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Diets of Prairie Dogs, Goats, and Sheep on a Desert Rangeland
Author
Mellado, Miguel
Olvera, Abundio
Quero, Adrián
Mendoza, Germán
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2005-07-01
Body

Diets of prairie dogs, goats, and sheep were examined by microhistological fecal analysis during 4 periods of a year in a desert rangeland in northern Mexico. Prairie dogs selected more grasses (79% across all seasons; P < 0.05) than goats and sheep during most of the year. Total grasses in goat diets were consistent (20%) in all seasons, whereas this forage class was highest during winter (72%) and lowest during summer (62%) in sheep diets. The diet of goats was predominantly shrubs (45%-62%) in all seasons, whereas sheep and prairie dogs ate little browse throughout the study. All 3 species preferred forbs, which contributed about one-third to the composition of the prairie dog (winter), goat (summer), and sheep (spring) diets. Acacia greggii Gray and Opuntia rastrera Weber were the most preferred species by goats, whereas prairie dogs and sheep showed particular preference for Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm. and Bouteloua gracilis (Willd. ex Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths. During summer and spring, concentration of nitrogen in the feces of sheep was 36% and 17% higher (P < 0.05) than in the feces of goats. There was a high overlap in diets between prairie dog and sheep in all seasons, whereas diets of prairie dogs and goats, and goats and sheep were significantly different from each other in all seasons. These results showed that competition was keen between prairie dogs and sheep for a limited quantity of forage in this arid zone pasture, whereas goats were better able to use common resources with prairie dogs.   The Rangeland Ecology & Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020 Legacy DOIs that must be preserved: 10.2458/azu_rangelands_v58i4_quero

Language
en
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Journal Issue/Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.2111/1551-5028(2005)058[0373:DOPDGA]2.0.CO;2
Additional Information
Mellado, M., Olvera, A., Quero, A., & Mendoza, G. (2005). Diets of prairie dogs, goats, and sheep on a desert rangeland. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 58(4), 373-379.
ISSN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/643278
Journal Volume
58
Journal Number
4
Journal Pages
373-379
Collection
Rangeland Ecology & Management (REM)
Journal Name
Rangeland Ecology & Management
Keywords
microhistological analysis
diet overlap
food selection
small ruminants