Interactions between social and feeding motivations on the grazing behaviour of herbivores: sheep more easily split into subgroups with familiar peers
Interactions between social and feeding motivations on the grazing behaviour of herbivores: sheep more easily split into subgroups with familiar peers
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DOI：
10.1016/s0168-1591(02)00152-1
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发表时间：
2002-11-01
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
Dumont, B
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Boissy, A;Dumont, B
众所周知，社会群体倾向会影响家养食草动物的放牧行为。在这里，我们调查如何在羊群中的社会债券的强度影响放牧地点的选择在羊。8只INRA 401品种的实验母羊在地块中放牧，其中优选的饲喂地点，即一片较高的草地，位于距离具有社会吸引力的地点35 m处，即在地块一端的围栏中圈养5只绵羊。这些围栏绵羊对实验母羊来说要么都是熟悉的，要么都是不熟悉的。每只实验母羊与一个或四个同伴进行测试，这些同伴对她来说是熟悉的或不熟悉的。两个组的大小，两个程度的熟悉围栏羊和两个程度的熟悉同伴被纳入拉丁方设计。在一系列20分钟的测试中，我们通过焦点采样记录了实验母羊的行为，并通过扫描采样记录了每只动物在地块中的位置。在以前的实验中，母羊在一个较大的群体更有可能远离围栏羊和放牧的首选喂养地点，也不太警惕。有一个加性效应的熟悉程度：母羊熟悉的同伴吃草的首选喂养网站更长的时间，发声少，警惕性比那些不熟悉的同伴。当母羊与熟悉的同伴一起吃草时，个体间的距离也会减少。相反，对围栏绵羊的熟悉程度对母羊的行为没有影响。因此，群体内社会联系强度的差异可能会影响子群的形成，并影响食草动物在斑块草原上觅食的方式。(C)2002 Elsevier Science B.V.保留所有权利。
Social grouping tendencies are known to influence the grazing behaviour of domestic herbivores. Here, we investigate how the strength of social bonds in a flock influences the choice of grazing location in sheep. Eight experimental ewes of INRA 401 breed grazed in plots in which a preferred feeding site, i.e. a patch of taller grass, was located 35 m away from a socially attractive site, i.e. five sheep confined in a pen, at one end of the plot. These penned sheep were either all familiar or all unfamiliar to the experimental ewes. Each experimental ewe was tested with one or four companions, which were either familiar or unfamiliar to her. The two group sizes, two degrees of familiarity with the penned sheep and two degrees of familiarity with the companions were incorporated into a Latin square design. In a series of 20 min tests, we recorded the behaviour of the experimental ewes by focal sampling and the location of each animal in the plots by scan sampling. As in a previous experiment, ewes in a larger group were more likely to move away from the penned sheep and to graze the preferred feeding site, and were also less vigilant. There was an additive effect of the degree of familiarity: the ewes with familiar companions grazed the preferred feeding site for longer, vocalised less and were less vigilant than those with unfamiliar companions. Inter-individual distances were also reduced when ewes grazed with familiar companions. Conversely, the degree of familiarity with the penned sheep had no effect on the ewes' behaviour. Differences in the strength of social bonds within a flock are thus likely to affect the formation of subgroups and influence the way herbivores forage in patchy grasslands. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.