Body size and digestive system shape resource selection by ungulates: A cross-taxa test of the forage maturation hypothesis.
Equidae
forage biomass
hindgut fermentation
macroecology
ruminant
step-selection function
water requirements
Journal
Ecology letters
ISSN: 1461-0248
Titre abrégé: Ecol Lett
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101121949
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Oct 2021
Oct 2021
Historique:
revised:
08
04
2021
received:
03
03
2021
accepted:
11
05
2021
pubmed:
27
7
2021
medline:
11
9
2021
entrez:
26
7
2021
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
The forage maturation hypothesis (FMH) states that energy intake for ungulates is maximised when forage biomass is at intermediate levels. Nevertheless, metabolic allometry and different digestive systems suggest that resource selection should vary across ungulate species. By combining GPS relocations with remotely sensed data on forage characteristics and surface water, we quantified the effect of body size and digestive system in determining movements of 30 populations of hindgut fermenters (equids) and ruminants across biomes. Selection for intermediate forage biomass was negatively related to body size, regardless of digestive system. Selection for proximity to surface water was stronger for equids relative to ruminants, regardless of body size. To be more generalisable, we suggest that the FMH explicitly incorporate contingencies in body size and digestive system, with small-bodied ruminants selecting more strongly for potential energy intake, and hindgut fermenters selecting more strongly for surface water.
Types de publication
Letter
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
2178-2191Informations de copyright
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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