Feeding behaviour of yaks on spring, transitional, summer and winter pasture in the alpine region of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

Of the present estimated world population of 14.2 million yaks, approximately 13.3 million occur within Chinese territories (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2003). Although there is an extensive bibliography covering the species, few studies have been conducted in the area of foraging behaviour. The present study was conducted at pasture during the spring, transitional, summer and winter seasons to determine the daily temporal patterns of grazing and ruminating behaviour by yaks. During each study period, two 24 h recordings were undertaken with each of six mature dairy yaks. One study period was conducted on each of the transitional, summer and winter pastures, whereas, due to the considerable changes occurring in the morphology of the spring pasture, three separate studies were completed during March, April and May. During the second of these studies (April), the effect of level of concentrate supplementation on grazing and ruminating behaviour was also examined. Behaviour recordings were made using solid-state behaviour recorders. Short-term intake rates (IR, g min(-1)) were calculated by weighing yaks before and after approximately 1 h of grazing, retaining the faeces and urine excreted and applying a correction for insensible weight loss. Yaks spent less time grazing during the dry season (the early period on the spring pasture) compared with the later green swards (the later period on the spring pasture, the transitional pasture and the summer pasture) (P < 0.05). When the forage quality improved, but there was still insufficient mass (the later period on the spring pasture), the yaks extended their grazing time at the expense of other activities. During the early periods on the spring pasture, the short-term IR by yaks was up to 53 g DM min(-1), significantly higher than at other times (P < 0.05). The level of concentrate offered had little or no effect on grazing or ruminating time. The total eating time of the yaks offered 0.5 or 1.0 kg concentrate was 2.9 and 4.5 h day(-1) respectively, significantly lower than unsupplemented yaks (6.8 h) (P < 0.05). In general, yaks can regulate their foraging behaviour according to the changes of sward conditions in order to achieve optimal grazing strategies. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Diurnal time budget of the Black-necked Crane during the breeding season

From 26 March to 2 August 2003, both the time budget and the diurnal rhythm of behavior of breeding Black-necked Cranes (Grus nigricollis) were studied at Ruoergai Wetlands National Natural Reserve, Sichuan Province, China. The breeding season was divided

Feeding activities of zooplankton in the Bohai Sea

The Bohai Sea was the site of the Chinese national GLOBEC programme. During the June 1997 cruises of R/V Science No.1, observations and experiments on zooplankton feeding were conducted. At five 48 h time-series stations the following observations and measurements on zooplankton were carried out: (1) diurnal vertical migration, by collecting samples at different layers every 3 h with a closing net; (2) diurnal feeding rhythms, by gut pigment analysis; and (3) ingestion rate, by both gut pigment analysis and the dilution method. A classification by body size was used to deal with the diversity of species and developmental stages of zooplankton assemblages. Samples were separated into three size groups: small (200-500 mu m), medium (500-1000 mu m) and large (> 1000 mu m). The results showed that the copepods (Calanus sinicus, Paracalanus parvus, Acartia bifilosa and Centropages mcmurrichi) performed clear diurnal vertical migrations. However, their behaviour was different at different stations. The variation in gut pigment content over the 24 h cycle showed strong diurnal feeding rhythms, particularly for the large size group. Gut pigment contents reached their daily maximum during the time from dusk to midnight (18:00-24:00). The peak value was about 10 times the minimum observed in the daytime. The in situ daily grazing rate, based on gut pigment contents and evacuation experiments, was 4.00-12.65 ng chla ind(-1) day(-1) for the small size group, 5.99-66.58 ng chla ind(-1) day(-1) for the medium size group and 31.31-237.13 ng chla ind(-1) day(-1) for the large size group. The copepods consumed only a small part (2.90-13.52%) of the phytoplankton biomass hut about 77% of the daily production. The grazing mortality rate of phytoplankton by microzooplankton (<200 mu m) measured by the dilution method ranged from 0.43 to 0.69 day(-1) The calculated daily consumption of phytoplankton biomass was 35-50%, and 85-319% of the potential production.

