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Foods, macronutrients and fibre in the diet of blue sheep ( Psuedois nayaur ) in the Annapurna Conservation Area of Nepal
- Source :
- Ecology and Evolution
- Publication Year :
- 2015
- Publisher :
- Wiley, 2015.
-
Abstract
- Food resources are often critical regulating factors affecting individual fitness and population densities. In the Himalayan Mountains, Bharal “blue sheep” (Pseudois nayaur) are the main food resource for the endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia), as well as being preyed upon by other predators. Blue sheep, however, may face a number of challenges including food resource competition with other wild and domestic ungulates, and hunting pressure. Here, we characterized the diet of blue sheep in the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) of Nepal and conducted proximate nutritional analysis on a limited number of plants identified as foods. Furthermore, we investigated the macronutrient and fiber balance of these plants using nutritional geometry which is a state‐space approach to modeling multidimensional and interactive nutritional aspects of foraging. A total of 19 plant species/genera were identified in blue sheep pellets using microhistological analysis. On average, across seasons and regions of the study area, the two most frequently occurring plants in pellets were graminoids: Kobressia sp. and Carex spp. The macronutrient balance of Kobresia sp. was relatively high in carbohydrate and low in protein, while other plants in the diet were generally higher in protein and lipid content. Analysis of fiber balance showed that the two most consumed plants of blue sheep (i.e., Kobresia spp. and Carex spp.) contained the highest concentration of hemicellulose, which is likely digestible by blue sheep. The hemicellulose and lignin balance of plants ranged relatively widely, yet their cellulose contents showed less variation. Foraging by blue sheep may therefore be a balance between consuming highly digestible high‐carbohydrate plants and plants less‐digestible but higher in protein and/or lipid.
- Subjects :
- macronutrients
media_common.quotation_subject
Foraging
Population density
Competition (biology)
Botany
Fiber
naur
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Original Research
Nature and Landscape Conservation
media_common
2. Zero hunger
Carex
nutritional geometry
nutritional ecology
Ecology
biology
Pseudois nayaur
Panthera uncia
Kobresia
fictional_universe
15. Life on land
Proximate
fictional_universe.character_species
biology.organism_classification
right‐angled mixture triangle
Agronomy
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 20457758
- Volume :
- 5
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Ecology and Evolution
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....038bab806a8eb6b654e146314b223e8b