加纳热带自然保护区内反刍动物与非反刍动物对生境斑块利用的变化（英文）

食草动物处理和消耗食物受单位时间内饲料质量和数量有效性的不同影响。异速反应理论被认为是食草动物觅食栖息地选择的重要决定因素,并已经被广泛应用于不同体型的食草动物研究。但其在解释不同消化生理和体型的食草动物如何利用生境斑块方面尚不明确。本研究通过整合河马（河马科，大型非反刍动物）和牛（反刍动物）的觅食关系，揭示了不同消化生理和体型的食草动物对生境斑块的应用。整个雨季和旱季，通过在加纳的Bui国家公园布设的48块100 m×100 m的样方来分析物种密度降低与环境变量之间的显著关系。结果表明，雨季河马和牛更倾向于利用靠近河流的区域，但河马在旱季会选择远离河流的地区觅食。草地的高度也决定了这两个物种对草地的利用，河马选择使用更矮的草地。分析食物的质量可知，食物氮含量对反刍动物（牛）的斑块选择有显著影响。然而，酸性清洁纤维含量则与非反刍动物（河马）呈正相关。在Bui国家公园，草地高度和食物质量对斑块使用的高季节性影响主要是由河马和牛的消化生理和体型不同所决定。

Variations in Patch Use by Ruminant and Non-ruminant Herbivores in a Tropical Wildlife Reserve,Ghana

Food processing and consumption by herbivores are affected differently by the availability of forage quality and quantity per unit of time. This demonstrates the “Allometric response concept”, and it is considered a significant determinant in habitat use for foraging by grazers. The relevance of this approach has comprehensively been applied to herbivores of different body sizes, but little is known about its demonstration to explain patch use in herbivores with different digestive physiology and body size. We explain the use of patches by grazing herbivores of different digestive physiology and body sizes, Hippopotamus amphibius (hippopotamus, mega non-ruminant) and cattle (ruminant), by integrating foraging relationship herbivores. We analysed the significant relationships between species dropping densities and environmental variables across forty-eight 100 m×100 m plots in Bui National Park, Ghana, during the wet and dry seasons. We found that both species utilised areas closer to the river in the wet season, but the H. amphibius foraged further away from the river during the dry season. Sward height also determined patch use by both species, with the H. amphibius utilising shorter swards than the cattle. Considering the quality of food resources, the study revealed that patch selection of ruminants (cattle) was significantly influenced by nitrogen content. In contrast, acidic detergent fibre content was positively related to non-ruminant species (H. amphibius). The high seasonal effect of sward height and food quality on patch use is primarily due to the species digestive physiology and body size of hippopotamus and cattle at the Bui National Park.