Animal Behavior on the Range Range Plants -- OBJ 2: PPT K. Launchbaugh USDA - ARS Animal Behavior on the Range Jen Peterson Rangeland Principles (REM 151) There are 16 slides in this presentation

Basis for Animal Behavior What affects how animals behave: 1) Born with certain abilities: Inherited abilities Physical, Sensory & Physiological Abilities 2) Born knowing what to do: Called “Instincts” 3) Learn how behave

Inherited Abilities Physical abilities affect what animals eat Ability to eat cellulose Capture and Consume Prey Carnivore Omnivore Herbivore Carnivore Omnivore Herbivore

Species Inherited Diet Preferences Concentrate Feeder (browse) Intermediate Feeder (forbs) All Photos by K. Lauchbuagh Roughage Feeder (grass) Photos – K. Launchbaugh

Range Plants -- OBJ 2: PPT Inherited Abilities Physical abilities affect where animals eat Percent Slope Percent of Observations 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80+ Cattle Horses Deer Bighorn Figure 10.2 Relationship of slope gradient to the percentage of observations of cattle, feral horses, deer, and bighorn sheep. (From Ganskopp and Vavra 1987) There are 16 slides in this presentation

Inherited Abilities Bailey et al. 2001; J. Anim. Sci.

Inherited Abilities Brangus…..traveled further from water than…..Hereford or Angus Brangus consumed different diets than Hereford or Angus Winder et al. 1996

Inherited Behaviors - Instincts Mammals know how to find milk and stay close to mother. Basic ideas of what is cover & how to hide Preference for salty foods Preference for sweet… not sure Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife

Inherited Behavior - Instincts Behavioral characteristics can be inherited Example = Guard Dogs vs Herding Dogs K.Launchbaugh USDA-ARS

Learned Behaviors + - Behavior Results from Consequences Behave

4 Basic Learning Paradigms “Good” Consequence “Bad Consequence” Add or Apply Behavior Increases (Positive Reinforcement) Behavior Decreases (Positive Punishment) Remove (Negative Punishment) (Negative Reinforcement)

Young animals clearly learn what to eat avoid from their mother Range Plants -- OBJ 2: PPT Young animals clearly learn what to eat avoid from their mother Animals are influenced by early life experience—mothers teach young how to eat. Early life experiences are influential There are 16 slides in this presentation

Young animals lean what and how to eat Mom has the greatest influence on an animal’s food and habitat preferences. Learning from mom is efficient. Mom’s a good role model because she has been successful enough at foraging to grow up and reproduce. Mom likely knows the plants in the area where her offspring will be foraging.

Learning from Mother Exposure to Wheat 1 hr/day for 5 days 6 Weeks Age 34 Months Age With Mother wheat wheat Graze - No Wheat Green conducted a study in which 6-week old lambs were exposed to wheat with their mothers for 1 hour per day for 5 days. Lambs were tested later to determine their intake of wheat. Lambs were not allowed to see wheat again until their test date. Lambs tested at 3 months of age virtually ate no wheat if they had no exposure to wheat or were exposed alone compared with lambs that were exposed with mom. Lambs that did not see wheat again until 34 months-of-age remembered what their mothers had taught them: wheat is a good food. ** Sheep figures from http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/ Alone wheat wheat No Wheat wheat Green et al. 1984

Learning from Mother Intake of Wheat (g/head/day) Green conducted a study in which 6-week old lambs were exposed to wheat with their mothers for 1 hour per day for 5 days. Lambs were tested later to determine their intake of wheat. Lambs were not allowed to see wheat again until their test date. Lambs tested at 3 months of age virtually ate no wheat if they had no exposure to wheat or were exposed alone compared with lambs that were exposed with mom. Lambs that did not see wheat again until 34 months-of-age remembered what their mothers had taught them: wheat is a good food. Age When Tested for Wheat Intake Green et al. 1984

Learning from Mother Intake of Wheat (g/head/day) Green conducted a study in which 6-week old lambs were exposed to wheat with their mothers for 1 hour per day for 5 days. Lambs were tested later to determine their intake of wheat. Lambs were not allowed to see wheat again until their test date. Lambs tested at 3 months of age virtually ate no wheat if they had no exposure to wheat or were exposed alone compared with lambs that were exposed with mom. Lambs that did not see wheat again until 34 months-of-age remembered what their mothers had taught them: wheat is a good food. Age When Tested for Wheat Intake Green et al. 1984

