Ardea
Official journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union

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Kristiansen J.N., Fox T. & Nachman G. (2000) Does size matter? Maximising nutrient and biomass intake by shoot size selection amongst herbivorous geese. ARDEA 88 (2): 119-125
The selectivity of Greenland White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons flavirostris feeding on Timothy Phleum pratense hayfields in Iceland during their spring staging was studied in three fields of different shoot density (high, medium and low) and discussed in the context of optimal foraging. Biomass and nitrogen content of the Phleum laminae (leaves) taken by the geese were analysed and correlated to lamina length. In all fields the geese were highly selective for the larger laminae, ignoring shorter ones. Because the quality (nitrogen content) of the laminae decreased only slightly with increasing lamina length, the geese maximised their intake per peck by only taking the largest laminae. This study suggests that, even at high peck rates, herbivorous geese are capable of selecting most profitable bite sizes at a fine grained scale


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