Hostname: page-component-5f745c7db-tvc9f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-06T23:31:40.477Z Has data issue: true hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Diet and habitat-niche relationships within an assemblage of large herbivores in a seasonal tropical forest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2012

Farshid S. Ahrestani ,
Ignas M. A. Heitkönig  and
Herbert H. T. Prins
Farshid S. Ahrestani*
Affiliation:
Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University, the Netherlands Frontier Wildlife Conservation, Pune, India
Ignas M. A. Heitkönig
Affiliation:
Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
Herbert H. T. Prins
Affiliation:
Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
*
1Corresponding author. Present address: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, 1200 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027, USA. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

There is little understanding of how large mammalian herbivores in Asia partition habitat and forage resources, and vary their diet and habitat selection seasonally in order to coexist. We studied an assemblage of four large herbivores, chital (Axis axis), sambar (Cervus unicolor), gaur (Bos gaurus) and Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), in the seasonal tropical forests of Bandipur and Mudumalai, South India, and tested predictions regarding the species’ seasonal diet browse : graze ratios, habitat selection and habitat-niche preference and overlap. Field data collected for the study included the seasonal variation in grass quality, the seasonal variation in δ13C in the species’ faeces and the seasonal variation in the species’ habitat selection and overlap using a grid-based survey. Results of the δ13C analyses showed that the chital was more of a grazer in the wet season (−17.9‰ to −21.6‰), but that it increased the proportion of browse in its diet in the dry season (−25.6‰ to −27.7‰); the gaur was a grazer for most of the year (−15.3‰ to −18.6‰); the sambar preferred to browse throughout the year (−21.1‰ to −30.4‰); and that the elephant was a mixed feeder (−14.2‰ to −21.4‰). Elephant habitat-niche breadth was high (0.53 in wet and 0.54 in dry) and overlapped equally with that of the other species in both seasons (0.39–0.94). The gaur had the most restricted habitat-niche breadth in both seasons (0.25 in wet and 0.28 in dry), and it switched from the moist deciduous habitat in the dry season to the dry deciduous habitat in the wet season. These results offer the first insights into the seasonal variation in browse : graze diet ratios and the habitat-niche overlap amongst the common largest-bodied mammalian herbivore species found in South India.

Keywords

chitalcommunity ecologyelephantgaurIndiasambar
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 28 , Issue 4 , July 2012 , pp. 385 - 394
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

AHRESTANI, F. S., HEITKÖNIG, I. M. A., LANGEVELDE, F. V., SRINIVAS, V., MADHUSUDAN, M. D. & PRINS, H. H. T. 2011a. Moisture and nutrients determine the distribution and richness of India's large herbivore species assemblage. Basic and Applied Ecology 12:634–642.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
AHRESTANI, F. S., HEITKÖNIG, I. M. A. & PRINS, H. H. T. 2011b. Herbaceous production in South India – limiting factors and implications for large herbivores. Plant and Soil 349:319–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BAGCHI, S., GOYAL, S. P. & SANKAR, K. 2003. Niche relationships of an ungulate assemblage in a dry tropical forest. Journal of Mammalogy 84:981–988.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BEEKMAN, J. H. & PRINS, H. H. T. 1989. Feeding strategies of sedentary large herbivores in East Africa, with emphasis on the African buffalo. Journal of African Ecology 27:129–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BELL, R. H. V. 1971. A grazing ecosystem in the Serengeti. Scientific American 225:86–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BHATT, Y. D., RAWAT, Y. S. & SINGH, S. P. 1994. Changes in ecosystem function after replacement of forest by lantana shrubland in Kumaon Himalaya. Journal of Vegetation Science 5:67–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CERLING, T. E. & HARRIS, J. M. 1999. Carbon isotope fractionation between diet and bioapatite in ungulate mammals and implications for ecological and paleoecological studies. Oecologia 120:347–363.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
CERLING, T. E., OMONDI, P. & MACHARIA, A. N. 2007. Diets of Kenyan elephants from stable isotopes and the origin of confiscated ivory in Kenya. African Journal of Ecology 45:614–623.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CHASE, J. M. & LEIBOLD, M. A. 2003. Ecological niches: linking classical and contemporary approaches. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 212 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CHETRI, M. 2003. Food habitats of gaur (Bos gaurus Smith, 1827) and livestock (cows and buffaloes) in Parsa Wildlife Reserve, central Nepal. Himalayan Journal of Sciences 1:31–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CODRON, D., CODRON, J., LEE-THORP, J. A., SPONHEIMER, M., DE RUITER, D., SEALY, J., GRANT, R. & FOURIE, N. 2007. Diets of savanna ungulates from stable carbon isotope composition of faeces. Journal of Zoology 273:21–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CODRON, J., CODRON, D., LEE-THORP, J. A., SPONHEIMER, M., KIRKMAN, K., DUFFY, K. J. & SEALY, J. 2011. Landscape-scale feeding patterns of African elephant inferred from carbon isotope analysis of feces. Oecologia 165:89–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DAMUTH, J. 1981. Home range, home range overlap, and species energy use among herbivorous mammals. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 15:185–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GROVES, C. & GRUBB, P. 2011. Ungulate taxonomy. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 317 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HOFMANN, R. R. 1989. Evolutionary steps of ecophysiological adaptation and diversification of ruminants: a comparative view of their digestive system. Oecologia 78:443–457.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
HOPKINS, A. 2000. Herbage production. Pp. 90–110 in Hopkins, A. (ed.). Grass: its production and utilization. Blackwell Science, Malden.Google Scholar
HULBERT, S. T. 1978. The measurement of niche overlap and some relatives. Ecology 59:67–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JARMAN, P. J. 1974. The social organization of antelope in relation to their ecology. Behaviour 48:215–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JETZ, W., CARBONE, C., FULFORD, J. & BROWN, J. H. 2004. The scaling of animal space use. Science 306:266–268.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
JOHNSINGH, A. J. T. 1991. Food plants of chital, sambar and cattle on Mundanthurai plateau, Tamil Nadu, South India. Mammalia 55:57–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KLEYNHANS, E. J., JOLLES, A. E., BOS, M. R. E. & OLFF, H. 2011. Resource partitioning along multiple niche dimensions in differently sized African savanna grazers. Oikos 120:591–600.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KNAPP, A. K., BLAIR, J. M., BRIGGS, J. M., COLLINS, S. L., HARTNETT, D. C., JOHNSON, L. C. & TOWNE, E. G. 1999. The keystone role of bison in North American tallgrass prairie. Bioscience 49:39–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KRASINSKA, M. & KRASINSKI, Z. A. 2007. The European bison: a nature monograph. Mammal Research Institute, Białowieża. 317 pp.Google Scholar
LEVINS, R. 1968. Evolution in changing environments: some theoretical explorations. Princeton University Press, Princeton. 132 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LINDSTEDT, S. L., MILLER, B. J. & BUSKIRK, S. W. 1986. Home range, time and body size in mammals. Ecology 67:413–418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McNAB, B. K. 1963. Bioenergetics and the determination of home range size. American Naturalist 97:133–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MISHRA, H. R. 1982. The ecology and behaviour of chital (Axis axis) in the Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. PhD thesis, University of Edinburgh. 690 pp.Google Scholar
