Seasonal diet composition of Pyrenean chamois is mainly shaped by primary production waves.

ABSTRACT: In alpine habitats, the seasonally marked climatic conditions generate seasonal and spatial differences in forage availability for herbivores. Vegetation availability and quality during the growing season are known to drive life history traits of mountain ungulates. However, little effort has been made to understand the association between plant phenology and changes in the foraging strategies of these mountain dwellers. Furthermore, this link can be affected by the seasonal presence of livestock in the same meadows. The objective of this work was to study the seasonal changes in diet composition of Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra p. pyrenaica) and its relationship to primary production trends in a Mediterranean alpine environment. Moreover, diet composition in two populations with contrasting

SUBMITTER: Espunyes J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6343923 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature