Foraging Behavior: Managing to Survive in a World of Change
This 62-page booklet produced for NRCS is filled with information and case studies about grazing animals and forage resource management. We also have a companion DVD. Both the DVD and the book are $10 each and can be ordered by contacting Rae Ann Hart raeann.hart@usu.edu. The book can also be viewed or downloaded in PDF format (below).
Section 1: The Challenge (pdf)
Detecting nutrients · Minimizing ingestion of toxins · Physical attributes of plants · Food on the move · Animals on the move · People on the move
Section 2: Origins of Preference (pdf)
Goats and blackbrush · The importance of experience to production · Mother knows best · The peer group · Meeting the challenge · Advantages of social learning · Unfamiliar environments · Unfamiliar terrain for herbivores and managers · Easing transitions for herbivores and managers · A load of hay · The adaptation trough
Section 3: More than a Matter of Taste (pdf)
Palatability is more than a matter of taste · The wisdom of the body · Changes in palatability are automatic · Excesses and deficits · All forages are not created equal · Nutritional state · Interactions between nutrients and toxins · Helping weed eaters
Section 4: The Spice of Life (pdf)
Variety of theories · Looking over clover · Why animals search for variety · Herding sheep · Variation among individuals · Confined and constrained
If it ain't broke don't fix it · Necessity is the mother of invention · The hazards of exploring new environments · Correcting nutritional deficits · The carnivorous herbivore · Cycles of behavior
Section 6: Old Dogs, New Tricks (pdf)
Two hands clapping · Reinforcement and punishment · Consequences depend on nature and nurture · Using behavior to manage for ecological, cultural, and economic integrity · Skin and gut defenses · Teaching herbivores about toxic foods · Creating cultures that enhance biodiversity · Grazing sagebrush-steppe · Boom-bust management · Culture, social organization, and grazing management