Large herbivores form an essential component in the ecosystem, because of the impact that they have on their surrounding habitat. In this study, we aimed to evaluate some of the mechanisms behind how herbivores select forage at a patch scale. Thirty-six experimental plots were established and fitted with camera traps in Kruger National Park to test forage selectivity by grazers. Plots were manipulated by clearing with a brush cutter and the application of fertiliser. We used generalised linear models to detect trends in probability of occurrence by seven grazing herbivore species using camera trap data. Our results showed that season was a major determinant of species distribution, especially those that are not obligate grazers or feed exclusively in the 0.5 km to 2 km zone from water. We found that most selective feeding occurred in the late wet season when water would be more evenly distributed across the landscape and forage resources close to water would have had the chance to recover from depletion, as a result of dry season use. This has implications for the distribution of artificial water points across the landscape, because areas of reserve forage must be maintained to alleviate grazing pressure close to water.

中文翻译：

---

克鲁格国家公园中央玄武岩平原放牧食草动物斑块尺度选择模式

由于大型食草动物对周围栖息地的影响，它们是生态系统的重要组成部分。在这项研究中，我们旨在评估食草动物如何在斑块范围内选择草料的一些机制。在克鲁格国家公园建立了 36 个实验地并安装了相机陷阱，以测试食草动物的草料选择性。通过用割灌机清理和施肥来处理地块。我们使用广义线性模型来检测使用相机陷阱数据的七种食草动物物种发生概率的趋势。我们的结果表明，季节是物种分布的主要决定因素，尤其是那些不是专性食草动物或仅在距水面 0.5 公里至 2 公里区域觅食的物种。我们发现，大多数选择性饲喂发生在雨季后期，此时水将更均匀地分布在整个景观中，并且由于旱季使用，靠近水的草料资源将有机会从枯竭中恢复。这对整个景观中人工取水点的分布有影响，因为必须保留储备草料区域以减轻靠近水的放牧压力。