Diet is important for understanding the ecology and evolution of populations. When examining animals’ diets, the lowest taxonomic rank (i.e., species level) is generally used. However, it is questionable whether dietary description varies with respect to the plant taxonomy or with the extent of plant species diversity in landscapes. We studied the diet of the Alpine mountain hare (Lepus timidus varronis) by analyzing the botanical composition of fecal pellets and comparing the results with the availability of food plants. Overall, Alpine mountain hares selected ligneous plants, whereas grasses were neutrally consumed or avoided. Plant identification at the genus and family level revealed the most information, whereas little additional information was gleaned by identifying food plants at the species level. In low-diversity spruce forests and at higher elevations, hares exhibited greater diet breadth compared to high-diversity vegetative mosaics or at lower elevations, even if they had access to the same types of plants. This is likely due to the hares’ need to diversify their diet when plant quantity is low. Greater diet breadth and selection of a larger number of different plant types at the beginning of the plant vegetation growth period suggested that more food plants suitable for Alpine mountain hares were available during this time compared to the end of the vegetation period.

中文翻译：

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景观类型，海拔，植被时期和分类植物识别水平对高山野兔（Lepus timidus varronis）饮食偏好的影响

饮食对于理解种群的生态和进化很重要。在检查动物的饮食时，通常使用最低的生物分类等级（即物种水平）。但是，饮食描述是否随植物分类学或景观中植物物种多样性的程度而变化是令人怀疑的。我们研究了高山野兔（Lepus timidus varronis），通过分析粪便颗粒的植物成分并将结果与​​食用植物的有效性进行比较。总体而言，阿尔卑斯山区的野兔选择了木质植物，而草皮却被中性消耗或避免。在属和科一级的植物鉴定揭示了最多的信息，而通过在物种一级鉴定食用植物则收集到的附加信息很少。在低多样性云杉林和高海拔地区，与高多样性植物马赛克或低海拔地区相比，野兔的饮食宽度更大，即使它们可以使用相同类型的植物。这很可能是由于野兔需要在植物数量较少时多样化饮食。