analysis for Field Studies.’ 2nd edn. (Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht, The Netherlands.)

McNaughton, S. J. (1984). Grazing lawns: animals in herds, plant form and coevolution. American Naturalist 124, 863–886.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Prins H. H. T. (1996). ‘Ecology and Behaviour of the African Buffalo: Social Inequality and Decision Making.’ (Chapman and Hall: London.)

Prins H. H. T., and Olff H. (1998). Species-richness of African grazer assemblages: towards a functional explanation. In ‘Dynamics of Tropical Communities’. (Eds D. M. Newbery, H. H. T. Prins and N. Brown.) pp. 449–490. (Blackwell Science: Oxford.)

Quinn G. P., and Keough M. J. (2002). ‘Experimental Design and Data Analysis for Biologists.’ (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.)

Spalinger, D. E. , and Hobbs, N. T. (1992). Mechanisms of foraging in mammalian herbivores: new models of functional response. American Naturalist 140, 325–348.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Van de Vijver C. A. D. M. (1999). Fire and life in Tarangire: effects of burning and herbivory on an east African savanna system. Ph.D. Thesis, Wageningen University, The Netherlands.

Van de Vijver, C. A. D. M. , Poot, P. , and Prins, H. H. T. (1999). Causes of increased nutrient concentrations in post-fire regrowth in an East African savanna. Plant and Soil 214, 173–185.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Van Soest P. J. (1982). ‘Nutritional Ecology of the Ruminant.’ (O & B Books: Corvallis, OR.)

Verweij, R. J. T. , Verrelst, J. , Loth, P. E. , Heitkönig, I. M. A. , and Brunsting, A. M. H. (2006). Grazing lawns contribute to the subsistence of mesoherbivores on dystrophic savannas. Oikos 114, 108–116.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Whelan R. J. (1995). ‘The Ecology of Fire.’ (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.)

Wilsey, B. J. (1996). Variation in use of green flushes following burns among African ungulate species: the importance of body size. African Journal of Ecology 34, 32–38.