MOE, S. R. & WEGGE, P. 1994. Spacing behaviour and habitat use of axis deer (Axis axis) in lowland Nepal. Canadian Journal of Zoology 72:1735–1744.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MOE, S. R. & WEGGE, P. 1997. The effects of cutting and burning on grass quality and axis deer (Axis axis) use of grassland in lowland Nepal. Journal of Tropical Ecology 13:279–292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MURALI, K. S. & SHETTY, R. S. 2001. Effect of weeds Lantana camara and Chromolaena odorata growth on the species diversity, regeneration, and stem density of tree and shrub layer in BRT sanctuary. Current Science 80:675–678.Google Scholar
O'KANE, C. A. J., DUFFY, K. J., PAGE, B. R. & MACDONALD, D. W. 2011. Overlap and seasonal shifts in use of woody plant species amongst a guild of savanna browsers. Journal of Tropical Ecology 27:249–258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OLFF, H., RITCHIE, M. E. & PRINS, H. H. T. 2002. Environmental controls of diversity of large herbivores. Nature 415:901–904.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
PIANKA, E. R. 1973. The structure of lizard communities. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 4:53–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PRADHAN, N. M. B., WEGGE, P., MOE, S. R. & SHRESTHA, A. K. 2008. Feeding ecology of two endangered sympatric megaherbivores: Asian elephant Elephas maximus and greater one-horned rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis in lowland Nepal. Wildlife Biology 14:147–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PRASAD, A. 2010. Effects of an exotic plant invasion on native understory plants in a tropical dry forest. Conservation Biology 24:747–757.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PRATER, S. H. 1993. The book of Indian animals. Oxford University Press, Mumbai. 346 pp.Google Scholar
PRINS, H. H. T. 1996. Ecology and behaviour of the African buffalo: social inequality and decision making. Chapman and Hall, London. 293 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PRINS, H. H. T. & LOTH, P. E. 1988. Rainfall patterns as background to plant phenology patterns in the Masai ecosystem of northern Tanzania. Journal of Biogeography 15:451–463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PRINS, H. H. T. & OLFF, H. 1998. Species-richness of African grazer assemblages: towards a functional explanation. Pp. 449–490 in Newbery, D. M., Prins, H. H. T. & Brown, N. D. (eds.). Dynamics of tropical communities. Blackwell Science, Oxford.Google Scholar
PUTMAN, R. J. 1984. Facts from faeces. Mammal Review 14:79–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
RAGHUBANSHI, A. S., RAI, L. C., GAUR, J. P. & SINGH, J. S. 2005. Invasive alien species and biodiversity in India. Current Science 88:539–540.Google Scholar
SALDANHA, C. J. & NICHOLSON, D. H. 1976. Flora of Hassan District, Karnataka, India. Amerind, New Delhi. 915 pp.Google Scholar
SCHALLER, G. B. 1967. The deer and the tiger. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 370 pp.Google Scholar
SCHOENER, T. W. 1974. Resource partitioning in ecological communities. Science 185:27–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
SCOGINGS, P. F., DZIBA, L. E. & GORDON, I. J. 2004. Leaf chemistry of woody plants in relation to season, canopy retention and goat browsing in a semiarid subtropical savanna. Austral Ecology 29:278–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SHARMA, S. D., SHETTY, B. V., VIVEKANANDAN, K. & RATHAKRISHNAN, N. C. 1978. Flora of Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 75:13–42.Google Scholar
SHARMA, O. P., SHARMA, S., PATTABHI, V., MAHATO, S. B. & SHARMA, P. D. 2007. A review of the hepatotoxic plant Lantana camara. Critical Reviews in Toxicology 37:313–352.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
SHUKLA, R. & KHARE, P. K. 1998. Food habitats of wild ungulates and their competition with livestock in Pench Wildlife Reserve, central India. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 95:418–421.Google Scholar
SINCLAIR, A. R. E. 1977. The African buffalo: a study of resource limitation of populations. Chicago University Press, Chicago. 355 pp.Google Scholar
SPONHEIMER, M., LEE-THORP, J. A., DERUITER, D. J., SMITH, J. M., VAN DER MERWE, N. J., REED, K., GRANT, C. C., AYLIFFE, L. K., ROBINSON, T. F., HEIDELBERGER, C. & MARCUS, W. 2003. Diets of southern African Bovidae: stable isotope evidence. Journal of Mammalogy 84:471–479.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
STYLES, C. V. & SKINNER, J. D. 1997. Seasonal variations in the quality of mopane leaves as a source of browse for mammalian herbivores. African Journal of Ecology 35:254–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SUKUMAR, R. 1990. Ecology of the Asian Elephant in southern India. II. Feeding habits and crop raiding patterns. Journal of Tropical Ecology 6:33–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SUKUMAR, R. & RAMESH, R. 1992. Stable carbon isotope ratios in Asian elephant collagen: implications for dietary studies. Oecologia 91:536–539.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
TIESZEN, L., HEIN, D., QVORTRUP, D., TROUGHTON, J. & IMBAMBA, S. 1979. Use of d 13C values to determine vegetation selectivity in East African herbivores. Oecologia 37:351–359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VOGEL, J. C. 1978. Isotopic assessment of the dietary habits of ungulates. South African Journal of Science 74:298–301.Google Scholar
YOSHIHARA, Y., ITO, B., LHAGVASUREN, B. & TAKATSUKI, S. 2008. A comparison of food resources used by Mongolian gazelles and sympatric livestock in three areas in Mongolia. Journal of Arid Environments 72:48–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar