Cattle select African savanna termite mound patches less when sharing habitat with wild herbivores.

ABSTRACT: African savanna termite mounds function as nutrient-rich foraging hotspots for different herbivore species, but little is known about their effects on the interaction between domestic and wild herbivores. Understanding such effects is important for better management of these herbivore guilds in landscapes where they share habitats. Working in a central Kenyan savanna ecosystem, we compared selection of termite mound patches by cattle between areas cattle accessed exclusively and areas they shared with wild herbivores. Termite mound selection index was significantly lower in the shared areas than in areas cattle accessed exclusively. Furthermore, cattle used termite mounds in proportion to their availability when they were the only herbivores present, but used them less than their availabil

SUBMITTER: Odadi WO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6157688 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature