Dehydration and Mortality of Feral Horses and Burros: a Systematic Review of Reported Deaths

Water is a requirement for all organisms, including equids. Dehydration-caused mortality of feral horses (Equus ferus caballus) is often cited as a cause of concern and as justification for management of feral horses, yet a paucity of information exists on the matter. We conducted a systematic review from September 1, 2020 through January 15, 2021 of available news reports of feral horse and burro (E. asinus) dehydration mortalities and public interventions to save horses using a public search engine with a priori defined search term combinations and additional snowball sampling. We found 15 uniquely reported mortality incidents representing 744 horse in the United States and Australia that occurred between 1976 and 2019; no similar reports for burros were found. Mortalities occurred during hotter and drier than normal conditions with occurrences escalating through the summer and fall. The number of horses per dehydration mortality event ranged from 1–191 with a mean of 50 horses. Mortalities occurred on a wide range of land jurisdictions including private lands, tribal lands, national forests, national parks, and Bureau of Land Management lands. Increasing feral horse populations in western North America and Australia, coupled with the drought forecasts over the next century, simply cannot be ignored. This study represents the first global and longitudinal assessment of feral horse dehydration mortalities

Oklahoma prescribed burning handbook

The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at [email protected] or by phone at 405-744-6311

Body size and digestive system shape resource selection by ungulates : a cross-taxa test of the forage maturation hypothesis

The forage maturation hypothesis (FMH) states that energy intake for ungulates is maximised when forage biomass is at intermediate levels. Nevertheless, metabolic allometry and different digestive systems suggest that resource selection should vary across ungulate species. By combining GPS relocations with remotely sensed data on forage characteristics and surface water, we quantified the effect of body size and digestive system in determining movements of 30 populations of hindgut fermenters (equids) and ruminants across biomes. Selection for intermediate forage biomass was negatively related to body size, regardless of digestive system. Selection for proximity to surface water was stronger for equids relative to ruminants, regardless of body size. To be more generalisable, we suggest that the FMH explicitly incorporate contingencies in body size and digestive system, with small-bodied ruminants selecting more strongly for potential energy intake, and hindgut fermenters selecting more strongly for surface water.DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The dataset used in our analyses is available via Dryad repository (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.jsxksn09f) following a year-long embargo from publication of the manuscript. The coordinates associated with mountain zebra data are not provided in an effort to protect critically endangered black rhino (Diceros bicornis) locations. Interested researchers can contact the data owner (Minnesota Zoo) directly for inquiries.https://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/elehj2022Mammal Research InstituteZoology and Entomolog

Advancing Knowledge for Proactive Drought Planning and Enhancing Adaptive Management for Drought on Rangelands: Introduction to a Special Issue

On the Ground • Drought adversely affects land managers, ranching enterprises, and pastoral systems. • As an ecological driver, drought historically shaped vegetation composition, structure, diversity, and productivity of rangelands leading to varying levels of resilience in these ecosystems. • Drought influences risk management in decision making by rangeland managers, resulting in a renewed emphasis on the importance of proactive drought planning and adaptive management for drought with monitoring-informed decision making.The Rangelands archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform March 202

Drought Consequences for Cow-Calf Production in Wyoming: 2011—2014

On the Ground • Drought reduces forage quantity and carrying capacity, but reductions in cow-calf performance measured by calf average daily gain (ADG) and weaning weight (WW) are less understood. • From 2011 to 2014, a period with very dry and very wet years, we assessed an adjusted 210 day WW and ADG for a total of 869 calves on two University of Wyoming ranches. • We found WW was up to 99 pounds (lb) lower, and ADG was up to 0.47 lb lower between the driest and wettest years. • For each one inch reduction in precipitation, WW are predicted to be 7 lb to 14 lb lower, ADG is expected to be 0.03 lb to 0.07 lb lower, and dollar per head values 12 to 27 lower, depending on calf sex and ranch location. • If drought occurs, or continues to escalate in frequency and severity, WW reductions, ADG reductions, and value per head reductions should be expected and documented for strategic planning and/or compensation programs.The Rangelands archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform March 202

