1.1.3.3 Social impact
on grazing behaviour of herbivorous
Herbivorous are characterized inter alia by their
gregariousness, which is one of major reason for their domestication. In
domestic ungulates social grouping strongly influences grazing behaviour.
Social relationships within a group influence individual strategies for dietary
choices, exploitation of feeding sites and spatial distribution on rangeland.
Group living gives the young animals social models, first his dam then his
peers and the other members of the group, which help to learn adequate food
preferences and aversions. This social facilitation is more efficient than
individual learning by trial and error. Group living is also thought to be
advantageous for individual animals because they can use the feeding sites
discovered by the other members of the group. Arnold and Dudzinski (1978)
quoted by Dumont & Boissy (1999), reported that herds sheep and cattle are
divided into several sub-units in low food availability conditions. Group
living among herbivorous is an effective strategy against predation. (Jarman
(1974); quoted by Dumont & Boissy, 1999).On the other hand, Foraging in
group can force individuals to abandon a feeding site they estimate to be of
good quality simply because all other group members leave this site. Also
increased feeding competition will occur in a group due to the faster decrease
in food availability, the low-ranking animals being the more affected. The
spatial movements of the group involve "leadership" relations, the initiation
of movement being usually the fact of the same animals (Sato, 1982).
1.1.3.4 Herdsman
expertise, animal physiology and behaviour, topography and plant physiology for
pastoral area utilisation
Because a diet is slowly constituted on rangeland, it is
crucial to foresee a longer grazing time. This is 6 to 8h on meadow or good
grassland; it reaches 8 to 12 h on rangelands and mountain pastures. This time
varies according to season, weather conditions, type of milieu, animals'
status. This time is divided into intake sequences even more many that the
milieu is poor and the animal have to change frequently place where he can
stabilize. On a hot summer days, the grazing time is shifted to the night-time
and rumination to the day. Food requirements of animals fluctuate according to
their physiological state. When vegetation's type of a park is known, hence
shift of the grass shoot characterised, spreading of production and keeping up
capacity, farmer decides seasons of use, load, levels of development and
intensity of grazing. Adjustment of these animals and plants components is
known as grazing calendar. This calendar can be considered as series of
sequences, and sequence as series of parks. On rangeland in general, choices
are guided by plant morphology: cows prefer leaf than stalks, young green
organs than old, hardened, lignified or even yellow organs. Herds' movement
with its dual logic, that of shepherd and that of animal behaviour, is a
powerful differentiating factor of MSP sectors (Garde and al., 2005;
Garde and al., 2007).
Herd guarding and herd watch are most often confused. But the
function of the first is to take care of herd's feeding, and that of the
second, herd's protection. The guard requires the competence of the shepherd;
watch does not require particular expertise. There is no guarding practice, but
a variety of ways to guide animals based on criteria such as type of resource
available, forms of relief, ability of animals to explore more or less a
bush-wooded milieu; visibility between sheep and shepherd and dog's one on the
herd, physiological state of animals, animal initiation, objectives of animal
body condition score expected by the stock breeder, respect of constraints
related to other users... (Meuret, 1995; Garde and al., 2005; Garde
and al., 2007).
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