Distances between Grazing Cows in a Herd Formed from Two Independent Herds

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  • 放牧牛群における個体間の距離 : (前歴の異なる)独立な2グループからなる牛群の場合

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Frequently, several herds of cattle that have been raised separately, on different farms or paddocks, are combined into a single herd and released to pasture. Often, herds that have been raised separately behave independently for several months afterwards. Mutually unfamiliar individuals from different farms do not interact much with each other. This study analyzed how the distances between grazing cows were determined in an 88×6-m pasture when two independent herds of four cows each, from different farms, were released to graze together. Collectively, the eight cows are referred to as the entire herd. The coordinates of each cow were recorded every 5 min. The distance between two given cows was determined using the following six effects, in order of priority : (1) behavior common to all the individuals in the entire herd (referred to as the entire herd length effect), (2) behavior common to all the individuals in each original herd (sub-herd length effect), (3) repulsive and attractive forces operating between two given individuals (direct effect), (4) the effects of a third cow (half-indirect effect), (5) the effects of unconnected pairs (indirect effect), and (6) any residual effect that is not explained by the previous five effects (random movement effect). Within each of the two original herds, the sub-herd length, and the direct and random movement effects made large contributions, while the entire herd length and indirect effects made small contributions ; the half-indirect effect was intermediate in determining the distances between individuals. Conversely, between the two original herds, the entire herd length made an overwhelmingly large contribution, and the other effects made small contributions in determining the distances between individuals.

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