Foods, macronutrients and fibre in the diet of blue sheep (Psuedois nayaur) in the Annapurna Conservation Area of Nepal.

ABSTRACT: Food resources are often critical regulating factors affecting individual fitness and population densities. In the Himalayan Mountains, Bharal "blue sheep" (Pseudois nayaur) are the main food resource for the endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia), as well as being preyed upon by other predators. Blue sheep, however, may face a number of challenges including food resource competition with other wild and domestic ungulates, and hunting pressure. Here, we characterized the diet of blue sheep in the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) of Nepal and conducted proximate nutritional analysis on a limited number of plants identified as foods. Furthermore, we investigated the macronutrient and fiber balance of these plants using nutritional geometry which is a state-space approach to modeling multi

SUBMITTER: Aryal A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4588638 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature