Feeding Preferences of Domestic and Wild Ungulates for Forage Trees in the Dry Tropics
López Benavides, Kenny (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua. Estación Experimental Para el Estudio del Trópico Seco "El Limón")
Rocha, Lester (Universidad Nacional Agraria)
Serrano Ferron, Emmanuel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge)
Bartolomé, Jordi (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Ciència Animal i dels Aliments)

Fecha:	2022
Resumen:	Silvopastoralism based on livestock feeding on forage trees is becoming a sustainable alternative to traditional grazing on the open pastures of dry tropical Central America. Four autochthonous trees, Acacia pennatula, Enterolobium cyclocarpum, Gliricidia sepium and Guazuma ulmifolia, and one exotic (Moringa oleifera) tree are the preferred species for these silvopastoral systems. Little is known, however, about the feeding preferences of cattle, sheep and goats for such fodder trees and whether wild ungulates (white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus) feed on these plants. In this work, we conducted several multiple-choice feeding preference tests (cafeteria test) to compare the best choice to feed cattle, sheep, goats and white-tailed deer in these farming systems. Although all ruminant species included the four autochthonous trees and the exotic M. oleifera in their diets, G. ulmifolia was the preferred forage tree by far. The preference for the rest of the trees varied among our ruminant species. When M. oleifera was added to the cafeteria test, it was well accepted by white-tailed deer but little appreciated by their domestic counterparts. The use of these forage trees for livestock feeding is thus interesting not only for sustainable animal production but also to support wild herbivores in the dry tropics of Central America.
Ayudas:	Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades RYC-2016-21120
Derechos:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Lengua:	Anglès
Documento:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Materia:	Silvopastoralism ; Foraging behaviour ; Acacia pennatula ; Enterolobium cyclocarpum ; Gliricidia sepium ; Guazuma ulmifolia ; Moringa oleifera
Publicado en:	Sustainability, Vol. 14, Issue 20 (October 2022) , art. 13430, ISSN 2071-1050

DOI: 10.3390/su142013430

10 p, 323.7 KB

El registro aparece en las colecciones:
Documentos de investigación > Documentos de los grupos de investigación de la UAB > Centros y grupos de investigación (producción científica) > Ciencias de la salud y biociencias > Grupo de investigación Wildlife Ecology & Health
Artículos > Artículos de investigación
Artículos > Artículos publicados