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Feeding preferences and nutritional niche of wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal.
Ecology and Evolution ( IF 2.3 ) Pub Date : 2020-06-23 , DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6183
Tej Kumar Shrestha 1 , Lee J Hecker 2 , Achyut Aryal 3, 4 , Sean C P Coogan 2
Affiliation  

The nutritional characteristics of food resources play an important role in the foraging behavior of animals and can provide information valuable to their conservation and management. We examined the nutritional ecology of wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee ; hereafter “buffalo”) in the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve of Nepal during autumn using a multidimensional nutritional niche framework. We identified 54 plant species as being foraged by buffalo. We found that buffalo consumed graminoids and forbs 2–3 times more frequently than browse items. Proximate analyses of the 16 most frequently foraged plants indicated that buffalo diets were highest in carbohydrate (40.41% ± 1.82%) followed by crude protein (10.52% ± 0.93%) and crude fat (1.68% ± 0.23%). The estimated macronutrient balance (i.e., realized nutrient niche) of the buffalo diet (20.5% protein: 72.8% carbohydrate: 6.7% lipid) was not significantly different than the average balance of all analyzed food items based on 95% confidence regions. Our study suggests that buffalo are likely macronutrient specialists, yet may be generalists in the sense that they feed on a wide range of food items to achieve a nutrient balance similar to that available in forage items. However, the four most frequently consumed items tended to be higher in protein energy than less frequently consumed foods, suggesting some preference for higher protein forage relative to relatively abundant carbohydrates. Although limited in scope, our study provides important information on the nutritional ecology of buffalo, which may be useful for the conservation and management of this endangered species.

中文翻译:


尼泊尔科希塔普野生动物保护区野生水牛 (Bubalus arnee) 的摄食偏好和营养生态位。



食物资源的营养特性在动物的觅食行为中发挥着重要作用,可以为其保护和管理提供有价值的信息。我们使用多维营养生态位框架研究了尼泊尔科希塔普野生动物保护区野生水牛( Bubalus arnee ;以下简称“水牛”)秋季的营养生态学。我们确定了 54 种植物是水牛的食物来源。我们发现水牛消耗禾本科植物和杂草的频率比浏览物品的频率高 2-3 倍。对 16 种最常采食的植物的近似分析表明,水牛日粮中碳水化合物含量最高(40.41% ± 1.82%),其次是粗蛋白(10.52% ± 0.93%)和粗脂肪(1.68% ± 0.23%)。水牛饮食的估计常量营养素平衡(即实现的营养位)(20.5% 蛋白质:72.8% 碳水化合物:6.7% 脂质)与基于 95% 置信区域的所有分析食品的平均平衡没有显着差异。我们的研究表明,水牛可能是常量营养素专家,但也可能是通才,因为它们以多种食物为食,以实现类似于饲料的营养平衡。然而,四种最常食用的食物往往比不常食用的食物含有更高的蛋白质能量,这表明相对于相对丰富的碳水化合物,人们更喜欢高蛋白饲料。尽管范围有限,但我们的研究提供了有关水牛营养生态学的重要信息,这可能有助于保护和管理这种濒临灭绝的物种。
更新日期:2020-07-30
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