Towards evenly distributed grazing patterns: Including social context in sheep management strategies

Autores
Di Virgilio, Agustina Soledad; Morales, Juan Manuel
Año de publicación
2016
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Background: A large proportion of natural grasslands around the world is exposed to overgrazing resulting in land degradation and biodiversity loss. Although there is an increasing effort in the promotion of sustainable livestock management, rangeland degradation still occurs because animals´ foraging behaviour is highly selective at different spatial scales. The assessment of the ecological mechanisms modulating the spatial distribution of grazing and how to control it has critical implications for long term conservation of resources and the sustainability of livestock production. Considering the relevance of social interactions on animals? space use patterns, our aim was to explore the potential effects of including animals? social context into management strategies using domestic sheep grazing in rangelands as case study. Methods: We used GPS data from 19 Merino sheep (approximately 10% of the flock) grazing on three different paddocks (with sizes from 80 to 1000 Ha) during a year, to estimate resource selection functions of sheep grazing in flocks of different levels of heterogeneity. We assessed the effects of sheep class (i.e., ewes, wethers, and hoggets), age, body condition and time since release on habitat selection patterns. Results: We found that social rank was reflected on sheep habitat use, where dominant individuals (i.e., reproductive females) used more intensively the most preferred areas and low-ranked (i.e., yearlings) used less preferred areas. Our results showed that when sheep grazed on more heterogeneous flocks, grazing patterns were more evenly distributed at all the paddocks considered in this study. On the other hand, when high-ranked individuals were removed from the flock, low-ranked sheep shifted their selection patterns by increasing the use of the most preferred areas and strongly avoided to use less preferred sites (i.e., a highly selective grazing behaviour). Discussion: Although homogenization and segregation of flocks by classes are common practices to increase flock productivity, we are proposing an alternative that employs behavioural interactions in heterogeneous flocks to generate more evenly distributed grazing patterns. This practice can be combined with other practices such as rotational grazing and guardian dogs (to decrease mortality levels that may be generated by sheep grazing on more risky habitats). This does not necessarily imply any modifications of livestock stocking rates and densities or any additional investments for labour and materials. Considering livestock behaviour is critical for the design of sustainable management practices that balance landscape conservation and livestock productivity.
Fil: Di Virgilio, Agustina Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina
Fil: Morales, Juan Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina
Materia
HETEROGENEOUS MIXED FLOCKS
OVERGRAZING
RANGELANDS
RESOURCE SELECTION
SELECTIVE GRAZING
SOCIAL RANK
SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/69943

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network_name_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
spelling Towards evenly distributed grazing patterns: Including social context in sheep management strategiesDi Virgilio, Agustina SoledadMorales, Juan ManuelHETEROGENEOUS MIXED FLOCKSOVERGRAZINGRANGELANDSRESOURCE SELECTIONSELECTIVE GRAZINGSOCIAL RANKSUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIEShttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1Background: A large proportion of natural grasslands around the world is exposed to overgrazing resulting in land degradation and biodiversity loss. Although there is an increasing effort in the promotion of sustainable livestock management, rangeland degradation still occurs because animals´ foraging behaviour is highly selective at different spatial scales. The assessment of the ecological mechanisms modulating the spatial distribution of grazing and how to control it has critical implications for long term conservation of resources and the sustainability of livestock production. Considering the relevance of social interactions on animals? space use patterns, our aim was to explore the potential effects of including animals? social context into management strategies using domestic sheep grazing in rangelands as case study. Methods: We used GPS data from 19 Merino sheep (approximately 10% of the flock) grazing on three different paddocks (with sizes from 80 to 1000 Ha) during a year, to estimate resource selection functions of sheep grazing in flocks of different levels of heterogeneity. We assessed the effects of sheep class (i.e., ewes, wethers, and hoggets), age, body condition and time since release on habitat selection patterns. Results: We found that social rank was reflected on sheep habitat use, where dominant individuals (i.e., reproductive females) used more intensively the most preferred areas and low-ranked (i.e., yearlings) used less preferred areas. Our results showed that when sheep grazed on more heterogeneous flocks, grazing patterns were more evenly distributed at all the paddocks considered in this study. On the other hand, when high-ranked individuals were removed from the flock, low-ranked sheep shifted their selection patterns by increasing the use of the most preferred areas and strongly avoided to use less preferred sites (i.e., a highly selective grazing behaviour). Discussion: Although homogenization and segregation of flocks by classes are common practices to increase flock productivity, we are proposing an alternative that employs behavioural interactions in heterogeneous flocks to generate more evenly distributed grazing patterns. This practice can be combined with other practices such as rotational grazing and guardian dogs (to decrease mortality levels that may be generated by sheep grazing on more risky habitats). This does not necessarily imply any modifications of livestock stocking rates and densities or any additional investments for labour and materials. Considering livestock behaviour is critical for the design of sustainable management practices that balance landscape conservation and livestock productivity.Fil: Di Virgilio, Agustina Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Morales, Juan Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaPeerJ2016-06-21info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/69943Di Virgilio, Agustina Soledad; Morales, Juan Manuel; Towards evenly distributed grazing patterns: Including social context in sheep management strategies; PeerJ; PeerJ; 6; 21-6-2016; 1-192167-8359CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://peerj.com/articles/2152/info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.7717/peerj.2152info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-09-29T10:05:08Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/69943instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982025-09-29 10:05:08.563CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Towards evenly distributed grazing patterns: Including social context in sheep management strategies
title Towards evenly distributed grazing patterns: Including social context in sheep management strategies
spellingShingle Towards evenly distributed grazing patterns: Including social context in sheep management strategies
Di Virgilio, Agustina Soledad
HETEROGENEOUS MIXED FLOCKS
OVERGRAZING
RANGELANDS
RESOURCE SELECTION
SELECTIVE GRAZING
SOCIAL RANK
SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
title_short Towards evenly distributed grazing patterns: Including social context in sheep management strategies
title_full Towards evenly distributed grazing patterns: Including social context in sheep management strategies
title_fullStr Towards evenly distributed grazing patterns: Including social context in sheep management strategies
title_full_unstemmed Towards evenly distributed grazing patterns: Including social context in sheep management strategies
title_sort Towards evenly distributed grazing patterns: Including social context in sheep management strategies
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Di Virgilio, Agustina Soledad
Morales, Juan Manuel
author Di Virgilio, Agustina Soledad
author_facet Di Virgilio, Agustina Soledad
Morales, Juan Manuel
author_role author
author2 Morales, Juan Manuel
author2_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv HETEROGENEOUS MIXED FLOCKS
OVERGRAZING
RANGELANDS
RESOURCE SELECTION
SELECTIVE GRAZING
SOCIAL RANK
SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
topic HETEROGENEOUS MIXED FLOCKS
OVERGRAZING
RANGELANDS
RESOURCE SELECTION
SELECTIVE GRAZING
SOCIAL RANK
SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Background: A large proportion of natural grasslands around the world is exposed to overgrazing resulting in land degradation and biodiversity loss. Although there is an increasing effort in the promotion of sustainable livestock management, rangeland degradation still occurs because animals´ foraging behaviour is highly selective at different spatial scales. The assessment of the ecological mechanisms modulating the spatial distribution of grazing and how to control it has critical implications for long term conservation of resources and the sustainability of livestock production. Considering the relevance of social interactions on animals? space use patterns, our aim was to explore the potential effects of including animals? social context into management strategies using domestic sheep grazing in rangelands as case study. Methods: We used GPS data from 19 Merino sheep (approximately 10% of the flock) grazing on three different paddocks (with sizes from 80 to 1000 Ha) during a year, to estimate resource selection functions of sheep grazing in flocks of different levels of heterogeneity. We assessed the effects of sheep class (i.e., ewes, wethers, and hoggets), age, body condition and time since release on habitat selection patterns. Results: We found that social rank was reflected on sheep habitat use, where dominant individuals (i.e., reproductive females) used more intensively the most preferred areas and low-ranked (i.e., yearlings) used less preferred areas. Our results showed that when sheep grazed on more heterogeneous flocks, grazing patterns were more evenly distributed at all the paddocks considered in this study. On the other hand, when high-ranked individuals were removed from the flock, low-ranked sheep shifted their selection patterns by increasing the use of the most preferred areas and strongly avoided to use less preferred sites (i.e., a highly selective grazing behaviour). Discussion: Although homogenization and segregation of flocks by classes are common practices to increase flock productivity, we are proposing an alternative that employs behavioural interactions in heterogeneous flocks to generate more evenly distributed grazing patterns. This practice can be combined with other practices such as rotational grazing and guardian dogs (to decrease mortality levels that may be generated by sheep grazing on more risky habitats). This does not necessarily imply any modifications of livestock stocking rates and densities or any additional investments for labour and materials. Considering livestock behaviour is critical for the design of sustainable management practices that balance landscape conservation and livestock productivity.