Early Life Experience is Influential Preferences are formed

Early dietary experience Range Plants -- OBJ 2: PPT Early dietary experience Goats - 6 weeks old Experienced: raised on blackbrush range Inexperienced: drylot fed alfalfa pellets Weaned at 26 weeks Week 28 - offered all goats blackbrush in pens R. Distel Which group do you think ate more? Distel & Provenza 1991 There are 16 slides in this presentation

Early dietary experience Range Plants -- OBJ 2: PPT Early dietary experience Distel & Provenza 1991 There are 16 slides in this presentation

Animals must learn how to eat Range Plants -- OBJ 2: PPT Animals must learn how to eat Click Video or Link As animals learn to eat they develop foraging skills. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DbUaZ3SHH8&feature=plcp There are 16 slides in this presentation

Animals learn based on consequences + - Behavior Behave Consequences Behavior

Animals learn based on consequences Eat Plant (taste) Digestive Feedback + - Preference Aversion Things that we like that do not always have good flavor; coffee, red wine, beer, strong cheese. But you learn to like the flavor because it provides positive feedback. If a food is paired with positive feedback, you may learn to like it.

Animals learn based on consequences Eat Plant (taste) Digestive Feedback + - Preference Aversion Things that we like that do not always have good flavor; coffee, red wine, beer, strong cheese. But you learn to like the flavor because it provides positive feedback. If a food is paired with positive feedback, you may learn to like it.

How to Create Conditioned Aversions? Mountain- Mahogany Nausea (LiCl) No Feedback (empty capsule)

How to Create Conditioned Aversions? Range Plants -- OBJ 2: PPT How to Create Conditioned Aversions? Control Averted (LiCl 3g/day) Before the treatments were applied, they all ate mountain mahogany the same. After being dosed with lithium chloride, the group that had a negative feedback (nausea), their consumption of the mountain mahogany dropped off substantially. Lambs quit eating mountain mahogany when consumption was followed by nausea. There are 16 slides in this presentation

Why don’t livestock eat sagebrush? Intake of Ration (g/day/kg BW) For example, sagebrush is considered an unpalatable plant but not a toxic plant. Sagebrush contains terpenes that cause food aversions. They make animals sick of they eat too much sagebrush. Animals familiar with sagebrush, don’t refuse to eat sagebrush, they simply limit intake of sagebrush. Sagebrush Levels in Ration (%)

Animals learn based on consequences Eat Plant (taste) Digestive Feedback + - Preference Aversion Things that we like that do not always have good flavor; coffee, red wine, beer, strong cheese. But you learn to like the flavor because it provides positive feedback. If a food is paired with positive feedback, you may learn to like it.

Sheep “learn” to like straw Click Video or Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsGAIxDldAg&feature=plcp

How to create a Conditioned Preference? Straw Feedback starch Control water

Energy Increases Palatability Intake of straw, g The amount of starch in the starch solution was increased during the study from 1% to 10% of the lambs’ daily energy requirement. Lambs preferred the flavor pair with calories regardless whether the flavor was apple or maple. The preference for one flavor over the other increased as the trial progressed due to increasing amounts of energy used in the trial and increase exposure to the flavors. Day

How to get sheep to eat more sagebrush? Supplemental nutrients increase intake of sagebrush not only in pens but in the field as well.

Nutrient - Toxin Interactions Intake of Sagebrush, g Intake of sagebrush more than doubled for both goats and sheep when they are supplemented with nutrients (energy and protein). The animal has to detoxify the terpene in the sagebrush, so the supplement actually allows them to eat more sagebrush.

Use of Sagebrush by Sheep Supplemented Sagebrush, % Scans When ewes were supplemented with nutrients, they increased the percent of time they browsed sagebrush. Ewes were offered a choice of a high-energy (50% corn and 50% beet pulp) and a high- protein (85% alfalfa and 15% soybean meal) supplement. They were offered the two supplements free choice for 15 min/day. Supplementing animals with nutrients may be a way to decrease unpalatable forage and allow other forages to grow. The main point of these data are that we need to teach them how to eat these foods, not starve them until they are forced to eat the target plant. Unsupplemented Day

Creating “Designer” livestock Select animals that naturally possess the desired ingestive characteristics Breed animals with these abilities Prepare animals with prescribed dietary experiences Offer animals nutritional or pharmaceutical resources to aid in digestion or detoxification

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