The importance of aquatic vegetation for the management of the barasingha Cervus duvauceli in nepal

Chemical analyses of aquatic plants eaten by barasingha Cervus duvauceli in Royal Bardia National Park, lowland Nepal revealed high Na and Ca concentrations. Aquatic plants, sampled in the dry season, had three to 100 times higher Na content and 11 to 128 higher Ca content than found in the terrestr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBiological conservation Vol. 70; no. 1; pp. 33 - 37
Main Author Moe, Stein R.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Elsevier Ltd 1994
Elsevier
Subjects
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
aquatic vegetation
barasingha
Biological and medical sciences
Cervus duvauceli
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Nepal
Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking
sodium
Asia
Nepal
barasingha
aquatic vegetation
sodium
Nepal
Cervus duvauceli
Monocotyledones
Herbivorous
Interspecific comparison
Nutritive value
Potamogeton pectinatus
Vetiveria zizanioides
Potamogetonaceae
Feeding
Diet
Sodium
Gramineae
Angiospermae
Spermatophyta
Chemical composition
Aquatic plant
Animal conservation
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Summary:Chemical analyses of aquatic plants eaten by barasingha Cervus duvauceli in Royal Bardia National Park, lowland Nepal revealed high Na and Ca concentrations. Aquatic plants, sampled in the dry season, had three to 100 times higher Na content and 11 to 128 higher Ca content than found in the terrestrial grasses. The Na content found in the terrestrial grasses Imperata cylindrica, Saccharum spontaneum and Vetiveria zizanioides in this area was below the required level for domestic stock in all seasons. Aquatic plants, mostly Potamogeton pectinatus and Chara contraria, were mainly confined to three distinct locations, all found within the home ranges of two radio-collared animals. The radio-collared barasinghas were never found in sal Shorea robusta forest in which soil licks rich in Na were located. Aquatic plants may therefore be the main source of Na for barasingha. Consequently, locations with aquatic vegetation should be emphasized in any habitat management programme for this species.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ISSN:0006-3207
1873-2917
DOI:10.1016/0006-3207(94)90296-8