The feeding ecology of the Cyprus mouflon Ovis orientalis Gmelin 1774, in the Paphos forest, Cyprus

Citation

Maisels F (1988) The feeding ecology of the Cyprus mouflon Ovis orientalis Gmelin 1774, in the Paphos forest, Cyprus. Doctor of Philosophy. University of Edinburgh.

Abstract
The Cyprus mouflon Ovis orientalis Gmelin 1774 is found in the Paphos forest of Cyprus, a mountainous area dominated by Pinus brutia, and it is one of the few wild sheep living in a forested habitat. Their feeding ecology was examined with particular reference to the pattern of seasonality found in the Mediterranean, which is that of mild wet winters and hot, dry summers. The timing of the rains influence the timing of the quantity and nutritional quality of the food resources for the mouflon in Cyprus. The nutritional quality, availability, consumption and degree of selectivity of different plants was examined. Plants of the herb layer (grasses, forbs and non-graminaceous monocotyledonous plants) were highly digestible and had a high crude protein content during the wet season. Woody browse plants had their highest digestibilities and crude protein content later in the year, during late spring and early summer. Mouflon thus had access to high quality food during winter. During summer the food supply was less abundant, less digestible, less proteinaceous and contained less phosphorus than during the wet season. Using faecal analysis, it was found that the animals ate mostly grasses, forbs and non-graminaceous monocots all year. However, during the summer, a higher proportion of broadleaved trees was eaten than during the wet season. Concurrently a lower proportion of grasses was eaten, probably because broadleaved trees in summer contained much more crude protein and were more digestible than grasses. Forbs were eaten in slightly higher proportions in summer than during the wet season, and the remained fairly digestible and proteinaceous during the summer. Pine and oak (Quercus alnifolia) trees were avoided by mouflon. Examination of diet quality by nitrogen analysis of the faeces showed that the quality of the mouflons' diet was lowest during late summer and early autumn. The estimated crude protein intake during August, September and October was close to, or in some cases below, the maintenance level for ruminants. Mouflon group sizes and composition were investigated. Their social organisation was similar to that of other wild sheep : they formed single-sex groups during most of the year and mixed-sex groups during the rut. However, they were in smaller groups than other wild sheep that live in open habitats. This was thought to be due to the effects of forest dwelling. Males were in smaller groups in the dry season than during the wet season, probably because of the differences in forage availability and dispersion. Food was in large patches in grassy clearings in the wet season and in a more evenly scattered distribution during summer. No significant differences in group size were found between seasons for females. Males were in consistently larger groups than females, which could have been due to a combination of different nutritional requirements of animals of different body size, and to differences in antipredator behaviour patterns between the sexes. Mouflon avoided activity during the hot summer days and foraged in the early morning and in the evening. During winter they fed during most of the hours of daylight. During the time when the food supply was improving, the daylength was decreasing, which is the stimulus for ovulation in sheep, leading to spring births. In temperate climates births occur as the food supply is increasing, but in the Cyprus mouflon it meant that the young had to cope with reduced quality food soon after they were weaned. However, the males had the opportunity to regain condition after the rut in autumn, whereas ungulates in non-Mediterranean climates are faced with poor quality food from the end of the rut until the following spring.

Keywords
Ungulate; ruminant; predator-prey; feeding ecology; Mediterranean; caprinae; dung analysis