The Effect of Quantitative Variables of Forage Vegetation on the Structure of Ruminant Guilds

Sheremet'ev I.S.

В журнале Russian Journal of Ecology

Год: 2009 Том: 40 Номер: 5 Страницы: 336-341

An interrelation between the structure of ruminant guilds and forage species structure depend on food consumption/supply proportion. The success in competition is determined not only by adaptive advantages of consumer species but also by their specific food benefits, which root in habitat vegetation structure. It is proposed that consumer coexistence in the chronologically former guilds is rather neutral for lack of considerable benefits and advantages. Inversely, some species of further guilds are able to dominate others using adaptive advantages more than food benefits of pastures. Resource shortage and competition in consumer guilds may be an indicator of community transformation or at least feature of guild novelty

DOI 10.1134/S1067413609050051