Derebe Yonas, Girma Zerihun
Department of Forest and Climate Science Injibara University Injibara Ethiopia.
Department of Wildlife and Protected Area Management Hawassa University Hawassa Ethiopia.
Ecol Evol. 2020 Nov 3;10(23):13370-13381. doi: 10.1002/ece3.6939. eCollection 2020 Dec.
Numerous indices have been developed to compare use and availability of foods in field diets of wild ungulates. However, little attention has been given to laboratory analysis for comparing food preferences. To this end, a study aimed at investigating the diet composition and preference of Bohor reedbuck was conducted in the compound of Alage Agricultural College, Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia from 2017 to 2018 encompassing both dry and wet seasons. Bohor reedbuck is a medium sized horned antelope species endemic to Africa. Continuous focal animal observation was used to collect the data on plant species included in the diet of Bohor reedbuck. Focal individuals' observation was carried out for 30 min in 10 min sampling interval during their active feeding period (early morning and late afternoon) over four different habitat types. The nutrient composition of plants consumed was determined using wet chemistry laboratory analysis. Bohor reedbucks consumed 15 species of plants; herbs comprised 94.3% of the foods they consumed. Digitaria abyssinica was the most preferred plant species with highest crude protein (23.75%) and less fiber (61.8% nitrogen detergent fiber and 27.8% acid detergent fiber). These findings suggest that food preference of Bohor reedbuck is determined by the nutritional content of the plant it consumed, since the area is more or less natural habitat in terms of plant species composition. For sustainable conservation of the species, there is a need to actively promote management of the plant species most preferred by the reedbuck to feed on.
已经开发出许多指标来比较野生有蹄类动物野外饮食中食物的使用情况和可获得性。然而，对于比较食物偏好的实验室分析却很少受到关注。为此，2017年至2018年在埃塞俄比亚中部裂谷的阿拉盖农业学院校区进行了一项旨在调查波氏苇羚饮食组成和偏好的研究，涵盖旱季和雨季。波氏苇羚是一种原产于非洲的中型有角羚羊物种。通过持续的焦点动物观察来收集波氏苇羚饮食中所包含植物物种的数据。在四个不同栖息地类型中，于焦点个体活跃进食期（清晨和傍晚）以10分钟采样间隔进行30分钟的观察。通过湿化学实验室分析来确定所食用植物的营养成分。波氏苇羚食用了15种植物；其中草本植物占其食用食物的94.3%。阿比西尼亚马唐是最受喜爱的植物物种，其粗蛋白含量最高（23.75%）且纤维含量较低（中性洗涤纤维61.8%，酸性洗涤纤维27.8%）。这些发现表明，波氏苇羚的食物偏好是由其食用植物的营养成分决定的，因为就植物物种组成而言，该地区或多或少是自然栖息地。为了该物种的可持续保护，有必要积极推动对苇羚最喜爱食用的植物物种进行管理。
