Mulder and Harmsen evaluated the growth response of an arctic legume (Oxytropis viscida) to grazing by muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) on Banks Island, N.W.T. Results showed that removal of inflorescences or pods only has little effect, but when shoot tips are affected, grazing can decrease plant size for at least two years and reproduction for at least one year. Two levels of grazing were examined. Chomping, which occurs early in the season, affects shoot tips and may include removal of all aboveground biomass. Chomping resulted in a decrease in the number of shoot tips during the year of grazing and decreased the number of inflorescences for at least one year following grazing. Nibbling refers to the selective removal of inflorescences and seed pods. Overall, nibbling had little effect on O. viscida. This study showed that O. viscida may not be continually defended and that resistance is induced by chomping but not nibbling.
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