Nutritional quality and potential energetic supply of spring forage for Cuvier’s gazelle in a North African Mediterranean forest mosaic
Abstract
Understanding the nutritional ecology of threatened ungulates can guide habitat management in heterogeneous Mediterranean landscapes. We assessed the nutritional quality and potential energetic adequacy of key spring forage plants consumed by the vulnerable Cuvier's gazelle in Djebel Messaâd forest (north-central Algeria). Based on prior diet analyses, we sampled 12 forage species and quantified dry matter, ash, fibre fractions and crude protein. We then predicted dry matter digestibility and metabolisable energy from published equations and compared predicted energy content with published allometric estimates of gazelle energy requirements for maintenance and higher-cost states (activity and lactation). Nutritional profiles varied strongly among species. Grasses dominated by Stipa species showed high fibre and low crude protein, whereas several dicotyledons and the grass Koeleria vallesiana had comparatively higher protein and lower digestibility constraints. Multivariate ordination indicated only weak grouping by forage category, highlighting specieslevel nutritional complementarity within the forest mosaic. Predicted metabolisable energy ranged from 6.2 to 9.3 MJ kg -1 of dry matter, suggesting that spring forage can generally support maintenance requirements, whereas meeting lactation or high-activity demands may depend on access to higher-energy species. These results highlight the conservation value of maintaining habitat heterogeneity in Mediterranean forest mosaics to provide complementary forage resources during spring.
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BibTeX
@article{benamor2026nutritional,
title = {{Nutritional quality and potential energetic supply of spring forage for Cuvier’s gazelle in a North African Mediterranean forest mosaic}},
author = {Naceur Benamor and Farid Bounaceur and Karim Ben Hamed and Sourour Abidi and Saida Nasri and Ahmed R Benia and Dhia Gharabi and Samira Kacha and Imane Derouiche and Stéphane Aulagnier},
journal = {Mammalia},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1515/mammalia-2026-0032},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05779180v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Nutritional quality and potential energetic supply of spring forage for Cuvier’s gazelle in a North African Mediterranean forest mosaic
AU - Naceur Benamor
AU - Farid Bounaceur
AU - Karim Ben Hamed
AU - Sourour Abidi
AU - Saida Nasri
AU - Ahmed R Benia
AU - Dhia Gharabi
AU - Samira Kacha
AU - Imane Derouiche
AU - Stéphane Aulagnier
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/02
JO - Mammalia
DO - 10.1515/mammalia-2026-0032
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05779180v1
AB - Understanding the nutritional ecology of threatened ungulates can guide habitat management in heterogeneous Mediterranean landscapes. We assessed the nutritional quality and potential energetic adequacy of key spring forage plants consumed by the vulnerable Cuvier's gazelle in Djebel Messaâd forest (north-central Algeria). Based on prior diet analyses, we sampled 12 forage species and quantified dry matter, ash, fibre fractions and crude protein. We then predicted dry matter digestibility and metabolisable energy from published equations and compared predicted energy content with published allometric estimates of gazelle energy requirements for maintenance and higher-cost states (activity and lactation). Nutritional profiles varied strongly among species. Grasses dominated by Stipa species showed high fibre and low crude protein, whereas several dicotyledons and the grass Koeleria vallesiana had comparatively higher protein and lower digestibility constraints. Multivariate ordination indicated only weak grouping by forage category, highlighting specieslevel nutritional complementarity within the forest mosaic. Predicted metabolisable energy ranged from 6.2 to 9.3 MJ kg -1 of dry matter, suggesting that spring forage can generally support maintenance requirements, whereas meeting lactation or high-activity demands may depend on access to higher-energy species. These results highlight the conservation value of maintaining habitat heterogeneity in Mediterranean forest mosaics to provide complementary forage resources during spring.
SN - 0025-1461
SN - 1864-1547
ER -