科创中国

Recursion?by?herbivores?is?the?repeated?use?of?the?same?site?or?plants.?Recursion?by?wild?animals?is?rarely?investigated?but?may?be?ubiquitous.?Optimal?foraging?theory?predicts?site?recursion?as?a?function?of?the?quality?of?the?site,?extent?of?its?last?use,?and?time?since?its?last?use?because?these?influence?site?resource?status?and?recovery.?We?used?GPS?collars,?behaviour?and?site?sampling?to?investigate?recursion?to?foraging?sites?for?two?elephant?Elephas?maximus?borneensis?herds?in?the?Lower?Kinabatangan?Wildlife?Sanctuary,?Borneo,?over?a?12?month?period.?Recursion?occurred?to?48?out?of?87?foraging?sites?and?was?most?common?within?48?hours?or?between?151-250?days,?indicating?two?different?types?ofrecursion.?Recursion?was?more?likely?to?occur?if?the?site?had?previously?been?occupied?for?longer.?Moreover,?the?time?spent?at?a?site?at?recursion?was?the?same?as?the?time?spent?at?the?site?on?the?first?occasion.?The?number?of?days?that?had?passed?between?the?first?visit?and?recursion?was?also?positively?correlated?with?how?much?time?was?spent?at?the?site?at?recursion.?Habitat?type?also?influenced?the?intensity?of?site-use,?with?more?time?spent?at?recursion?within?riverine/open?grass?areas?along?forest?margins?compared?to?other?habitat?types.?Recursion?is?a?common?behaviour?used?by?the?elephants?and?its?pattern?suggests?it?may?be?a?foraging?strategy?for?revisiting?areas?of?greater?value.?The?qualities?of?recursion?sites?might?usefully?be?incorporated?into?landscape?management?strategies?for?elephant?conservation?in?the?area?[Current?Zoology?60?(4):?551-559,?2014].