Spatial Pattern of a Small Cattle Herd in an Experimental Strip-Wise Grazed Pasture

概要

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Spatial patterns formed by a small cattle herd grazing in a strip-wise pasture, which was designed to observe the cattle behavior under simple experimental conditions, were analyzed. The following problems were dealt with in this study : (1) What is the spatial pattern of a herd on the pasture, and (2) What is the spatial pattern of individuals within the herd. To the first question, the answer was that the cattle troop did not deploy in the whole area of the pasture, but formed a crowd on part of the pasture and wandered about although the troop length of cattle on the pasture fluctuated from time to time. To the second question the following two answers were given based on the analyses : (1) individuals formed a random or a slightly regular pattern within the herd when the individuals dispersed in a large area, and (2) the spatial pattern changed between aggregated, random and regular patterns within the herd when the individuals formed a crowd in a small area. Spatial pattern of individuals within the herd in the feeding phase appeared to be random, while that in the resting phase appeared to be determined by chance.
日本応用動物昆虫学会の論文
1995-05-25