Satellite Symposium 3: Pastoral Systems
Description
Conjoint or mixed grazing can affect the diet selected by each species (Nicol & Collins, 1990). Diet similarity coefficients are often used to compare pairs of diets (Krebs, 1999). However this approach is awkward when a number of contrasts are required in a multifactorial comparison. Species diversity is a descriptor of a particular environment. Many models provide an estimate of species diversity, the most common of these being a log-normal distribution (Tokeshi, 1996). We tested whether this model could be applied to dietary components selected from a pasture, and thus provide a coefficient of dietary diversity for the individual diets of cattle, sheep and goats when grazed alone or in mixtures, which could then be statistically compared.
Citation
Nicol, A. M.; Soper, M. B.; and Stewart, A., "Diversity of Diet Composition Decreases with Conjoint Grazing of Cattle with Sheep and Goats" (2023). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 84.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/20/satellitesymposium3/84
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Diversity of Diet Composition Decreases with Conjoint Grazing of Cattle with Sheep and Goats
Conjoint or mixed grazing can affect the diet selected by each species (Nicol & Collins, 1990). Diet similarity coefficients are often used to compare pairs of diets (Krebs, 1999). However this approach is awkward when a number of contrasts are required in a multifactorial comparison. Species diversity is a descriptor of a particular environment. Many models provide an estimate of species diversity, the most common of these being a log-normal distribution (Tokeshi, 1996). We tested whether this model could be applied to dietary components selected from a pasture, and thus provide a coefficient of dietary diversity for the individual diets of cattle, sheep and goats when grazed alone or in mixtures, which could then be statistically compared.
