Dzhapova V.V., Bembeeva O.G.,  Ayusheva E.Ch.,  Kazmin V.D.,  Dzhapova R.R.,  Abaturov B.D. FODDER SELECTIVITY OF SEMI-FREE BISON (BISON BISON) IN THE TURF-GRASS STEPPE OF THE WESTERN MANYCH VALLEY // Arid ecosystems. 2020. V. 26. № 4 (85). P. 59-65. | PDF

Materials about the composition of forage plants in the diet of bison were obtained during the summer and autumn seasons of 2018 in an aviary on the territory of the protected zone of the reserve «Rostov». The described territory is located in the sod-grass steppe of the Western Manych river valley. Data on the seasonal dynamics of the composition of forage plants in the bison diet were obtained by applying the method of cuticular microscopic analysis of excrements. For species identification of Botanical fragments from excreta, an electronic database of the reference cuticle structure of species that make up the floristic richness of bison pastures was created. In the summer diet of bison, the share of cereals is 64%, and in the autumn-84%. The selectivity index (SI) for grains was 2.1 in summer and 4.3 in the autumn, for forbs in summer – 0.5, and in the autumn has dropped to 0.2. The magnitude of the SI depends not only on the taste preferences of the animals, but also on the abundance of the species in the aboveground mass of grass pastures, and the phase of plant growth.

Keywords: diet composition, aboveground phytomass, selectivity of food.

DOI: 10.24411/1993-3916-2020-10119