Activity and behavior patterns of cattle, horses, and sheep grazing in mountainous areas using geolocation collars

The sustainability of extensive livestock systems is compromised. It is necessary to enhance our understanding of the activity and grazing behavior of different livestock species (cows, horses, and sheep) sharing the same mountainous areas. Nowadays, the observation and analysis of animal activity i...

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Autores: Vidal-Cardos, Roger, Fàbrega-Romans, Emma, DALMAU, ANTONI
Tipo de documento: artigo
Data de publicação:2025
País:España
Recursos:Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA)
Repositório:IRTA Pubpro. Open Digital Archive
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:irtapubpro__::f714490d5aa4c3ed71d18b09a7f2f9da
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12327/4834
https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf318
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:636
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spelling Activity and behavior patterns of cattle, horses, and sheep grazing in mountainous areas using geolocation collarsVidal-Cardos, RogerFàbrega-Romans, EmmaDALMAU, ANTONI636The sustainability of extensive livestock systems is compromised. It is necessary to enhance our understanding of the activity and grazing behavior of different livestock species (cows, horses, and sheep) sharing the same mountainous areas. Nowadays, the observation and analysis of animal activity is greatly facilitated by remote tracking technology, especially in zones with difficult access. In this article, we proved that commercial geolocation collars can provide meaningful data on animal activity, behavior, and distribution, which can be used to model daily distances, activity patterns, grazing behavior, daily home range, and herd dispersal. Results revealed significant differences in activity between species, influenced by the season, altitude, and shepherding practices. Sheep traveled longer daily distances (2.85 km/d) and grazed at higher altitudes than cattle (1.68 km/d) and horses (1.65 km/d), aligning with their specific dietary requirements. Seasonal transhumance and summer conditions also influenced grazing patterns, with peak activity in June and higher altitudes in summer. Cows exhibited a bimodal daily activity pattern, while horses and sheep grazed more consistently throughout the day. Herd dispersal varied by species and season, with cows and horses less dispersed early in the grazing season due to abundant resources. Weather had minimal daily impact, though drier springs in 2022 and 2023 led to increased distances and home range sizes across all species, reflecting stress to find food. Individual variability accounted for much of the observed differences, underscoring the importance of considering individual-specific behaviors in grazing management. These findings highlight the need for species- and herd-customized strategies to promote sustainable livestock management in mountainous rangelands.We would like to thank the farmers and animals that participated in the study. The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This project was funded by the “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación” of Spain, under the program for Ecological and Digital Transformation within the Spanish Plan for Transformation and Resilience and using Next Generation Funds of the EU (TED2021-129315B-C21). The first author of this paper has a PhD grant from the “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.”info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionOxford University PressProducció AnimalBenestar Animal202520252025info:eu-repo/semantics/article12application/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12327/4834https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf318reponame:IRTA Pubpro. Open Digital Archiveinstname:Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA)InglésJournal of Animal ScienceMICINN/Programa Estatal para impulsar la investigación cientifico-técnica y su transferencia/TED2021-129315B-C21/ES/Integration of animal welfare into the digital evolution of livestock farming/SMARTWELGRAZAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:dnet:irtapubpro__::f714490d5aa4c3ed71d18b09a7f2f9da2026-06-16T08:51:17Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Activity and behavior patterns of cattle, horses, and sheep grazing in mountainous areas using geolocation collars
title Activity and behavior patterns of cattle, horses, and sheep grazing in mountainous areas using geolocation collars
spellingShingle Activity and behavior patterns of cattle, horses, and sheep grazing in mountainous areas using geolocation collars
Vidal-Cardos, Roger
636
title_short Activity and behavior patterns of cattle, horses, and sheep grazing in mountainous areas using geolocation collars
title_full Activity and behavior patterns of cattle, horses, and sheep grazing in mountainous areas using geolocation collars
title_fullStr Activity and behavior patterns of cattle, horses, and sheep grazing in mountainous areas using geolocation collars
title_full_unstemmed Activity and behavior patterns of cattle, horses, and sheep grazing in mountainous areas using geolocation collars
title_sort Activity and behavior patterns of cattle, horses, and sheep grazing in mountainous areas using geolocation collars
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Vidal-Cardos, Roger
Fàbrega-Romans, Emma
DALMAU, ANTONI
author Vidal-Cardos, Roger
author_facet Vidal-Cardos, Roger
Fàbrega-Romans, Emma
DALMAU, ANTONI
author_role author
author2 Fàbrega-Romans, Emma
DALMAU, ANTONI
author2_role author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Producció Animal
Benestar Animal
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv 636
topic 636
description The sustainability of extensive livestock systems is compromised. It is necessary to enhance our understanding of the activity and grazing behavior of different livestock species (cows, horses, and sheep) sharing the same mountainous areas. Nowadays, the observation and analysis of animal activity is greatly facilitated by remote tracking technology, especially in zones with difficult access. In this article, we proved that commercial geolocation collars can provide meaningful data on animal activity, behavior, and distribution, which can be used to model daily distances, activity patterns, grazing behavior, daily home range, and herd dispersal. Results revealed significant differences in activity between species, influenced by the season, altitude, and shepherding practices. Sheep traveled longer daily distances (2.85 km/d) and grazed at higher altitudes than cattle (1.68 km/d) and horses (1.65 km/d), aligning with their specific dietary requirements. Seasonal transhumance and summer conditions also influenced grazing patterns, with peak activity in June and higher altitudes in summer. Cows exhibited a bimodal daily activity pattern, while horses and sheep grazed more consistently throughout the day. Herd dispersal varied by species and season, with cows and horses less dispersed early in the grazing season due to abundant resources. Weather had minimal daily impact, though drier springs in 2022 and 2023 led to increased distances and home range sizes across all species, reflecting stress to find food. Individual variability accounted for much of the observed differences, underscoring the importance of considering individual-specific behaviors in grazing management. These findings highlight the need for species- and herd-customized strategies to promote sustainable livestock management in mountainous rangelands.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2025
2025
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12327/4834
https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf318
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12327/4834
https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skaf318
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Journal of Animal Science
MICINN/Programa Estatal para impulsar la investigación cientifico-técnica y su transferencia/TED2021-129315B-C21/ES/Integration of animal welfare into the digital evolution of livestock farming/SMARTWELGRAZ
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv 12
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Oxford University Press
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Oxford University Press
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:IRTA Pubpro. Open Digital Archive
instname:Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA)
instname_str Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA)
reponame_str IRTA Pubpro. Open Digital Archive
collection IRTA Pubpro. Open Digital Archive
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15,811543

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