Behavioural responses by yaks in different physiological states (lactating, dry or replacement heifers), when grazing natural pasture in the spring (dry and germinating) season on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

Using heterogeneous vegetation in alpine grassland through grazing is a necessary component of deintensification of livestock systems and conservation of natural environments. However, better understanding of the dynamics of animal feeding behaviour would improve pasture and livestock grazing managements, particularly in the early part of the spring season when forage is scarce. The changes in behaviour may improve the use of poor pastures. Then, enhancing management practices may conserve pasture and improve animal productivity. Grazing behaviour over 24 In periods by yaks in different physiological states (lactating, dry and replacement heifers) was recorded in the early, dry and later, germinating period of the spring season. Under conditions of inadequate forage, the physiological state of yaks was not the primary factor affecting their grazing and ruminating behaviour. Forage and sward state affected yaks' grazing and ruminating behaviour to a greater extent. Generally, yaks had higher intake and spent more time grazing and ruminating during the later part of the spring season, following germination of forage, than during the earlier dry part of the season. However, the live weight of yaks was less during pasture germination than during the early dry part of the season because the herbage mass is low, and the yaks have to expend much energy to seek feed at this particular time. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Grazing behavior of lactating and non-lactating yaks in the summer season of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

The effect of the physiological states of lactating vs. non-lactating (dry) on grazing behavior and herbage intake by yaks was examined in the summer season in the Qinghai alpine area under continuous stocking management. Intake rates were estimated over periods of 1 h by weighing the animals before and after grazing, retaining the feces and urine excreted, and applying a correction for insensible weight loss (the 1-h weight changes of yaks when non-eating before or after the intake rate measurement). It is hypothesized that the lactating yaks should eat more and spend more time eating than nonlactating yaks, because they expend more energy. In our experiment, there were no differences in the effect of physiological state (lactating vs. dry) of yaks observed on the rate of insensible weight loss, intake rate, grazing jaw movement rate, bites per grazing jaw movement, or bite mass. The dry yaks tended to eat more and spend more time eating than lactating yaks, but not significantly so. Compared with the dry yaks, the lactating yaks had a significantly lower bite rate and bites per bolus.

Diurnal, seasonal and annual variation in net ecosystem CO2 exchange of an alpine shrubland on Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

Thus far, grassland ecosystem research has mainly been focused on low-lying grassland areas, whereas research on high-altitude grassland areas, especially on the carbon budget of remote areas like the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau is insufficient. To address this issue, flux of CO2 were measured over an alpine shrubland ecosystem (37 degrees 36'N, 101 degrees 18'E; 325 above sea level [a. s. l.]) on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China, for 2 years (2003 and 2004) with the eddy covariance method. The vegetation is dominated by formation Potentilla fruticosa L. The soil is Mol-Cryic Cambisols. To interpret the biotic and abiotic factors that modulate CO2 flux over the course of a year we decomposed net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) into its constituent components, and ecosystem respiration (R-eco). Results showed that seasonal trends of annual total biomass and NEE followed closely the change in leaf area index. Integrated NEE were -58.5 and -75.5 g C m(-2), respectively, for the 2003 and 2004 years. Carbon uptake was mainly attributed from June, July, August, and September of the growing season. In July, NEE reached seasonal peaks of similar magnitude (4-5 g C m(-2) day(-1)) each of the 2 years. Also, the integrated night-time NEE reached comparable peak values (1.5-2 g C m(-2) day(-1)) in the 2 years of study. Despite the large difference in time between carbon uptake and release (carbon uptake time < release time), the alpine shrubland was carbon sink. This is probably because the ecosystem respiration at our site was confined significantly by low temperature and small biomass and large day/night temperature difference and usually soil moisture was not limiting factor for carbon uptake. In general, R-eco was an exponential function of soil temperature, but with season-dependent values of Q(10). The temperature-dependent respiration model failed immediately after rain events, when large pulses of R-eco were observed. Thus, for this alpine shrubland in Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, the timing of rain events had more impact than the total amount of precipitation on ecosystem R-eco and NEE.

