Abstract

ZAPATA-CAMPOS, Cecilia Carmela  and  MELLADO-BOSQUE, Miguel Ángel. The goat: selection and intake habits of native plants in arid range. CienciaUAT [online]. 2021, vol.15, n.2, pp.169-185.  Epub Apr 14, 2021. ISSN 2007-7858.  https://doi.org/10.29059/cienciauat.v15i2.1409.

Goats dwell arid regions as a result of their adaptation to extreme conditions. Diet selection is one of the behavioral strategies that has allowed them to avoid nutritional deficiencies or poisonings, even under conditions of low food availability. Likewise, browsing as an ingestive behavior of the species allows them to select and obtain plants with adequate crude protein values, which favor their development and survival. Also, goats adapt to the chemical characteristics of plants, which develop bioactive compounds to avoid being consumed. These secondary metabolites can have antinutritional and toxic effects, as well as medicinal or curative effects, depending on the consumption that the animal has. The objective of this work was to review the selection and habits of goats in the consumption of native plants, to determine how they favor the survival and productivity of the species under the conditions of environmental adversity that characterize arid regions. This knowledge will allow to establish strategies for the proper management of the rangeland and to know the effect that the compounds of the secondary metabolism of the plants may have on the reproductive, nutritional, and health processes, as well as on the products derived from the milk or meat of these animals.

Keywords : nutritional behavior; diet; nutritional components; intake; secondary metabolites.