Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 April 2021 | 13(5): 18132–18140
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6228.13.5.18132-18140
#6228 | Received 08 May 2020 | Final received
14 December 2020 | Finally accepted 23 March 2021
Feeding ecology of Walia Ibex Capra walie (Mammalia: Artiodactyla:
Bovidae) in Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
D. Ejigu 1, A. Bekele 2 & L. Powell
3
1Department of
Biology, College of Science, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia.
2Deprtment of
Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
3School of Natural
Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Neraska,
USA.
1 dessalegn_ejigu@yahoo.com
(corresponding author), 2 afeworksimegn@gmail.com, 3 lpowell3@unl.edu
Editor: David Mallon,
Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. Date of publication: 26 April
2021 (online & print)
Citation: Ejigu,
D., A. Bekele & L. Powell (2021). Feeding ecology of Walia Ibex Capra walie
(Mammalia: Artiodactyla: Bovidae)
in Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. Journal of Threatened
Taxa 13(5): 18132–18140. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6228.13.5.18132-18140
Copyright: © Ejigu et al. 2021. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: Bahir Dar University, Addis Ababa University, CEPA, the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Chicago Zoological
Society, and Lleida University.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Author details: D. Ejigu is an Associate
Professor in the Department of Biology at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia.
Currently he has actively involved in teaching and research. He participated in curriculum development and
various other community services. He advised postgraduate students, and
published 20 articles in reputable journals. His areas of research interest
include animal ecology, conservation biology, and systematic zoology. A.
Bekele is an Emeritus Professor of Animal Ecology, Department of
Zoological Sciences at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He advised more than
112 MSc and 56 PhD students, and recognized as a timeless scientist by his
former graduate students in 2017. He published two books and 336 articles in
reputable journals. L. Powell is a Professor of Conservation
Biology in the School of Natural Resources at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, USA. His research focuses on landscape dynamics, animal
demography, conservation biology and management. He is the author of a
textbook, Principles for Management of Fisheries and Wildlife: the Manager as
Decision-maker.
Author contribution: DE involved in
research proposal preparation, design of the research, data collection, data
organization, data analysis, and write up of the manuscript. AB participated in
design of the research, supervision of data collection, data analysis, and
manuscript preparation. LP contributed
in data analysis, location map preparation, and manuscript preparation.
Acknowledgements: We thank the field
assistants and park scouts in the SMNP for their great help during data
collection period. The first author is
greatly indebted to Bahir Dar University, Addis Ababa University, CEPA, the
Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Chicago Zoological Society, and
Lleida University for providing research funds.
Abstract: Walia Ibex Capra walie is an endemic and endangered species residing in
Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia.
It has shifted its range within the Park in the last decade, and in this
study our main objective was to provide information on their feeding ecology to
inform recovery goals. We used a scan
sampling method to collect foraging information during October 2009 to November
2011. Our observations suggest a diverse
diet of more than 28 species of grasses, forbs, and shrubs. The most commonly used plants were
Festuca sp., Lobelia rhynchopetalum, Helichrysum citrispinum,
and Helichrysum horridum. Walia Ibex were
active in feeding before and after mid-day, and time spent feeding was the
highest compared with other diurnal activities.
The percentage of time spent feeding on major plant species did not
differ between wet and dry seasons (p> 0.05). Walia Ibex,
however, tended to spend more time browsing than grazing. The generalist nature of foraging behaviour
in Walia Ibex most likely contributes to complaints
from the local people who witness Walia Ibex raiding
crops cultivated in and around the Park.
Thus, the contribution of crop raiding to the shifts in the species’
range towards higher altitudes at Sebatminch within
Simien Mountains National Park emphasizes the need to consider foraging ecology
as community-based conservation efforts are developed to support Walia Ibex in the Park.
Keywords: Endemic,
Festuca sp., Lobelia rhynchopetalum, scan
sampling.