Dynamic and complex microclimate responses to warming and grazing manipulations

Synthesis efforts that identify patterns of ecosystem response to a suite of warming manipulations can make important contributions to climate change science. However, cross-study comparisons are impeded by the paucity of detailed analyses of how passive warming and other manipulations affect microclimate. Here we document the independent and combined effects of a common passive warming manipulation, open-top chambers (OTCs), and a simulated widespread land use, clipping, on microclimate on the Tibetan Plateau. OTCs consistently elevated growing season averaged mean daily air temperature by 1.0-2.0 degrees C, maximum daily air temperature by 2.1-7.3 degrees C and the diurnal air temperature range by 1.9-6.5 degrees C, with mixed effects on minimum daily air temperature, and mean daily soil temperature and moisture. These OTC effects on microclimate differ from reported effects of a common active warming method, infrared heating, which has more consistent effects on soil than on air temperature. There were significant interannual and intragrowing season differences in OTC effects on microclimate. For example, while OTCs had mixed effects on growing season averaged soil temperatures, OTCs consistently elevated soil temperature by approximately 1.0 degrees C early in the growing season. Nonadditive interactions between OTCs and clipping were also present: OTCs in clipped plots generally elevated air and soil temperatures more than OTCs in nonclipped plots. Moreover, site factors dynamically interacted with microclimate and with the efficacy of the OTC manipulations.These findings highlight the need to understand differential microclimate effects between warming methods, within warming method across ecosystem sites, within warming method crossed with other treatments, and within sites over various timescales. Methods, sites and scales are potential explanatory variables and covariables in climate warming experiments. Consideration of this variability among and between experimental warming studies will lead to greater understanding and better prediction of ecosystem response to anthropogenic climate warming.

Experimental warming causes large and rapid species loss, dampened by simulated grazing, on the Tibetan Plateau

We investigated the independent and combined effects of experimental warming and grazing on plant species diversity on the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau, a region highly vulnerable to ongoing climate and land use changes. Experimental warming caused a 26-36% decrease in species richness, a response that was generally dampened by experimental grazing. Higher species losses occurred at the drier sites where N was less available. Moreover, we observed an indirect effect of climate change on species richness as mediated by plant-plant interactions. Heat stress and warming-induced litter accumulation are potential explanations for the species' responses to experimental warming. This is the first reported experimental evidence that climate warming could cause dramatic declines in plant species diversity in high elevation ecosystems over short time frames and supports model predictions of species losses with anthropogenic climate change.

Grazing intensity alters soil respiration in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan plateau

Grazing intensity may alter the soil respiration rate in grassland ecosystems. The objectives of our study were to (1) determine the influence of grazing intensity on temporal variations in soil respiration of an alpine meadow on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau; and (2) characterise, the temperature response of soil respiration under different grazing intensities. Diurnal and seasonal soil respiration rates were measured for two alpine meadow sites with different grazing intensities. The light grazing (LG) meadow site had a grazing intensity of 2.55 sheep ha(-1), while the grazing intensity of the heavy grazing (HG) meadow site, 5.35 sheep ha(-1), was approximately twice that of the LG site. Soil respiration measurements - showed that CO2 efflux was almost twice as great at the LG site as at the HG site during the growing season, but the diurnal and seasonal patterns of soil respiration rate were similar for the two sites. Both exhibited the highest annual soil respiration rate in mid-August and the lowest in January. Soil respiration rate was highly dependent on soil temperature. The Q(10) value for annual soil respiration was lower for the HG site (2.75) than for the LG site (3.22). Estimates of net ecosystem CO2 exchange from monthly measurements of biomass and soil respiration revealed that during the period from May 1998 to April 1999, the LG site released 2040 g CO2 m(-2) y(-1) to the atmosphere, which was about one third more than the 1530g CO2 m(-2) y(-1) released at the HG site. The results suggest that (1) grazing intensity alters not only soil respiration rate, but also the temperature dependence of soil CO2 efflux; and (2) soil temperature is the major environmental factor controlling the temporal variation of soil respiration rate in the alpine meadow ecosystem. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All fights reserved.