Aspects Of The Ecology Of Feral Goats Capra Domestic In The Southern Uplands

Author : Dolores Sarah Byrne
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 239 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (795 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book A Study of the Numbers, Diet and Effects of Cattle (bos Taurus L.) and Feral Goats (capra Domestic) on the Ecology of the Burren National Park, Co. Clare, Ireland written by Dolores Sarah Byrne and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Feral goats (Capra domestic) are present for the entire year in the Burren National Park(BNP). Approximately 25-30 cattle (Bos Taurus L.) are licensed to graze in the BNP between October and April. The numbers of feral goats and cattle in the BNP were recorded during the duration of the study, between October 1994 and April 1998, and their home-ranges were calculated. Numbers of feral goats ranged between 63 and 85. The home-range of feral goats measured 17.2km2, which was greater than the previously calculated home-range of 4.505km2, (Bonham and Fairley, 1984). The home-range of cattle was lower than that of feral goats and measured 7.8km2. The analysis of diet showed that both cattle and feral goats included high percentages of grass in their diet. The high usage of grasses by feral goats in the BNP is a result which has not been reported in many other studies. Forage selectivity analysis of the dietary results pointed to overlap in terms of species and habitats targeted by cattle and goats and this overlap could be taken to indicate competition for resources. Two sets of Exclosures and their respective Controls were surveyed 16 years after their establishment on Mullagh Mor mountain using the original point quadrat method, with the aim of elucidating the effects of cattle and feral goat grazing on the Burren vegetation. Overall, a general decline in species diversity was noted in both the Exclosures and Controls and also in the resurvey of non-permanent quadrats from three previous studies in the BNP. Potentially a number of factors may be responsible for this trend, including changes in the management of the BNP, such as the removal of the majority of feral goats in 1994, and potentially climatic, and other changes, to the environment of the BNP. Similarly, the survey of the invertebrate population in the Exclosures and Controls, with the exception f some significant differences in 1996, did not provide conclusive results of differences in numbers and abundances of taxa between the Exclosures or Controls. However, the data did indicate that there was a difference between the Upper and Lower areas where they are situated. It was concluded from these results that grazing by cattle are feral goats is producing an effect on the Burren vegetation, but the simplistic relationship between grazing and control of Burren vegetation as has been postulated in the past cannot be extrapolated from the present results.