Goat preference for Prosopis caldenia and Prosopis flexuosa

Prosopis caldenia and P. flexuosa are native woody plants in central Argentina. Circumstantial observations have shown that goats consistently select the first species and avoid the latter. The present study was designed to compare preference of goats for old and new branches of both species under c...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Pisani, Jorge Marcelo, Didone, Nilda Graciela, Distel, Roberto Alejandro
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2001
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/27604
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/27604
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Goat Preference
Diet Selection
Prosopis Caldenia
Prosopis Flexuosa
Semi Arid Shrublands
Argentina
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Descripción
Sumario:Prosopis caldenia and P. flexuosa are native woody plants in central Argentina. Circumstantial observations have shown that goats consistently select the first species and avoid the latter. The present study was designed to compare preference of goats for old and new branches of both species under controlled conditions. We ran choice tests that paired old and new branches of P. caldenia and P. flexuosa in all possible binary combinations. For each option a preference index was calculated by dividing the number of bites on the particular option by the total number of bites on both options. Goats showed the following preference order: old branches of P. caldenia>new branches of P. caldenia>old branches of P. flexuosa=new branches of P. flexuosa. Goat preference was positively correlated with total phenols and condensed tannins, whereas it was negatively correlated with neutral detergent fibre.