All-year-round food preference of European bison (Bison bonasus (Linnaeus, 1758)) in the re-introduction programme of the Őrség National Park
Abstract
The Directorate of the Őrség National Park reintroduced European bisons for conservation-aimed habitat management in the “Hill-valley Wilderness” area close to the village of Kondorfa. We studied their habitat-use and diet in 20202-2021 by microhistological analyses of faecal samples and vegetation surveys to reveal seasonal food peferences. Monocot grasses were consumed all year, around showing the highest rate in June while dicots (herbs) were preferred mainly in their bloom peaks in May and October. Tree species dominated from November to March beside remarkable yearly presence in the diet; favourite plants were the common hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) and blackthorn (Prunus spinosa). Conifer trees were represented in a smaller proportion that increased from July to December. The possibility for the seasonal variability of the bisons’ diet was ensured by the mosaic-like landscape of species-rich grasslands and woodlands.
References
Balázs, P., Konkoly-Gyuró, É., Bacsárdi, V., Király, G. (2012): A táj átalakulásának feltárása történeti térképelemzés és kérdőíves felmérés alapján az Őrségben és a Vendvidéken. TransEcoNet projekt: Határon átnyúló ökológiai hálózatok Közép-Európában. Projektjelentés. Nyugat-magyarországi Egyetem Kiadó, Sopron, 64 p.
Bölöni J., Molnár Zs., Kun A. (szerk.) (2011): Magyarország élőhelyei. A hazai vegetációtípusok leírása és határozója. ÁNÉR 2011. MTA ÖBKI, 441 p.
Brandtberg, N. H., Dabelsteen, T. (2013): Habitat selection of two European bison (Bison bonasus) on the Danish island Borholm. European Bison Conservation Newsletter 6 (2013): 73–88.
Červeny, J., Ježek, M., Hola, M., Zikmund, M., Kušta, T., Hanzal, V., Kropil, R. (2014): Daily activity rhythm and habitat use of the semi-free European bison herd during the growing season. Lesnicky časopis – Forestry Journal 60: 199–204.
Craine, J. M., Towne, E. G., Miller, M., Fierer, N. (2015): Climatic warming and the future of bison as grazers. Scientific Reports 5: 16738. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep16738
Fortin, D., Fryxell, J. M., O’Brodovich, L., Frandsen, D. (2003): Foraging ecology of bison at the landscape and plant community levels: the applicability of energy maximization principles. Oecologia 134: 219–227. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-002-1112-4
Gordon, I. J., Hester, A. J., Festa-Bianchet, M. (2004): The management of wild large herbivores to meet economic, conservation and environmental objectives. Journal of Applied Ecology 41: 1021–1031. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-8901.2004.00985.x
Győri-Koósz, B. (2015): Az ürge (Spermophilus citellus) táplálékpreferenciájának vizsgálata hazai természetes és féltermészetes élőhelyeken florisztikai kompozíció- és mikrohisztológiai hullatékelemzéssel. Doktori értekezés. Nyugat-magyarországi Egyetem, Erdőmérnöki Kar, Vadgazdálkodási és Gerinces Állattani Intézet, Sopron. 145 p. http://doktori.uni-sopron.hu/id/eprint/557/19/Gyori_KooszB_doktori_ertekezes.pdf
Jacobs, J. (1974): Quantitative measurement of food selection. Oecologia (Berl.) 14: 413–417. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00384581
Katona, K., Bíró, Z., Hahn, I., Kertész, M., Altbäcker V. (2004): Competition between European hare and European rabbit in a lowland area, Hungary: a long-term ecological study in the period of rabbit extinction. Folia Zoologica 53: 255–268.
Király, G. (2009): Új magyar füvészkönyv. Határozókulcsok. Aggteleki Nemzeti Park Igazgatóság, Jósvafő 616 p.
Kerley, G., Kowalczyk, R., Cromsigt, J. (2012): Conservation implications of the refugee species concept and the European bison: king of the forest or refugee in a marginal habitat? Ecography 35(6): 519–529. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2011.07146.x
Kowalczyk, R., Taberlet, P., Coissac, E., Valentini, A., Miguel, C., Kaminski, T., Wójcik, J. M. (2011): Influence of management practices on large herbivore diet - Case of European bison in Białowieza Primeval Forest (Poland). Forest Ecology and Management 261(4): 821–828. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2010.11.026
Krasinska, M., Krasinski, Z. A. (2007): European bison, a nature monograph. Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Science, Bialowieza, 221 p.
Lehto, C. (2015): Habitat selection of the European bison. Master’s thesis. Grimsö. Independent project/Degree project / SLU, Department of Ecology 2015:4, 32 p.
Mátrai, K, Koltay, A., Tóth, S., Vizi, G. (1986): Key based on leaf epidermalanatomy for food habit studies of herbivores. Acta Botanica Hungarica 32:255–271.
Milis, L. S., Soulé, M. E., Doak, D.F. (1993): The Keystone-Species Concept in Ecology and Conservation. BioScience 43(4) : 219–24. https://doi.org/10.2307/1312122
Molnár, Cs., Molnár, Zs., Barina, Z., Bauer, N., Biró, M., Bodonczi, L., Csathó, A. I., Csiky, J., Deák, J. Á., Fekete, G., Harmos, K., Horváth, A., Isépy, I., Juhász, M., Kállayné Szerényi, J., Király, G., Magos, G., Máté, A., Mesterházy, A., Molnár, A., Nagy, J., Óvári, M., Purger, D., Schmidt, D., Sramkó, G., Szénási, V., Szmorad, F., Szollát, Gy., Tóth, T., Vidra, T., Virók, V. (2008): Vegetation-based landscape-regions of Hungary. Acta Botanica Hungarica 50(Suppl.): 47–58. https://doi.org/10.1556/ABot.50.2008.Suppl.4
Náhlik A., Mara Gy. (2004): Korabeli bizonyítékok a bölény kárpát-medencei elterjedésére és kihalására. In: Bálint L. (Szerk.): A Csíki Székely Múzeum Évkönyve 2004. Természettudományok. Csíki Székely Múzeum Csíkszereda, pp. 455–461.
Németh, A., Bárány, A., Csorba, G., Magyari, E., Pazonyi P., Pálfy, J. (2017): Holocene mammal extinctions in the Carpathian Basin: a review. Mammal Review 47(1): 38–52. https://doi.org/10.1111/mam.12075
Schneider, T. C., Kowalczyk, R. & Köhler, M. (2013). Resting site selection by large herbivores - The case of European bison (Bison bonasus) in Białowieża Primeval Forest. Mammalian Biology, 78 (6): 438–445.
Stefanut, B. (2021): The European bison, the gastronomic giant. https://www.rewildingeurope.com. Published online: 9 February 2021.
Zielke, L., Wrage-Mönnig, N., Müller, J. (2017): Seasonal preferences in diet selection of semi-free ranging European bison (Bison bonasus). European Bison Conservation Newsletter 10: 61–70.
Zielke, L., Wrage-Mönnig, N., Müller, J., Neumann, C. (2019): Implications of spatial habitat diversity on diet selection of European bison and Przewalski’s horses in a rewilding area. Diversity 2019, 11 (63) 1–21. https://doi.org/10.3390/d11040063
Vlasakker, J. van der(2014): Rewilding Europe Bison Rewilding Plan 2014-2024. Publication by Rewilding Europe, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. 64 p.
