Research, Policy and Practice
Table 1 Effects of the presence (versus exclusion) of wildlife on the foraging behavior, forage selection, food intake, diet quality and weight gain by cattle during wet and dry seasons
Dry season | Wet season | |
|---|---|---|
Foraging behavior | ||
Bite rate | Decrease | No effect |
Step rate | Increase | No effect |
Bites per step | Decrease | No effect |
Relative bites on forbs | Decrease | No effect |
Relative bites on P. stramineum | Decrease | No effect |
Food intake | Decrease | No data |
Diet quality | ||
Dietary crude protein content (CP) | No effect | Increase |
Dietary digestible organic matter content (DOM) | No effect | No effect |
Dietary DOM/CP ratio | No effect | Decrease |
Performance | ||
Weight gain | Decrease | Increase |
Herbaceous vegetation | ||
Overall grass cover | Decrease | No effect |
Cover of forbs | Decrease | No effect |
Cover of P. stramineum | Decrease | Decrease |
Cover of dead stems | No effect | Decrease |