Seasonal effects on overlap trophic niche between capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) and livestock, and on trophic niche breadths in a rangeland of Central Entre Ríos, Argentina

Foraging niche characteristics of capybara and livestock in Central Entre Ríos, Argentina, were studied. Seasonal diet composition was determined by microhistological analysis of faeces collected between 1990 and 1992. The diets of capybara and cattle included items of 26 plant species and 23 for sh...

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Publicado: 2003
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Acceso en línea:https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00251461_v67_n1_p33_Quintana
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00251461_v67_n1_p33_Quintana
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spelling paper:paper_00251461_v67_n1_p33_Quintana2023-06-08T14:52:40Z Seasonal effects on overlap trophic niche between capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) and livestock, and on trophic niche breadths in a rangeland of Central Entre Ríos, Argentina Argentina Feeding patterns Grazers Hydrochaeris diet Niche overlap Niche width diet feeding behavior livestock niche rangeland seasonality Argentina Entre Rios Province Animalia Bos taurus Hydrochaeris Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris Ovis aries Foraging niche characteristics of capybara and livestock in Central Entre Ríos, Argentina, were studied. Seasonal diet composition was determined by microhistological analysis of faeces collected between 1990 and 1992. The diets of capybara and cattle included items of 26 plant species and 23 for sheep. The highest trophic niche breadth for the these species was found in spring, whereas the lowest was in summer for capybara and sheep and in winter for cattle. The trophic niche width of sheep was wider than those of capybaras and cattle. Sheep and capybara were more selective than cattle in summer, while cows were more selective in winter. Overlap of trophic niche among the three species varied from 77.8 % between cattle and sheep in fall to 51.8 % between capybara and sheep in summer. The percentages of diet overlap (> 50 %) suggest a grazing competition among the three species. The results of the present study show that spatial and temporal heterogeneity, in combination with the existing animal density might have considerable impact on the characteristics of the trophic niche of the herbivores under study. However, analysis of the characteristics of the trophic niche should be accompanied by analysis of the habitat use and segregation between the different herbivores in order to be drawn appropriate conclusions on the presence of competition. 2003 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00251461_v67_n1_p33_Quintana http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00251461_v67_n1_p33_Quintana
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic Argentina
Feeding patterns
Grazers
Hydrochaeris diet
Niche overlap
Niche width
diet
feeding behavior
livestock
niche
rangeland
seasonality
Argentina
Entre Rios Province
Animalia
Bos taurus
Hydrochaeris
Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris
Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris
Ovis aries
spellingShingle Argentina
Feeding patterns
Grazers
Hydrochaeris diet
Niche overlap
Niche width
diet
feeding behavior
livestock
niche
rangeland
seasonality
Argentina
Entre Rios Province
Animalia
Bos taurus
Hydrochaeris
Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris
Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris
Ovis aries
Seasonal effects on overlap trophic niche between capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) and livestock, and on trophic niche breadths in a rangeland of Central Entre Ríos, Argentina
topic_facet Argentina
Feeding patterns
Grazers
Hydrochaeris diet
Niche overlap
Niche width
diet
feeding behavior
livestock
niche
rangeland
seasonality
Argentina
Entre Rios Province
Animalia
Bos taurus
Hydrochaeris
Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris
Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris
Ovis aries
description Foraging niche characteristics of capybara and livestock in Central Entre Ríos, Argentina, were studied. Seasonal diet composition was determined by microhistological analysis of faeces collected between 1990 and 1992. The diets of capybara and cattle included items of 26 plant species and 23 for sheep. The highest trophic niche breadth for the these species was found in spring, whereas the lowest was in summer for capybara and sheep and in winter for cattle. The trophic niche width of sheep was wider than those of capybaras and cattle. Sheep and capybara were more selective than cattle in summer, while cows were more selective in winter. Overlap of trophic niche among the three species varied from 77.8 % between cattle and sheep in fall to 51.8 % between capybara and sheep in summer. The percentages of diet overlap (> 50 %) suggest a grazing competition among the three species. The results of the present study show that spatial and temporal heterogeneity, in combination with the existing animal density might have considerable impact on the characteristics of the trophic niche of the herbivores under study. However, analysis of the characteristics of the trophic niche should be accompanied by analysis of the habitat use and segregation between the different herbivores in order to be drawn appropriate conclusions on the presence of competition.
title Seasonal effects on overlap trophic niche between capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) and livestock, and on trophic niche breadths in a rangeland of Central Entre Ríos, Argentina
title_short Seasonal effects on overlap trophic niche between capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) and livestock, and on trophic niche breadths in a rangeland of Central Entre Ríos, Argentina
title_full Seasonal effects on overlap trophic niche between capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) and livestock, and on trophic niche breadths in a rangeland of Central Entre Ríos, Argentina
title_fullStr Seasonal effects on overlap trophic niche between capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) and livestock, and on trophic niche breadths in a rangeland of Central Entre Ríos, Argentina
title_full_unstemmed Seasonal effects on overlap trophic niche between capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) and livestock, and on trophic niche breadths in a rangeland of Central Entre Ríos, Argentina
title_sort seasonal effects on overlap trophic niche between capybara (hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) and livestock, and on trophic niche breadths in a rangeland of central entre ríos, argentina
publishDate 2003
url https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00251461_v67_n1_p33_Quintana
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00251461_v67_n1_p33_Quintana
_version_ 1768544766271684608