| Title: | Successive sheep grazing reduces population density of Brandt's voles in steppe grassland by altering food resources: a large manipulative experiment |
| Author(s): | Li G; Yin B; Wan X; Wei W; Wang G; Krebs CJ; Zhang Z; |
| Address: | "State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China. College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China. Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA. Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada. State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China. Zhangzb@ioz.ac.cn" |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s00442-015-3455-7 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1432-1939 (Electronic) 0029-8549 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Livestock grazing has shaped grassland ecosystems around the world. Previous studies indicated grazing showed various impacts on small rodents; however, most studies were conducted over 1-2 years without controlling for confounding factors such as immigration/emigration and predation in rodents. Brandt's voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii) are generally recognized as pests because of food overlap with domestic herbivores, but are also important for biodiversity conservation because they provide nests or food to many birds. Fully understanding the ecological relationship between domestic herbivores and small mammals is essential to making ecosystem management decisions. To address these needs, we carried out a field experiment during the period 2010-2013 to assess the effects of sheep grazing on vegetation and the population density of Brandt's voles along a gradient of three grazing intensities by using 12 large-scale enclosures. Responses of Brandt's voles to livestock grazing varied with grazing intensity and year. As compared to the control group, sheep grazing had no effect on vole abundance in the first year but an overall negative effect on vole abundance in the following 3 years. Successive grazing caused decreases in survival and male body mass of voles, but had no significant effect on fecundity. Negative effects of grazing were associated with a grazing-induced deterioration in both food quantity (reflected by biomass and cover of less-preferred plants), and food quality (measured by tannin and total phenol content). Our findings highlight the urgent need for more flexible management of yearly rotational grazing to optimize livestock production while maintaining species diversity and ecosystem health" |
| Keywords: | Animal Feed Animals Arvicolinae/*physiology *Biodiversity Biomass Body Weight *Diet Ecology Female *Grassland *Herbivory Livestock Male *Plants/chemistry Population Density *Sheep Biodiversity loss Food quality Food quantity Pest management Rotational gra; |
| Notes: | "MedlineLi, Guoliang Yin, Baofa Wan, Xinrong Wei, Wanhong Wang, Guiming Krebs, Charles J Zhang, Zhibin eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Germany 2015/10/09 Oecologia. 2016 Jan; 180(1):149-59. doi: 10.1007/s00442-015-3455-7. Epub 2015 Oct 7" |
