The theoretical basis of my project is around deer and selective herbivory of the plants that exist as groundcover at my study site. I am wondering if deer change their grazing patterns based on what is available and if they have preference over certain plants versus others. I’m wondering what characteristics are associated with the plants that the deer did not touch at my site versus the ones that were fully grazed. Has this pattern been seen elsewhere? Can some of the plants be used as decoy food to help protect the more culturally significant plants that are onsite?
This project relates to plant-herbivore interactions as well as plant architecture and defenses. The diagram below shows some key words and different factors that will underpin my research. The keywords that I would choose for my project are “plant-herbivore interaction”, “browse selection”, “altered communities”, and “ungulate browsing”.