INTRODUCTION
Walia
Ibex (Capra walie Ruüppell,
1835) is an endemic and endangered species (Gebremedhin et al. 2009; IUCN 2021)
confined to Simien Mountains National Park,
Ethiopia. The fascinating behaviour of
this species of wild goat and its physical stature has led it to be used as a
flagship species for Ethiopia. Walia Ibex is the only ibex species in Ethiopia (Nievergelt 1981; Last 1982; Haltenorth
& Diller 1993), and is believed to have dispersed from the Middle
East 26,000 to 14,000 years ago (Nievergelt
1981). Biologists have classified Walia Ibex as a generalist herbivore, as it obtains food
through grazing and browsing, and the species is known to forage on grasses,
herbs, shrubs, bushes, creepers, and lichens (Massicot
2001). Such mixed feeding behaviour is
also observed in other ibex species such as the Iberian Ibex Capra pyrenaica (Accevedo & Cassinello 2009).
One
of the current threats to walia ibex is conflict with
livestock within Simien Mountains National Park. Livestock grazing in shared habitats may
cause lower survival for offspring and therefore lower population growth (Namgail 2006). The
problem of overgrazing of wildlife habitats is especially critical for female
wildlife species using lower quality habitat areas, especially during the early
lactation period (Ruttiman et al. 2008).
Indeed,
the presence of livestock in the Iberian ibex habitat has a negative effect on
its relative abundance and distribution, causing ibex to select poor habitats (Pelayo et al. 2007).
Large areas of suitable habitats in Simien Mountains National Park have
been abandoned as Walia Ibex retreated to the most
inaccessible and steepest parts of the park (Hurni
& Ludi 2000; Ejigu et
al. 2015). The shift in range has
occurred because the original Walia Ibex habitats
have been modified by intensive human activities for various uses. Generally, ibexes prefer areas with steep
slope and cliffs and avoid grasslands and flat hillsides (Feng et al. 2007);
these realized preferences can be observed in Simien Mountains National Park,
where the original habitats of Walia Ibex, especially
in the central region of the park near Gich (Figure
1), have been occupied by livestock. As
a result, the Walia Ibex population is now restricted
to relatively inaccessible habitats within gorges and escarpments towards the
eastern and southeastern parts of the Park (Hurni & Ludi 2000; Ejigu et al. 2015).
Although
the range shift of Walia Ibex has been observed (Ejigu et al. 2015), biologists lack information on foraging
and the feeding ecology to determine if the range shifts have pushed ibex into
regions that are not able to provide resources to sustain the population in the
future. Recovery goals and conservation
planning require information on foraging and diet. Thus, the main objective of this research was
to study feeding ecology of walia to determine the
level of specificity of diet and to identify the major plant species consumed
by the species to design appropriate conservation measures.
MATERIALS
AND METHODS
Description of the study area
The
study was carried out in Simien Mountains National Park (SMNP), which is
located in the Amhara National Regional State of Ethiopia in the North Gondar
Administrative Zone (37.857–38.491 0E & 13.112–13.386 0N),
about 865km north of Addis Ababa and 132km north-east of Gondar Town. The foraging study was part of a larger
assessment of the habitat selection and range shift of the species (Ejigu et al. 2015).
SMNP
includes broad undulating plateaux and the highest mountain of Ethiopia, Ras Dejen (4,620m), which is also the fourth highest mountain
in Africa (Puff & Nemomissa 2001, 2005). It is an area of high summits with unique
land features in the Horn of Africa. The
mountains symbolize an area of the extreme Ethiopian highlands (Hurni & Ludi 2000). Prior to the 1960s, the area had been used as
a controlled hunting area, and was regarded as a royal hunting ground (Falch & Keiner 2000). During its establishment, SMNP was the
smallest park in the country with an area of only 136km2 (Hurni & Ludi 2000) but has
been enlarged to 412km2 (Anonymous 2009) (Fig. 1).
The
main rainy season in SMNP lasts from the end of June to September, while the
dry season encompasses December to April.
Rainfall shows significant variation across different altitudes with a
maximum at about 3,500m (Puff & Nemomissa
2005). Thus, annual rainfall in Simien
Mountains varies from 1,000mm in the lowlands to 1,500mm in the highlands (Hurni & Ludi 2000). Meteorological data obtained from National
Meteorological Agency shows that the 10-year (2000–2009) mean annual rainfall
of SMNP was 1,054mm.
