Chapter 5 Investigating Food Habits of Terrestrial Vertebrates Why study food habits? Probably one of the most fundamental questions that ecologists attempt to answer is, “What resources does a particular species require to exist?” Indeed, the first principle among wildlife ecologists is to have a thorough understanding of the food. | Chapter 5 Investigating Food Habits of Terrestrial Vertebrates John A. Litvaitis Why study food habits Probably one of the most fundamental questions that ecologists attempt to answer is What resources does a particular species require to exist Indeed the first principle among wildlife ecologists is to have a thorough understanding of the food cover and water requirements of an animal before initiating any effort to alter the factors that may be limiting it. Information on food habits is therefore an important introduction to the natural history of any species. This has been a justification for many studies of food habits of vertebrates Martin et al. 1961 and is still a valid reason to investigate the diet of any species when little information is available Salas and Fuller 1996 . Food habits have been investigated for a variety of other reasons. Such information is essential in understanding the potential competitive interactions among sympatric species Jaksic et al. 1992 Wiens 1993 or in determining how the foraging patterns of individuals affect community composition. For example how does grazing by wildebeests Connochaetes taurinus affect the diversity of grasses and forbs Does predation by lions Panthera leo limit that same wildebeest population A simple list of foods used by wildebeests or lions will not answer these questions. However determining the biomass consumed and abundance of alternative forage or prey is an important first step in understanding how these two species influence community composition. In human-dominated landscapes information on the food habits of common terrestrial vertebrates has been useful in understanding the economic food niche of many species. Losses of livestock agricultural crops or game populations are serious economic concerns. Limiting these losses is a major charge of government wildlife management agencies. Historically efforts to control depredating wildlife have included indiscriminate attempts to reduce populations of