Fil: Di Virgilio, Agustina Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina
Fil: Morales, Juan Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina
description Background: A large proportion of natural grasslands around the world is exposed to overgrazing resulting in land degradation and biodiversity loss. Although there is an increasing effort in the promotion of sustainable livestock management, rangeland degradation still occurs because animals´ foraging behaviour is highly selective at different spatial scales. The assessment of the ecological mechanisms modulating the spatial distribution of grazing and how to control it has critical implications for long term conservation of resources and the sustainability of livestock production. Considering the relevance of social interactions on animals? space use patterns, our aim was to explore the potential effects of including animals? social context into management strategies using domestic sheep grazing in rangelands as case study. Methods: We used GPS data from 19 Merino sheep (approximately 10% of the flock) grazing on three different paddocks (with sizes from 80 to 1000 Ha) during a year, to estimate resource selection functions of sheep grazing in flocks of different levels of heterogeneity. We assessed the effects of sheep class (i.e., ewes, wethers, and hoggets), age, body condition and time since release on habitat selection patterns. Results: We found that social rank was reflected on sheep habitat use, where dominant individuals (i.e., reproductive females) used more intensively the most preferred areas and low-ranked (i.e., yearlings) used less preferred areas. Our results showed that when sheep grazed on more heterogeneous flocks, grazing patterns were more evenly distributed at all the paddocks considered in this study. On the other hand, when high-ranked individuals were removed from the flock, low-ranked sheep shifted their selection patterns by increasing the use of the most preferred areas and strongly avoided to use less preferred sites (i.e., a highly selective grazing behaviour). Discussion: Although homogenization and segregation of flocks by classes are common practices to increase flock productivity, we are proposing an alternative that employs behavioural interactions in heterogeneous flocks to generate more evenly distributed grazing patterns. This practice can be combined with other practices such as rotational grazing and guardian dogs (to decrease mortality levels that may be generated by sheep grazing on more risky habitats). This does not necessarily imply any modifications of livestock stocking rates and densities or any additional investments for labour and materials. Considering livestock behaviour is critical for the design of sustainable management practices that balance landscape conservation and livestock productivity.
publishDate 2016
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2016-06-21
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
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info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/69943
Di Virgilio, Agustina Soledad; Morales, Juan Manuel; Towards evenly distributed grazing patterns: Including social context in sheep management strategies; PeerJ; PeerJ; 6; 21-6-2016; 1-19
2167-8359
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/69943
identifier_str_mv Di Virgilio, Agustina Soledad; Morales, Juan Manuel; Towards evenly distributed grazing patterns: Including social context in sheep management strategies; PeerJ; PeerJ; 6; 21-6-2016; 1-19
2167-8359
CONICET Digital
CONICET
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language eng
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info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.7717/peerj.2152
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https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
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dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv PeerJ
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