Abstract
Recent theories suggest that herbivores forage across many scales and that foraging decisions are driven by the distribution of nitrogen. However, experimental tests of these predictions across large landscapes are rare and difficult. Pretorius et al. (2011) present an elegant experimental design to test how patch size, local nutrient density and total nutrient load are detected by foraging African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in the Colophospermum mopane shrub veld in South Africa. This experiment should serve as a model for investigations of how herbivores detect and respond to high nutrient patches of different size; it also raises questions for further research, such as the fate of high nutrient patches as elephants disperse nutrients from them in urine, faecal material and carcasses deposited elsewhere in the landscape.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
