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Stable Isotope Diet Reconstruction Of Feral Horses (Equus Caballas) On The Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada, Usa, Megan Kathleen Nordquist

Theses and Dissertations

Feral horse management has become a subject of significant controversy in the United States. This is because of differing opinions and minimal recent empirical data on feral horses. In recent years, numbers of feral horses have increased due to governmental horse removal restrictions (specifically the Wild Horse and Burro act of 1971). With increasing numbers of feral horses on rangelands, land managers are challenged with identifying the appropriate course of action for satisfying groups with differing opinions. The purpose of this study is to characterize diet consumption through the use of stable isotope dietary analysis (δ15N and δ13C). We did …