Foraging in a landscape mosaic : diet selection and performance of free-ranging cattle in heathland and riverine grassland

This thesis focuses on two main questions regarding the relation between a large herbivore, Bos taurus, and habitat quality: a) how do differences in habitat quality relate to nutrition and herbivore performance? and b) is herbivore foraging behaviour affected by habitat differences and can it be explained by optimal foraging theory? The study was carried out in the Netherlands using free- ranging steers in an experimental set-up with four combinations of two habitats of contrasting soil fertility: heathland and riverine grassland.A hand-plucking method was developed to estimate forage quality... Mehr ...