An agent-based model of cattle grazing toxic Geyer's larkspur
Authored by Randall B Boone, Kevin E Jablonski, Paul J Meiman
Date Published: 2018
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194450
Sponsors:
No sponsors listed
Platforms:
NetLogo
Model Documentation:
ODD
Flow charts
Model Code URLs:
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0194450.s001&type=supplementary
Abstract
By killing cattle and otherwise complicating management, the many
species of larkspur (Delphinium spp.) present a serious, intractable,
and complex challenge to livestock grazing management in the western
United States. Among the many obstacles to improving our understanding
of cattle-larkspur dynamics has been the difficulty of testing different
grazing management strategies in the field, as the risk of dead animals
is too great. Agent-based models (ABMs) provide an effective method of
testing alternate management strategies without risk to livestock. ABMs
are especially useful for modeling complex systems such as livestock
grazing management, and allow for realistic bottom-up encoding of cattle
behavior. Here, we introduce a spatially-explicit, behavior-based ABM of
cattle grazing in a pasture with a dangerous amount of Geyer's larkspur
(D. geyeri). This model tests the role of herd cohesion and stocking
density in larkspur intake, finds that both are key drivers of larkspur
induced toxicosis, and indicates that alteration of these factors within
realistic bounds can mitigate risk. Crucially, the model points to herd
cohesion, which has received little attention in the discipline, as
playing an important role in lethal acute toxicosis. As the first ABM to
model grazing behavior at realistic scales, this study also demonstrates
the tremendous potential of ABMs to illuminate grazing management
dynamics, including fundamental aspects of livestock behavior amidst
ecological heterogeneity.
Tags
Management
selection
Livestock
systems
Consumption
Tall larkspur
Delphinium-nuttallianum
Forage intake
Small herd
Terminology