Abstract
Merino sheep grazing annual pasture at the beginning of the growing season when the amount of herbage on offer was small, preferred to graze Wimmera ryegrass Lolium rigidum or subterranean clover Trifolium subterraneum rather than capeweed Arctotheca calendula, and Erodium botrys was avoided completely. Behaviour observations showed that capeweed plants were usually avoided. When the plants were grasped they were sometimes pulled up by the roots and then dropped so that the number of capeweed plants in the pasture declined. Supplementation with oats reduced grass intake. Harvesting behaviour changed with pasture conditions: as grass height declined in the pasture, the rates of biting, stepping and head swinging increased. Pasture measurements showed that, whilst capeweed plants continued to increase in height during grazing, as did ungrazed controls, ryegrass and clover plants decreased or remained short. Herbage dry matter increased in all species, owing especially to basal growth. The proportion of shoots and petioles which were erect increased in ungrazed plants, but the proportion which were prostrate was much greater in grazed plants. Individual plants adapted their growth form in a way which counteracted the depredations of grazers. The ecological implications of these findings are important. Firstly, the sheep were not foraging optimally in terms of maximising rate of intake, since two abundant species were largely ignored even though food availability was low. Secondly, because of their selectivity the sheep were giving the capeweed and Erodium a competitive advantage which, in these pastures, will persist through the growing season.
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Claims 15
Claim · model-written summary
Sheep preferred to graze Lolium rigidum rather than Arctotheca calendula at low herbage availability.
- Taxon
- Lolium rigidum
Lolium rigidume0 - Interactor
- Merino sheepe0herbivore
- Outcome
- preferred to grazee0
- Direction
- preferrede0
- Qualifier
- when the amount of herbage on offer was smalle0
- Comparator
- capeweed Arctotheca calendulae0
- Setting
- annual pasturee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Merino sheep grazing annual pasture at the beginning of the growing season when the amount of herbage on offer was small, preferred to graze Wimmera ryegrass Lolium rigidum or subterranean clover Trifolium subterraneum rather than capeweed Arctotheca calendula, and Erodium botrys was avoided completely”
Claim · model-written summary
Sheep preferred to graze Trifolium subterraneum rather than Arctotheca calendula at low herbage availability.
- Taxon
- Trifolium subterraneum
Trifolium subterraneume0 - Interactor
- Merino sheepe0herbivore
- Outcome
- preferred to grazee0
- Direction
- preferrede0
- Qualifier
- when the amount of herbage on offer was smalle0
- Comparator
- capeweed Arctotheca calendulae0
- Setting
- annual pasturee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Merino sheep grazing annual pasture at the beginning of the growing season when the amount of herbage on offer was small, preferred to graze Wimmera ryegrass Lolium rigidum or subterranean clover Trifolium subterraneum rather than capeweed Arctotheca calendula, and Erodium botrys was avoided completely”
Claim · model-written summary
Sheep avoided Erodium botrys completely at low herbage availability.
- Taxon
- Erodium botrys
Erodium botryse0 - Interactor
- Merino sheepe0herbivore
- Outcome
- avoided completelye0
- Direction
- avoidede0
- Setting
- annual pasturee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Merino sheep grazing annual pasture at the beginning of the growing season when the amount of herbage on offer was small, preferred to graze Wimmera ryegrass Lolium rigidum or subterranean clover Trifolium subterraneum rather than capeweed Arctotheca calendula, and Erodium botrys was avoided completely”
Claim · model-written summary
Capeweed plants were usually avoided by sheep.
- Taxon
- capeweed plants
Arctotheca calendulae1 - Interactor
- Merino sheepe0herbivore
- Outcome
- usually avoidede1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Merino sheep grazing annual pasture”
e1“Behaviour observations showed that capeweed plants were usually avoided”
Claim · model-written summary
Supplementation with oats reduced grass intake by sheep.
- Taxon
- grasse2
- Treatment
- Supplementation with oatse2
- Interactor
- Merino sheepe0herbivore
- Outcome
- grass intakee2
- Direction
- reducede2
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Merino sheep grazing annual pasture”
e2“Supplementation with oats reduced grass intake”
Claim · model-written summary
Sheep biting, stepping and head swinging rates increased as grass height declined in the pasture.
Verbatim
e0“Merino sheep grazing annual pasture”
e3“Harvesting behaviour changed with pasture conditions: as grass height declined in the pasture, the rates of biting, stepping and head swinging increased”
Claim · model-written summary
Capeweed height continued to increase during grazing, as in ungrazed controls.
- Taxon
- capeweed plantsArctotheca calendulae4
- Treatment
- grazinge4
- Outcome
- heighte4
- Direction
- increasee4
- Comparator
- ungrazed controlse4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“whilst capeweed plants continued to increase in height during grazing, as did ungrazed controls, ryegrass and clover plants decreased or remained short”
Claim · model-written summary
Ryegrass and clover plants decreased or remained short in height during grazing.
Trifolium
LoliumNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“whilst capeweed plants continued to increase in height during grazing, as did ungrazed controls, ryegrass and clover plants decreased or remained short”
Claim · model-written summary
Herbage dry matter increased in all pasture species, owing especially to basal growth.
Verbatim
e5“Herbage dry matter increased in all species, owing especially to basal growth”
Claim · model-written summary
The proportion of erect shoots and petioles increased in ungrazed plants.
Verbatim
t0“Selection by grazing sheep of pasture plants at low herbage availability and responses of the plants to grazing”
e6“The proportion of shoots and petioles which were erect increased in ungrazed plants”
Claim · model-written summary
The proportion of prostrate shoots and petioles was much greater in grazed plants.
Verbatim
t0“Selection by grazing sheep of pasture plants at low herbage availability and responses of the plants to grazing”
e6“The proportion of shoots and petioles which were erect increased in ungrazed plants, but the proportion which were prostrate was much greater in grazed plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Individual plants adapted their growth form to counteract the depredations of grazers.
Verbatim
e7“Individual plants adapted their growth form in a way which counteracted the depredations of grazers”
Claim · model-written summary
Sheep did not forage optimally for maximal intake rate because two abundant species were largely ignored when food availability was low.
- Taxon
- pasture plantst0
- Interactor
- sheep
Ovis ariese0herbivore - Outcome
- rate of intakee0
- Qualifier
- since two abundant species were largely ignored even though food availability was lowe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Selection by grazing sheep of pasture plants at low herbage availability and responses of the plants to grazing”
e0“Firstly, the sheep were not foraging optimally in terms of maximising rate of intake, since two abundant species were largely ignored even though food availability was low”
Claim · model-written summary
Because of their selectivity, sheep gave capeweed a competitive advantage that will persist through the growing season.
- Taxon
- capeweedArctotheca calendulae1
- Treatment
- selectivitye1
- Interactor
- sheepOvis ariese1herbivore
- Outcome
- competitive advantagee1
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“because of their selectivity the sheep were giving the capeweed and Erodium a competitive advantage which, in these pastures, will persist through the growing season”
Claim · model-written summary
Because of their selectivity, sheep gave Erodium a competitive advantage that will persist through the growing season.
- Treatment
- selectivitye1
- Interactor
- sheepOvis ariese1herbivore
- Outcome
- competitive advantagee1
ErodiumNot reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“because of their selectivity the sheep were giving the capeweed and Erodium a competitive advantage which, in these pastures, will persist through the growing season”