First data on the seasonal diet of the vulnerable Gazella cuvieri (Mammalia: Bovidae) in the Djebel Messaâd forest, northern Algeria

Abstract

A good knowledge of food resource utilization is essential to understand how most wild ungulates meet their seasonal requirements in order to improve conservation of endangered taxa. Using faecal sampling, the diet of Gazella cuvieri has was investigated in the Djebel Messaâd Mountain (M'sila Province, Algeria) from September 2013 to August 2014. A microhistological analysis method revealed that gazelles ate 29 species of plants during the year. The grass Stipa tenacissima and the shrub Artemisia herba alba were the major food items throughout the year. The highest diversity was recorded in spring (17 taxa) despite a large consumption of Helianthemum lippii, the lowest in a dry summer (nine species), including the major consumption of the shrubs Phillyrea media and Thymus algeriensis, together with Artemisia herba alba, Stipa tenacissima and Stipa parviflora. An average relative numerical abundance of 50.5 % of the diet comprised shrubs and trees, mainly including A. herba alba, T. algeriensis and Cistus libanotis. Grasses and forbs accounted for 29.4 % and 20.1 % respectively. Based on this study, this gazelle species can be classified as an intermediate feeder (i.e. browser-grazer).