Sex differences in feeding behaviour at feeding station scale in Soay sheep (Ovis aries)

Pérez-Barbería, F.J., Walker, D.M., and Gordon, I.J. (2004) Sex differences in feeding behaviour at feeding station scale in Soay sheep (Ovis aries). Behaviour, 141 (8). pp. 999-1020.

[img] PDF (Published Version) - Published Version
Restricted to Repository staff only

View at Publisher Website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685390423601...
 
6
1


Abstract

Herbivorous ungulates live in a spatially heterogeneous environment making foraging decisions at a range of hierarchical scales, from bite size to landscape. We investigated the factors that control intake rate in Soay sheep (Ovis aries) when discrete items of food were sparsely distributed at the feeding station scale. Within the feeding station we varied the difficulty of accessing food, distance between items of food, difficulty of finding the food and complexity of the feeding station and recorded how intake rate responded in relation to body size, mouth size and the sex of the animal. Our findings demonstrated how increasing difficulty of accessing food, and increasing complexity of the feeding station negatively affected intake rate. The expected mechanistic response that smaller animals or animals with smaller mouth size were better at handling discrete small items of food, was overridden by individual and sexual differences in behaviour. We also considered that intake rate within a feeding station could be maximised by optimising the spatial pattern of offtake, and the results clearly indicated that both sexes tended to show clustered patterns of offtake. Animals of the same sex responded in a similar way to the difficulty in handling food items; males persevered more than females and consequently were less handicaped by having larger mouths. We discussed these results in relation to behavioural and body mass differences between the sexes and animals.

Item ID: 42567
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1568-539X
Date Deposited: 10 Feb 2016 07:43
FoR Codes: 07 AGRICULTURAL AND VETERINARY SCIENCES > 0702 Animal Production > 070204 Animal Nutrition @ 50%
06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0608 Zoology > 060801 Animal Behaviour @ 50%
SEO Codes: 83 ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND ANIMAL PRIMARY PRODUCTS > 8303 Livestock Raising > 830310 Sheep - Meat @ 100%
Downloads: Total: 1
More Statistics

Actions (Repository Staff Only)

Item Control Page Item Control Page