Review of Desert Tortoise Nutritional Ecology
October 9, 2002
National Zoo research nutritionist Olav Oftedal published a major review on nutritional ecology of the endangered desert tortoise, which includes his conservation recommendations.
The review, called “The nutritional ecology of the desert tortoise in the Mohave and Sonoran desert,” is a chapter in a new book, The Sonoran Desert Tortoise. Natural History, Biology and Conservation from the University of Arizona Press. It is based on more than a decade of work that has been solicited and supported by the Bureau of Land Management, Clarke County, Nevada, and other agencies and organizations.
Included in the chapter are Oftedal’s recommendation is for land managers to consider linking livestock grazing in tortoise habitat not just to total forage production but also to the availability of high quality tortoise foods. Cattle have been shown to compete directly with tortoises for some of the same high quality foods, which they remove from the habitat quickly, making these foods unavailable to tortoises. This appears to cause a decline in overall dietary quality, which may be especially detrimental because tortoises depend on these good years to make up for poor or negative nutrient storage in low rainfall years.
The complete reference for this work is: Oftedal, O.T. (2002). “The nutritional ecology of the desert tortoise in the Mohave and Sonoran desert.” Pp. 194-241 In Van Devender, T.R. The Sonoran Desert Tortoise. Natural History, Biology and Conservation. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona.
