Spatial relations of American bison (Bison bison) and domestic cattle in a montane environment

Abstract

Restoration of American bison (Bison bison) to montane environments where they once occurred requires information on ecological relationships with domestic cattle (Bos taurus) that now live there. Comparisons of the foraging distributions of sympatric bison and cattle in a 375-ha basin revealed that cattle were constrained by slope and distance from water, especially vertical distance, whereas bison responded mostly to forage availability. Cattle appeared to be central place foragers oriented around water and followed a strategy of meeting their energetic needs with the least cost. Bison, in contrast, appeared to be energy maximizers that moved often in response to forage availability. The result was relatively little overlap (29%) in spatial distributions. If bison replace cattle in montane environments, managers can expect a more even distribution of grazing pressure. Bison and cattle might be managed sympatrically; their spatial distributions may be sufficiently different to minimize competition for food, and the risk of interspecific disease transmission as well.