Ground
frost commonly occurs at night during the dry season, especially in February
and April. The area shows variation in
mean annual minimum and maximum temperatures.
As described by Hurni (1982), the mean annual
temperature at Gich is 7.7oC, which is
often accompanied by dry winds during the daytime. At night, however, the area experiences
temperature variations ranging from +2oC to -10oC. The 10-year (2000–2009) mean annual minimum
and maximum temperature data were 8.6oC and 19.9oC,
respectively. Despite fluctuations in
daily temperatures, seasonal variations in temperature are minimal due to
Ethiopia’s proximity to the equator (Nievergelt,
1990). As a result, variations in
diurnal temperature far exceed seasonal ones.
According
to Puff & Nemomissa (2001), approximately 550
taxa of flowering plants grouped into over 95 families and 319 genera are known
from Simien Mountains. Habitat types
mainly consist of a mixture of Afro-alpine woods, heath forest, high mountain
vegetation, montane savannah and montane moorland (Hurni
& Ludi 2000).
Common species include Erica arborea, Lobelia
rhynchopetalum, Hypericum revolutum,
Rosa abyssinica, Helichrysum
sp., and Solanum sp. (Anonymous 2009).
With
its unique landscape and magnificent scenery, the Park supports some of
Ethiopia’s most important endemic mammals in addition to the Walia Ibex, such as the Ethiopian Wolf Canis
simensis and the Gelada Baboon Theropithecus gelada. Thus, the unique flora and fauna and its
remarkable landscape make the Park a natural priority for conservation and
centre of endemism in eastern Africa (Hurni & Ludi 2000).
At
least 20 large and 14 small mammal species reside in the Park (UNESCO
2001). Large herbivores including
Menelik’s Bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus meneliki, Grimm’s
Duiker Sylvicapra grimmia,
Klipspringer Oreotragus oreotragus
occur commonly in the park and are considered to be wild competetors
with Walia Ibex (Anonymous 2009).
Field
methods
Data
on feeding ecology in Walia Ibex were collected for
15 days every other month from October 2009 to November 2011, including both
the wet and dry seasons (Images 1–6).
Dietary data for a herd of ibex were collected using the scan sampling
method (Pellew 1984) with binoculars or telescope
within five-minute intervals (Altman 1974), and individuals from the herd were
selected randomly to start scanning (Wallace 2006). We observed each individual for 10 seconds to
determine the species of plant eaten, and we observed a different animal until
all animals in the herd had been sampled, following Toit & Yetman (2005). Each
scan of the herd took approximately five minutes to complete, and each
individual was observed from five to ten seconds after being detected.
Our
sampling was designed to match the foraging patterns of Walia
Ibex. Capra species, like other
large herbivores, show a diurnal activity pattern of two distinct peaks of
feeding and moving (Hess 2002). Thus, Walia Ibex is crepuscular, active for feeding and moving
early in the morning and late in the afternoon, and resting on rocks and cliffs
during the mid-day. At noon, they become
inactive and tend to remain in the shade to protect themselves from hot sun and
predators (Dunbar 1978; Ejigu et al. 2020). Therefore, herds were located early in the
morning and followed until late in the afternoon to identify their important
food sources.
The
scan sampling method involves observing the individual for a five-minute
session broken in the following way; observe on the focal animal for 10
seconds, mark its location, then the next focal animal for 10 seconds and so on
for the entire herd. We collected the
following information during scan sampling: date, time, location, age, and sex
of the animal (Ruckstuhl 1998; Namgail
2006). We also identified and recorded
the plant species on which Walia Ibex foraged, and we
validated our observations with samples collected and identified after the herd
had moved from the sampling location as adopted from Kaplin
& Moermond (2000) and Gad & Shyama
(2009). Due to difficulties in
identification at a distance, we lumped related grass species together (Dankwa-Wiredu & Euler 2002). We quantified the time spent feeding on
different plant species to calculate the proportion of time spent on each
plant. Diet selection was determined
from the relative proportions of the number of scans spent feeding on different
plant species. We collected and pressed
plants that could not be identified in the field and took to the National
Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, for identification using the herbarium
samples.
