Heuermann, N. (2002) Experimentally testing foraging preferences with captive brent and barnacle geese. Master's Thesis / Essay, Biology.
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Abstract
In relation to different approaches to explain the diet selection of herbivores1 the influence of plant characteristics, functional response and quality of the forage was investigated for geese as a model for small herbivores. The preference of captive geese for three plant species and a wide range of biomasses was tested during cafeteria style experiments with small patches of natural vegetation. During the same trials the instantaneous intake rate was measured. The geese showed a preference for fertilized turfs, and the protein content of the chosen plants was a better predictor for the preference than the dry matter intake rate. The preferred turfs had a lower biomass than it would be predicted from the intake rate maximization hypothesis. Nevertheless fertilization shifted the preferred biomass to a higher level, closer to the optimum of intake rate. The relation between intake rate and biomass showed a la-ge variation and neither the model of a dome-shaped nor that of an asymptotically functional response could confirmed clearly.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master's Thesis / Essay) |
|---|---|
| Degree programme: | Biology |
| Thesis type: | Master's Thesis / Essay |
| Language: | English |
| Date Deposited: | 15 Feb 2018 07:31 |
| Last Modified: | 15 Feb 2018 07:31 |
| URI: | https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/9191 |
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