Diets of bison (Bison bison L.) were examined using microhistological fecal analysis in a 2-yr study on a tallgrass prairie site in northcentral Oklahoma. Graminoids comprised at least 98% of the diet across all seasons. Bison showed strong feeding selectivity; grasses and sedges formed a significantly higher proportion of diets than was generally available in herbage on the landscape. Bison avoided forbs, which were less than or equal to 2% of the diet. Sedges were a large (17-44%) diet component in winter and spring but decreased substantially during summer and fall (11-16%). These changes in sedge use corresponded to seasonal variation in sedge availability. Our results confirm that bison are primarily grazers in prairie habitats, potentially having a significant role in shaping structure and function of tallgrass prairie. The Journal of Range 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
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.