Impacts of feral horses on a desert environment |
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| Authors: | Stacey D Ostermann-Kelm Edward A Atwill Esther S Rubin Larry E Hendrickson Walter M Boyce |
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| Institution: | (1) Wildlife Health Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA;(2) School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA;(3) Conservation Biology Institute, PO Box 369, Borrego Springs, CA 92004, USA;(4) Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Springs, CA 92004, USA |
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| Abstract: | Background Free-ranging horses (Equus caballus) in North America are considered to be feral animals since they are descendents of non-native domestic horses introduced
to the continent. We conducted a study in a southern California desert to understand how feral horse movements and horse feces
impacted this arid ecosystem. We evaluated five parameters susceptible to horse trampling: soil strength, vegetation cover,
percent of nonnative vegetation, plant species diversity, and macroinvertebrate abundance. We also tested whether or not plant
cover and species diversity were affected by the presence of horse feces. |
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