Analysis methods
We
described the time spent foraging on different plants with proportions, and we
used Chi-square tests to evaluate differences in time spent foraging on species
among age and sex classes of Walia Ibex. Statistical tests were two-tailed (α = 0.05),
and the data were analysed using SPSS software version 16.0 (SPSS Inc.
Chicago).
RESULTS
A
total of 7,387 feeding bouts were recorded during scan sampling of Walia Ibex. Our
samples were evenly divided between the wet season (50.5% of bouts, n= 3,728)
and the dry season (49.5%, n= 3,659).
When time spent feeding on the four major food plants species was
compared, Walia Ibex spent more time foraging on Festuca
sp. during the wet season (37.2% of bouts, n= 1,387) than in the dry season
(22.2%, n= 813; c2= 3.81, p= 0.051). Moreover, the percentage of time spent
foraging on three other main plant species did not differ between seasons (Lobelia
rhynchopetalum, wet: 20.3%, n= 757, dry: 17.8%,
n= 651, p= 0.423; Helichrysum citrispinum, wet: 17.1%, n= 638, dry: 22.3%, n= 815, p=
0.746; Helichrysum horridum,
wet: 10.3%, n= 383, dry: 19.3%, n= 705, p= 0.095).
Although
70–80 % of their diet was from the four main plant species (Festuca sp.,
Lobelia rhynchopetalum, Helichrysum
citrispinum and Helichrysum
horridum), Walia Ibexes
were observed foraging on more than 23 and 28 plant species during the wet and
dry seasons, respectively (Tables 1, 2).
Walia
Ibex spent 38.0% (1416) and 22.9% (836) of time feeding on grasses, 9.6% (357)
and 12.2% (446) on herbs, 48.2% (1795) and 60.4% (2210) on shrubs and 3.7%
(137) and 4.1% (148) on trees during the wet and dry seasons, respectively
(Fig. 2). As foraging patterns did not
change between wet and dry seasons (p> 0.05), Walia
Ibex foraging behaviour reflected that of a generalized herbivore. During the wet season, Walia
Ibex spend similar time browsing and grazing, but it spent more time browsing
than grazing during the dry season (c2= 8.49, p<
0.05).
Adult
females spent 41.7% (wet season) and 22.7% (dry season) of feeding time
foraging on grasses, 27.6% & 14.7% on herbs, 24.6% & 56.6% on shrubs,
and 4.7% & 3.9% on trees. Adult
males spent 23.9% & 22.8% of feeding time foraging on grasses, 25.6% &
7.1% on herbs, 42.3% & 65.2% on shrubs, and 4.7% & 3.5% on trees during
the wet and dry seasons, respectively.
In sub-adults, yearlings and kids time spent feeding on different plants
during the wet and dry seasons is also as presented in figures (Figs. 3, 4)
below. Time spent feeding on grasses
between the wet and dry seasons showed significant differences only in
sub-adult males (c2= 9.60, df= 1, p<
0.05) and kids (c2= 8.45, df= 1, p<
0.05). Time spent feeding on herbs
between the wet and the dry seasons showed significant differences only in
adult females (c2= 3.93, df= 1, p<
0.05) and in sub-adult females (c2= 4.26, df=
1, p< 0.05), while time spent feeding on shrubs and trees in all age
classes of Walia Ibex indicated that they fed more on
shrubs and trees during the dry season than the wet season, and the difference
was statistically significant (p< 0.01).
Feeding
activities of Walia Ibex declined shortly during
08.00–10.00 h and increased after 10.00h during the wet season. Feeding reached its peak at around 11.00h and
declined slowly during 11.00–13.00 h, and increased again and reached a maximum
at 17.00h. During the dry season,
feeding activity decreased during 08.00–11.00 h and increased during 11.00–15.00
h, and then increased sharply up to 17.00h.
In the evening, however, it declined both during the wet and dry seasons
(Fig. 5). Nevertheless, feeding activity
between the wet and dry seasons did not show significant difference (c2=
0.01, df= 1, p> 0.05).
A
total of 18, 236 diurnal activities of Walia Ibex
were recorded during the entire study period.
Our sampling was evenly distributed between the wet season (51.6%, n=
9,407) and the dry season (48.4%, n= 8,829).
Feeding comprised 40.5% (7,387), moving 17.9% (3,261), standing 10.1%
(1,849), resting 23.5% (4,281), vigilance 1.6% (289), social activity 2.1%
(379), rutting 2.3% (414), and other activities 2.1% (376).
DISCUSSION
Walia
Ibexes were observed while foraging on more than 28 species of plants grouped
as grasses, forbs, and bushes & shrubs.
The most commonly foraged plants both during the wet and dry
seasons were Festuca sp., Lobelia rhynchopetalum,
Helichrysum citrispinum,
and Helichrysum horridum. Percentage of time spent feeding on major
plant species between the wet and dry seasons did not show significant
differences.
Walia
Ibex tended to spend more of their time browsing than grazing. As a general herbivore, Walia
Ibexes can graze and browse available forage to maximize their nutrient
requirements. In the afro-alpine
ecosystem of SMNP, the availability of above ground vegetation that has been
browsed by Walia Ibex decreases as the altitude
increases, and Walia Ibex must feed on grass at the
higher altitudes. Such ability to shift
in diet has allowed the Walia Ibex to respond to the
loss of forage at lower altitudes after livestock grazing. During the dry season, however, as the grass
becomes less palatable, the food habits of Walia Ibex
mainly depended on scarcely available shrubs.
Thus, they also tended to browse more during the dry season than the wet
season. Our findings were similar to
that reported by Dunbar (1978).
All
age classes of Walia Ibex tended to spend more time
foraging on grasses during the wet season than the dry season. Kids prefer fresh grass, and they spent more
time foraging on grasses than other types of plants. Fresh and more palatable grass is present
during the wet season, and kids responded to grass availability. In similar fashion, adult and sub-adult females
spent more time feeding on herbs during the wet season, because of the
availability of herbs during this season.
All age classes of walia ibex shifted to spend
more time feeding on shrubs and trees during the dry season when herbs and
grasses were less available. The ability
of Walia Ibex to shift to browsing during the dry
season allows them to utilize essential nutrients required for their survival.
Percentage
of time spent feeding in walia ibex was the highest
(40.5%) and vigilance the lowest (1.6%) behaviour compared with time spent for
its other diurnal activity patterns.
This result is consistent with previous results conducted on foraging
ecology of feral goats (Stronge et al. 1997). Although intense human and livestock
disturbances are common in habitats of walia ibex,
they appear to have adapted to human and livestock presence. Such low levels of
vigilance also suggest a low level of predators and poaching in our study area.
Feeding
behaviour in other Capra species was bimodal, with higher foraging
activity rates detected in the earliest and latest hours of the day (Dunbar
1978; Hess 2002; Accevedo & Cassinello
2009). Time spent feeding in walia ibex was higher after 10.00h and declined in the
mid-day. It increased gradually and
reached its peak late in the afternoon, and then declined again in the
evening. All age classes of ibex spent
the majority of their time feeding in both seasons. The similar proportions of time spent feeding
in wet and dry seasons are not unexpected in areas where there is minimal
variation in temperatures between seasons (Nievergelt
1981, 1990). An increase in feeding time
with decreasing food availability during the dry season, however, has been
observed for several African grazers (Own-Smith 1982).
Adult
Walia Ibex females tended to spend more time feeding
than adult males, which is also true in feral goats (Stronge
et al. 1997) and bighorn sheep (Ruckstuhl 1998). In ungulates, males require lower diet and
habitat quality than females (Mysterud 2000). Moreover, females would be expected to select
habitats that provide forage to maximize the ability to raise young because
nutrition can limit reproductive success (Mysterud
2000; Ruckstuhl & Neuhaus 2002; Accevedo & Cassinello 2009). Differences in diet are more pronounced in
dimorphic ungulates (Stronge et al. 1997). In Alpine Ibex, for example, adult males
spent only 8.5% of the time feeding and it is likely that they compensate such
reduced feeding times by foraging at night (Neuhaus & Ruckstuhl
2002). At our study site, a similar
scenario has been reported for male Walia Ibex that
raid crops at night. Time spent feeding
in sub-adult females and sub-adult males was higher compared to both adult
females and adult males as additional energy is required in these age classes
for their active growth and development.
As yearlings and kids are at the active stage of growth, more energy
should be required for various metabolic activities. Thus, they try to spend more time feeding than
time spent for other diurnal activities.
In
conclusion, the generalist approach to foraging may be a key factor in the
plasticity of Walia Ibex to adapt to anthropogenic
disturbances in the Park. Indeed, their
populations appear to be growing during the past decade (Ejigu
2013; Ejigu et al. 2013). The recovery of Walia
Ibex could be augmented in SMNP through management programs designed to improve
foraging habitats. The use of prescribed
fire or grass cutting by local residents would initiate the growth of fresh
grass used as forage by Walia Ibex and other
herbivore wildlife species of the park.
Certainly, avoiding livestock gazing in the
park would allow Walia Ibex to have access to more
feed and fodder. If food availability in
the park was sufficient, walia ibex would most likely
stay within the park, which would reduce conflict from crop raiding. Such prohibition of grazing within the park
will take careful work with local residents who consider the park to be a resource
for their livelihood. The results
obtained from feeding ecology of Walia Ibex serve to
guide and design appropriate conservation planning for this critical species in
Simien Mountains National Park.
Table 1. Plants
foraged by Walia Ibex during the wet season.
|
|
Scientific name |
Family |
Local name |
Habit |
feeding bouts |
% |
|
1 |
Festuca sp. |
Poaceae |
guassa |
grass |
1387 |
37.20 |
|
2 |
Lobelia rhynchopetalum |
Campanulaceae |
Jibra |
shrub |
757 |
20.31 |
|
3 |
Helichrysum citrispinum |
Asteraceae |
Yewaliashoh |
shrub |
638 |
17.11 |
|
4 |
Helichrysum horridum |
Asteraceae |
Tifrgina |
shrub |
383 |
10.27 |
|
5 |
Thymus schymperi |
Lamiaceae |
Tosign |
herb |
121 |
3.25 |
|
6 |
Alchemilla pedata |
Rosaceae |
Yayet joro |
herb |
109 |
2.92 |
|
7 |
Erica arborea |
Ericaceae |
wuchena |
tree |
101 |
2.71 |
|
8 |
Mosses & liver |
Grimmiaceae |
Yemeret shibet |
herb |
60 |
1.61 |
|
9 |
Usnea sp. |
Usneaceae |
Yezaf shibet |
herb |
42 |
1.13 |
|
10 |
Hypericum revolutum |
Hypericae |
Amja |
tree |
36 |
0.97 |
|
11 |
Carex erythrorhiza |
Cyperaceae |
Shefshefo |
grass |
24 |
0.64 |
|
12 |
Unidentified |
Unidentified |
Unidentified |
grass |
23 |
0.62 |
|
13 |
Unidentified |
Unidentified |
Yemidir wuchena |
herb |
15 |
0.40 |
|
14 |
Spermacoce sphaerostigma |
Rubiaceae |
Kesign |
shrub |
07 |
0.19 |
|
15 |
Globsis sp. |
Unidentified |
Unidentified |
shrub |
05 |
0.13 |
|
16 |
Unidentified |
Unidentified |
Key sar |
grass |
05 |
0.13 |
|
17 |
Simenia acaulis |
Gentianaceae |
Yebahir teza |
herb |
04 |
0.11 |
|
18 |
Urtica simensis |
Urticaceae |
sama |
herb |
03 |
0.08 |
|
19 |
Clematis simensis |
Ranunculaceae |
Azoareg |
shrub |
03 |
0.08 |
|
20 |
Phagnalon phagnaloides |
Asteraceae |
Sinbita |
herb |
02 |
0.05 |
|
21 |
D. chrysanthommifilia |
Asteraceae |
yewesferas |
herb |
01 |
0.03 |
|
22 |
Dryopteris inaequalis |
Dryopteridaceae |
yejibchama |
shrub |
01 |
0.03 |
|
23 |
Solanum indicum |
Solanaceae |
Embuay |
shrub |
01 |
0.03 |
|
|
Total |
3,728 |
100 |
|||
Table 2. Plants foraged by Walia Ibex during the dry season.
|
|
Scientific name |
Family |
Local name |
Habit |
feeding bouts |
% |
|
1 |
Helichrysum citrispinum |
Asteraceae |
Yewaliashoh |
shrub |
815 |
22.27 |
|
2 |
Festuca sp. |
Poaceae |
Guassa |
grass |
813 |
22.22 |
|
3 |
Helichrysum horridum |
Asteraceae |
Tifrgina |
shrub |
705 |
19.27 |
|
4 |
Lobelia rhynchopetalum |
Campanulaceae |
Jibra |
shrub |
651 |
17.79 |
|
5 |
Alchemilla pedata |
Rosaceae |
Yayet joro |
herb |
220 |
6.01 |
|
6 |
Erica arborea |
Ericaceae |
Wuchena |
tree |
96 |
2.62 |
|
7 |
Usnea sp. |
Usneaceae |
Yezaf shibet |
herb |
84 |
2.29 |
|
8 |
Thymus schymperi |
Lamiaceae |
Tosign |
herb |
63 |
1.72 |
|
9 |
Mosses &liver |
Grimmiaceae |
Shibet |
herb |
57 |
1.56 |
|
10 |
Hypericum revolutum |
Hypericeae |
Amja |
tree |
50 |
1.37 |
|
11 |
Carex erythrorhiza |
Cyperaceae |
Shefshefo |
grass |
23 |
0.63 |
|
12 |
Unidentified |
Unidentified |
Unidentified |
Unidentified |
19 |
0.52 |
|
13 |
Dryopteris inaequalis |
Dryopteridaceae |
Yejibchama |
shrub |
13 |
0.35 |
|
14 |
Solanum indicum |
Solanaceae |
Embuay |
shrub |
09 |
0.25 |
|
15 |
Kniphofia foliosa |
Asphodalaceae |
Dudya |
herb |
06 |
0.16 |
|
16 |
Spermacoce sphaerostigma |
Rubiaceae |
Kesign |
shrub |
6 |
0.16 |
|
17 |
Carduus macracanthus |
Astraceae |
Kosheshile |
herb |
05 |
0.14 |
|
18 |
Globsis |
Unidentified |
Unidentified |
shrub |
05 |
0.14 |
|
19 |
Siminia acaulis |
Gentianaceae |
Yebahir teza |
herb |
03 |
0.08 |
|
20 |
Helichrysum sp. |
Asteraceae |
Unidentified |
shrub |
03 |
0.08 |
|
21 |
Clematis simensis |
Ranunculaceae |
Azoareg |
shrub |
03 |
0.08 |
|
22 |
Urtica simensis |
Urticaceae |
Sama |
herb |
03 |
0.08 |
|
23 |
Phagnalon phagnaloides |
Asteraceae |
Sinbita |
herb |
02 |
0.06 |
|
24 |
Denbia torida |
Unidentified |
Wulkfa |
tree |
01 |
0.03 |
|
25 |
Acanthus ebracteatus |
Acanthaceae |
Unidentified |
herb |
01 |
0.03 |
|
26 |
H. splendidum |
Asteraceae |
Fotena |
herb |
01 |
0.03 |
|
27 |
Olea europaea |
Oleaceae |
Weyera |
tree |
01 |
0.03 |
|
28 |
Unidentified |
Unidentified |
Yemidir wuchena |
herb |
01 |
0.03 |
|
|
Total |
3,659 |
100 |
|||
For
figures & images - - click here
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