Detection of temporal behaviour patterns of free-ranging cattle by means of diversity spectra

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to detect temporal patterns of cattle behaviour. The method, diversity spectra, provides, on the one hand, the number of parts into which a temporary transect should be divided in order to understand the maximum segregation of cattle activities and, on the other, the clarity with which each segregation is defined. In the case under study (a 'dehesa' pasture-land in central Spain) the maximum segregation of fundamental activities in cattle behaviour is reached by considering the year as divided into two periods: spring-summer and autumn-winter. Cattle behaviour shows an annual "coarse grain" pattern, which is associated with management activities and with the meteorological seasonality of the Mediterranean climate. However, within each of the two annual periods, maximum segregation is reached considering separately the days of observation. This "fine grain" pattern indicates within each season, a certain capacity for response to a fluctuating environment and determines very different behaviour on close days. During autumn-winter period cattle show seasonal and daily activity segregations which are clearer than during spring-summer. In the former period, the lack of grass, more severe climatic conditions and management would seem to be determining factors of this temporal behaviour pattern.