Formal vs. informal coach education

The training of coaches is considered central to sustaining and improving the quality of sports coaching and the ongoing process of professionalisation. Sports coaches participate in a range of learning opportunities (informal to formal) that contribute to their development to varying degrees. In this article, we present our collective understanding on the varying types of learning opportunities and their contribution to coach accreditation and development. The authors presented these views (from a sports pedagogy perspective) as part of a workshop entitled "Formal vs. Informal Coach Education" at the 2007 International Council of Coach Education Master Class in Beijing. These reflections seek to stimulate the on-going, and often sterile, debate about formal versus informal coach education/learning in order to progress scholarship in coaching

Increased searching and handling effort in tall swards lead to a Type IV functional response in small grazing herbivores

Understanding the functional response of species is important in comprehending the species’ population dynamics and the functioning of multi-species assemblages. A Type II functional response, where instantaneous intake rate increases asymptotically with sward biomass, is thought to be common in grazers. However, at tall, dense swards, food intake might decline due to mechanical limitations or if animals selectively forage on the most nutritious parts of a sward, leading to a Type IV functional response, especially for smaller herbivores. We tested the predictions that bite mass, cropping time, swallowing time and searching time increase, and bite rate decreases with increasing grass biomass for different-sized Canada geese (Branta canadensis) foraging on grass swards. Bite mass indeed showed an increasing asymptotic relationship with grass biomass. At high biomass, difficulties in handling long leaves and in locating bites were responsible for increasing cropping, swallowing, and searching times. Constant bite mass and decreasing bite rate caused the intake rate to decrease at high sward biomass after reaching an optimum, leading to a Type IV functional response. Grazer body mass affected maximum bite mass and intake rate, but did not change the shape of the functional response. As grass nutrient contents are usually highest in short swards, this Type IV functional response in geese leads to an intake rate that is maximised in these swards. The lower grass biomass at which intake rate was maximised allows resource partitioning between different-sized grazers. We argue that this Type IV functional response is of more importance than previously thought

Role of pasture in mares and foals management in Europe

vokHE

Comparative foraging behaviour of horses and cattle in european wetlands

1. Equids are generalist herbivores that co-exist with bovids of similar body size in many ecosystems. There are two major hypotheses to explain their co-existence, but few comparative data are available to test them. The first postulates that the very different functioning of their digestive tracts leads to fundamentally different patterns of use of grasses of different fibre contents. The second postulates resource partitioning through the use of different plant species. As domestic horses and cattle are used widely in Europe for the management of conservation areas, particularly in wetlands, a good knowledge of their foraging behaviour and comparative nutrition is necessary.2. In this paper we describe resource-use by horses and cattle in complementary studies in two French wetlands. Horses used marshes intensively during the warmer seasons. both species used grasslands intensively throughout the year; cattle used forbs and shrubs much more than horses. Niche breadth was similar and overlap was high (Kulczinski's index 0.58-0.77). Horses spent much more time feeding on short grass than cattle. These results from the two sites indicate strong potential for competition.3. Comparative daily food intake. measured in the field during this study for the first time, was 63% higher in horses (144 g(DM) kg W-0.75 day(-1)) than in cattle (88 g(DM) kg W-0.75 day(-1)). Digestibility of the cattle diets was a little higher. but daily intake of digestible dry matter (i.e. nutrient extraction) in all seasons was considerably higher in horses (78 g(DM) kg W-0.75 day (-1)) than in cattle (51 g(DM) kg W-0.75 day(-1)). When food is limiting. horses should outcompete cattle in habitats dominated by grasses because their functional response is steeper: under these circumstances cattle will require an ecological refuge for survival during winter, woodland or shrubland with abundant dicotyledons.4. Horses are a good tool for plant management because they remove more vegetation per unit body weight than cattle. and use the most productive plant communities and plant species (especially graminoids) to a greater extent. They feed closer to the ground, and maintain a mosaic of patches of short and tall grass that contributes to structural diversity at this scale. Cattle use broadleaved plants to a greater extent than horses, and can reduce the rate of encroachment by certain woody species.</p