grazer
Quick Summary
A grazer is an animal that feeds on grass or herbs. Many animals, including artiodactyls (even-toed ungulates), are grazers. These animals are dependent on their environment for food resources, such as areas not covered by excessive snow or drought.12
Grazers can be specialized to feed on grass at different heights. For example, hippopotamuses graze at night, while vicuñas graze on soft grasses and herbs in the Andes. Some grazers, like the white rhinoceros, are highly specialized for grazing on grass.23
The strategy of grazing involves moving from one food source to another without killing it outright. This is common in plants because they can lose a part without the whole individual being destroyed, unlike most animals. Grazing is a significant ecological interaction, influencing plant communities and how resources are utilized.4
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savannaFauna…which foster the vegetation through grazing, browsing, pollinating, nutrient cycling, or seed dispersal. Many areas of savanna are managed today to maintain large grazing mammals, such as the native fauna of Africa or the cattle used for commercial production in large areas of Australia and South and Central America. Less…
Read More…which foster the vegetation through grazing, browsing, pollinating, nutrient cycling, or seed dispersal. Many areas of savanna are managed today to maintain large grazing mammals, such as the native fauna of Africa or the cattle used for commercial production in large areas of Australia and South and Central America. Less…
Read More- savannaPopulation and community development and structure
Through their grazing, animals also can alter the balance between woody plants and grasses in a savanna—in either direction, depending on their feeding habits. Wild and introduced grass-eating mammals may overgraze and push the grass toward local extinction. However, even high populations of those creatures cannot eliminate…
Read MoreThrough their grazing, animals also can alter the balance between woody plants and grasses in a savanna—in either direction, depending on their feeding habits. Wild and introduced grass-eating mammals may overgraze and push the grass toward local extinction. However, even high populations of those creatures cannot eliminate…
Read More