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Foraging behaviour and diet composition of bushbuck ( Tragelaphus scriptus Pallas, 1766) in Queen Elizabeth National Park, western Uganda
Author(s) -
Apio Ann,
Wronski Torsten
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
african journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.499
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1365-2028
pISSN - 0141-6707
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2005.00576.x
Subject(s) - foraging , biology , ecology , queen (butterfly) , shrub , optimal foraging theory , hymenoptera
The foraging behaviour and food selection of bushbuck ( Tragelaphus scriptus ) were studied in the Queen Elizabeth National Park, western Uganda. Forty‐three plant species were consumed by bushbuck, consisting of two tree, eight shrub, eighteen perennial woody herb, thirteen annual non‐woody herb and two climbing herb species. No significant seasonal variation in time allocated to feeding and performing miscellaneous activities per unit distance covered whilst foraging was recorded. This suggests that major plant species for foraging were available to the animals in sufficient quantities in both seasons. However, there were seasonal changes in the proportions of different plant species in the diet, although none of these dissimilarities was significant. Males spent insignificantly more time feeding than females. Bite size, established for major food plant species, was inversely related to bite rate and discussed in terms of plant‐part selection. The study also compared foraging behaviour of bushbuck observed between 1974 and 1976 (Okiria, 1980, African Journal of Ecology, 18 , 11–17) with that today and discusses it in the light of changes in vegetation observed over the last 35 years in the study area.