Theme 1-2: Rangeland/Grassland Ecology--Poster Sessions

Description

Interindividual differences and their consistency in behavior were investigated for cattle (Bos taurus) grazing a bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum) and centipedegrass (Eremochloa ophiuroides) dominated pasture as a herd of about 30 breeding cows with their calves. Behavior of the cows was monitored directly by observers and also using GPS and accelerometer data loggers attached to focal cows for a period of 1–5 days every month during the grazing seasons (from May to October) in 2018 and 2019. The data were converted into behavioral variables (e.g. time spent grazing, ruminating and resting, time spent in particular areas, and selectivity for grass species). Time budget of the maintenance behavior, spatial use pattern, preference for grass species on a daily basis were different among cows consistently across the seasons although the behavior varied daily and seasonally in accordance with sward and weather conditions, i.e. some individuals showed a particular tendency in some behavioral traits compared with others across various environmental situations. The consistent individual behavioral characteristics found in this study can be partly explained by age, body size and nutritional and physiological states; otherwise considered as personal traits of animals, which may affect their ecological fitness to the environment and production performances as livestock and be transmitted to their offspring. Further studies are warranted to reveal associations of behavioral traits with fitness or productivity and their transmissibility.

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Interindividual Differences and Their Consistency in Grazing Cattle Behavior across Seasons

Interindividual differences and their consistency in behavior were investigated for cattle (Bos taurus) grazing a bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum) and centipedegrass (Eremochloa ophiuroides) dominated pasture as a herd of about 30 breeding cows with their calves. Behavior of the cows was monitored directly by observers and also using GPS and accelerometer data loggers attached to focal cows for a period of 1–5 days every month during the grazing seasons (from May to October) in 2018 and 2019. The data were converted into behavioral variables (e.g. time spent grazing, ruminating and resting, time spent in particular areas, and selectivity for grass species). Time budget of the maintenance behavior, spatial use pattern, preference for grass species on a daily basis were different among cows consistently across the seasons although the behavior varied daily and seasonally in accordance with sward and weather conditions, i.e. some individuals showed a particular tendency in some behavioral traits compared with others across various environmental situations. The consistent individual behavioral characteristics found in this study can be partly explained by age, body size and nutritional and physiological states; otherwise considered as personal traits of animals, which may affect their ecological fitness to the environment and production performances as livestock and be transmitted to their offspring. Further studies are warranted to reveal associations of behavioral traits with fitness or productivity and their transmissibility.