Fig 1.
Location and map of the two study areas (Fontalba and Costabona) in the Freser-Setcases National Game Reserve.
Transects for faecal sampling (dotted lines) and for vegetation availability assessment (black circles) are shown.
Table 1.
Plant availability (i.e., proportion of a given plant taxa with respect to the total of recorded plants in %) assessed by the line-intercept method in 6 transects of 10m length conducted at altitudes ranging from 1900 to 2500 m.a.s.l. in two areas (Costabona and Fontalba) in the Freser-Setcases National Game Reserve, Catalonia, north-eastern Spain.
Only plants present at levels greater than 1% are represented.
Fig 2.
Pictures of the 13 plants most consumed by Pyrenean chamois in the Freser-Setcases National Game Reserve (FSNGR), Catalonia, north-eastern Spain.
A-Calluna vulgaris; B-Pinus uncinata; C-Quercus sp.; D-Rosa sp.; E-Rubus sp.; F-Cytisus spp.; G-Festuca spp.; H-Cruciata glabra; I-Hieracium pilosella; J-Plantago monosperma; K-Potentilla sp.; L-Trifolium alpinum; M-Trifolium pratense. Additionally, a picture of the FSNGR (N) and a Pyrenean chamois (O).
Table 2.
Non-leguminous woody (NLW), Leguminous woody (LW), and Graminoids (GR) plants in the annual diet composition of Pyrenean chamois from the Freser-Setcases National Game Reserve (Catalonia, north-eastern Spain), estimated by cuticle microhistological analysis of faecal samples.
Values represent mean percentage of fragment frequency (min-max). Forbs content are presented in Table 3. Only plants with a consumption of more than 1% are represented.
Table 3.
Non-leguminous forbs (NLF) and leguminous forbs (LF) in the annual diet composition of Pyrenean chamois from the Freser-Setcases National Game Reserve (Catalonia, north-eastern Spain), estimated by cuticle microhistological analysis of faecal samples.
Values represent mean percentage of fragment frequency (min-max). Graminoid and woody plants content are presented in Table 2. Only plants with a consumption of more than 1% are represented.
Fig 3.
Annual relative distribution of Pyrenean chamois diet (bottom part) in Fontalba (dashed line) and Costabona (solid line) and annual NDVI trends (top part).
Diet composition was assessed by cuticle microhistological analysis of faecal samples and NDVI data was extracted from the MOD13Q1 repertory. Plants are grouped into Non-leguminous woody (NLW), Leguminous woody (LW), Graminoids (GR), Non-leguminous forbs (NLF) and Leguminous forbs (LF). Start of the growing season (SOS), peak of production (POP) and presence of livestock in the area are also indicated.
Fig 4.
Plant selection indices (Wi) for Pyrenean chamois during June.
A Type II selectivity analysis was used. Values under one (situated on the left of the red dashed line) indicate avoidance, values around one (situated around the red dashed line) indicate indifference and values above one (situated to the right of the red dashed line) indicate preference. Plant availability was assessed during June 2011 and faecal samples from chamois were collected from June 2009 to June 2012 in the Freser-Setcases National Game Reserve, Catalonia, north-eastern Spain.
Fig 5.
Total diet composition (in %) of sheep and Pyrenean chamois during the cohabitation period in subalpine and alpine ecosystems (from June to October).
Diet composition was estimated by cuticle microhistological analysis of faecal samples collected in the Freser-Setcases National Game Reserve, Catalonia, north-eastern Spain.
Table 4.
Diet composition of sheep in the Costabona area of the Freser-Setcases National Game Reserve (Catalonia, north-eastern Spain).
Diet composition was estimated by cuticle microhistological analysis of faecal samples. Values represent mean percentage of fragment frequency (min-max). Only plants with a consumption greater than 1% are represented. *Faecal samples of sheep could not be collected during September 2012. Therefore, only results from September 2011 are shown.