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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
A Case For Eustress In Grazing Animals, Juan J. Villalba, Xavier Manteca
A Case For Eustress In Grazing Animals, Juan J. Villalba, Xavier Manteca
Wildland Resources Faculty Publications
Herbivores grazing in extensive systems are exposed to a series of challenges, rooted in the inherent spatial and temporal variability of their environment that potentially constrain their health, nutrition, and welfare. Nevertheless, in this review, we argue that challenges induced by some biotic (e.g., vegetation) and abiotic (e.g., terrain) factors may also be viewed as “positive” sources of stress or eustress, since they present complex problems, that when solved successfully elicit a greater degree of behavioral plasticity and adaptability in grazing animals. Chemically and structurally diverse landscapes require animals to display complex behaviors and exhibit adaptive capabilities, like building a …
Recoupling Fire And Grazing Reduces Wildland Fuel Loads On Rangelands, Heath D. Starns, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, R. Dwayne Elmore, Dirac Twidwell, Eric T. Thacker, Torre J. Hovick, Barney Luttbeg
Recoupling Fire And Grazing Reduces Wildland Fuel Loads On Rangelands, Heath D. Starns, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, R. Dwayne Elmore, Dirac Twidwell, Eric T. Thacker, Torre J. Hovick, Barney Luttbeg
Wildland Resources Faculty Publications
Fire suppression and exclusion, the historically dominant paradigm of fire management, has resulted in major modifications of fire-dependent ecosystems worldwide. These changes are partially credited with a recent increase in wildfire number and extent, as well as more extreme fire behavior. Fire and herbivory historically interacted, and research has shown that the interaction creates a unique mosaic of vegetation heterogeneity that each disturbance alone does not create. Because fire and grazing have largely been decoupled in modern times, the degree to which the interaction affects fuels and fire regimes has not yet been quantified. We evaluated effects of fire-only and …
Herbivory And Drought Generate Short‐Term Stochasticity And Long‐Term Stability In A Savanna Understory Community, Corinna Riginos, Lauren M. Porensky, Kari E. Veblen, Truman P. Young
Herbivory And Drought Generate Short‐Term Stochasticity And Long‐Term Stability In A Savanna Understory Community, Corinna Riginos, Lauren M. Porensky, Kari E. Veblen, Truman P. Young
Wildland Resources Faculty Publications
Rainfall and herbivory are fundamental drivers of grassland plant dynamics, yet few studies have examined long‐term interactions between these factors in an experimental setting. Understanding such interactions is important, as rainfall is becoming increasingly erratic and native wild herbivores are being replaced by livestock. Livestock grazing and episodic low rainfall are thought to interact, leading to greater community change than either factor alone. We examined patterns of change and stability in herbaceous community composition through four dry periods, or droughts, over 15 years of the Kenya Long‐term Exclosure Experiment (KLEE), which consists of six different combinations of cattle, native wild …
Are Cattle Surrogate Wildlife? Savanna Plant Community Composition Explained By Total Herbivory More Than Herbivore Type, Kari E. Veblen, Lauren M. Porensky, Corinna Riginos, Truman P. Young
Are Cattle Surrogate Wildlife? Savanna Plant Community Composition Explained By Total Herbivory More Than Herbivore Type, Kari E. Veblen, Lauren M. Porensky, Corinna Riginos, Truman P. Young
Wildland Resources Faculty Publications
The widespread replacement of wild ungulate herbivores by domestic livestock in African savannas is composed of two interrelated phenomena: (1) loss or reduction in numbers of individual wildlife species or guilds and (2) addition of livestock to the system. Each can have important implications for plant community dynamics. Yet very few studies have experimentally addressed the individual, combined, and potentially interactive effects of wild vs. domestic herbivore species on herbaceous plant communities within a single system. Additionally, there is little information about whether, and in which contexts, livestock might functionally replace native herbivore wildlife or, alternatively, have fundamentally different effects …