@proceedings {50010,
	title = {Characterizing foraging patterns among cattle and bonded and non- bonded small ruminants using spatial point process techniques},
	year = {2010},
	month = {2010},
	pages = {12-35},
	publisher = {Kansas State University},
	address = {Manhattan, Kansas},
	abstract = {<p>Two mixed-species livestock groups were monitored while foraging on 410 ha of brush-infested Southern New Mexico rangeland during July and August 1988. The groups consisted of crossbred Bos taurus and Bos indicus beef cattle with white-faced sheep (Ovis aries) and mohair goats (Capra hircus).\&nbsp; The bonded group consisted of small ruminants that had their behaviours modified through socialization with cattle to form a flerd in which small ruminants consistently remained near cattle.\&nbsp; Small ruminants in the non-bonded group had not been socialized with cattle.\&nbsp; A subset of animal location data measured during the morning over five days for both the bonded and non-bonded groups was analyzed for spatial patterns.\&nbsp; Only data for five morning periods (0700-0800 h) are reported because morning and afternoon spatial patterns were similar.\&nbsp; Distance measures and Monte Carlo simulations for spatial point processes were used to analyze the data.\&nbsp; Results suggested bonded and non-bonded groups were similar in spatial patterns of intra-specific distances for both cattle and small ruminants.\&nbsp; However, bonding changed the repulsive relationship observed between cattle and non-bonded small ruminants stocked together to one of inter-specific attraction.\&nbsp; Bonded small ruminants remained close to and formed inter-specific clusters with cattle.\&nbsp; In addition, the mean number of bonded small ruminants near an arbitrary cow was consistently high.\&nbsp; Finally, the spatial pattern of cattle across the paddock did not differ between bonded and non-bonded groups, while bonded small ruminants tended to disperse slightly more uniformly across the paddock than did non-bonded small ruminants. These findings suggest paddock utilization may be positively influenced using flerds compared to flocks and herds.</p>
},
	keywords = {animal disribution, animal locations, cattle, flerds, goats, mixed-species stocking, sheep},
	url = {/files/bibliography/10-046.pdf},
	author = {D.M. Anderson and Murray, Leight M. and Sun, P. and E.L. Fredrickson and Richard E. Estell and V.B. Nakamatsu}
}
