Role of Various Woody Species in Spanish Mediterranean Forest and Scrubland as Food Resources for Spanish Ibex (Capra pyrenaica Schinz) and Red Deer (Cervus elaphus L.)

Abstract

Abstract Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica Sinhinz) and red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) are highly abundant in Mediterranean habitats and are of major economic importance, primarily due to their value as game but also, in the case of red deer, for their meat. This study analyses the importance of nine woody species in the diet of two wild herbivores with browser and browser-grazer feeding habits: Spanish ibex in south-eastern and eastern Spain and red deer in south-eastern and central Spain. In south-eastern Spain, altitude (low and high zone), sex and age classes (males, females and animals younger than 2 years) and season were recorded for the whole Spanish ibex study area. Availability, selection index and specific nutritional parameters were recorded for the woody species (four) studied in south-eastern Spain. Arbutus unedo L., Juniperus oxycedrus L., J. phoenicea L., Phillyrea angus-tifolia L., Ph. latifolia L., Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold, Quercus faginea Lam., Quercus ilex L. and Rosmarinus officinalis L. were the species most eaten by Spanish ibex and red deer in the different areas studied.