Patch Burning: Integrating Fire and Grazing to Promote Heterogeneity

Heterogeneity refers to the differences in habitats across the landscape, and it is required for diverse plant and wildlife communities. Some heterogeneity is inherent, caused by differences in soils, while most heterogeneity is disturbance driven. Climate, fire, and grazing are the main three disturbance factors that have historically shaped the landscape. All three are still very important to the continued diversity and health of the plants and animals associated with our prairies, shrublands, and forestlands across the Great Plains. While we cannot control the climate, we can manage grazing by stocking rate, season of use, and kind and type of animal. Fire can also be managed by frequency, season, and weather conditions. To keep biodiversity intact, these disturbances should be considered collectively, rather than independent of each other. Fire was so important in the maintenance of grasslands and savannas that one of the Native American tribes from the northern plains used the same word for both prairie and fire (Figure 1). Numerous historical accounts of frequent fires across the entire Great Plains can be found to substantiate its importance to the plants and animals of the region. These areas burned every three to seven years, with some areas often burning twice in the same year. In the autumn of 1832, Washington Irving described the land in Indian Territory as: “The grass is at times green and short and at other times tall and white…nothing but bare prairie, which becomes confused in the distance with the smoke of burning grass.” This describes a landscape of burned and grazed (green and short) areas (we call burned patches), along with areas of ungrazed and unburned grass (tall and white) (we call unburned patches)–a verbal picture of a heterogeneous landscape (Figure 2). Fire alone cannot maintain the heterogeneity necessary for rangeland health, but fire with grazing is important in the creation and maintenance of the diverse habitats needed to support the numerous plants and animals across the land. Grazing distribution and habitat selection by feeding animals is determined by decisions made at multiple levels: Landscapes (i.e. Tallgrass Prairie) g Communities (i.e. upland site) g Patch (i.e. burned area) g Feeding Station (i.e. site within burned area) g Plant (i.e. Indiangrass) g Plant Part (i.e. leaf) (Figure 3). From historical fire and grazing patterns we know that animals preferentially select burned areas and graze them heavily. When another area was burned, they shift their utilization to this new patch. This allows the previously burned and closely grazed patch to rest until adequate fuel had grown back, which allowed the next fire event. This fire-grazing interaction would create a shifting mosaic over the entire landscape that was critical to the conservation of biodiversity. Most grazing management promotes uniform distribution and utilization, which creates homogenization of the vegetation. These practices include uniform distribution of focal attractants (i.e. water, salt, mineral), prescribed fires that burn the entire management unit, and application of fertilizers and herbicides. The most effective homogenization practice is grazing systems, especially rotational grazing. Rotational grazing reduces diversity of plant communities and wildlife species, and despite popular contrary claims, rotational grazing also reduces livestock production and net return per acre by forcing livestock to graze equally across all areas of a pasture. Traditional approaches to grazing overlook the potential benefits of coupling fire and grazing. Most often, grazing is the only practice used and often to the point of over utilization. Conversely, if a land manager uses fire, it is normally implemented with deferment of grazing before and after the fire. Rarely are these two ecosystem drivers used together as they occurred historically on native prairies

Vulnerability of grazing and confined livestock in the Northern Great Plains to projected mid and late-twenty-first century climate

The Northern Great Plains (NGP) region of the USA—which comprises Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska—is a largely rural area that provides numerous ecosystem services, including livestock products, cultural services, and conservation of biological diversity. The region contains 25% of the Nation’s beef cattle and approximately one-third of the confined beef cattle, as well as the largest remaining native prairie in the US—the Northern Mixed grass Prairie. With rising atmospheric CO2, the NGP is projected to experience warmer and longer growing seasons, greater climatic variability, and more extreme events (e.g., increased occurrence of large precipitation events). These climatic changes may affect livestock production both directly via physiological impacts on animals and indirectly via modifications to forage, invasion of undesirable plants, and increased exposure to parasites. This raises concerns about the vulnerability of grazing livestock operations and confined livestock operations to projected changes in mid- (2050) and late- (2085) twenty-first century climate. Our objectives are to (1) describe the NGP’s exposure to temperature and precipitation trends, inter-annual variability, and extreme events; (2) evaluate the sensitivity of beef cattle production to direct and indirect effects imposed by these projected climatic changes; and (3) provide a typology of adaptation strategies to minimize adverse consequences of projected changes and maximize beneficial consequences. Agricultural managers have developed considerable adaptive capacity to contend with environmental and economic variability. However, projected climatic changes, especially the increased frequency and magnitude of weather extremes, will require even greater adaptive capacity to maintain viable production systems. Consequently, regional vulnerability to projected climatic changes will be determined not only by ecological responses but also by the adaptive capacity of individual managers. Adaptive capacity in the NGP will differ from other regions, in part because projections suggest some opportunities for increased livestock production. Adaptations in both grazing and confined beef cattle systems will require enhanced decision-making skills capable of integrating biophysical, social, and economic considerations. Social learning networks that support integration of experimental and experiential knowledge—such as lessons learned from early adopters and involvement with science-based organizations—can help enhance decision-making and climate adaptation planning. Many adaptations have already been implemented by a subset of producers in this region, providing opportunities for assessment, further development, and greater adoption. Context-specific decision-making can also be enhanced through science-management partnerships, which aim to build adaptive capacity that recognizes multiple production and conservation/environmental goals