Smaller grazers consistently show greater preference for recently burned patches than larger species. Energy optimization theory posits that this pattern is driven by small‐ versus large‐bodied herbivores seeking to maximize energy intake by choosing high‐quality recently burned grasses, or high‐quantity unburned grasses, respectively. We propose that if burn preference is driven by an energy‐maximization mechanism, then preference should change over time as grass regrows and progresses across the optimal feeding heights of herbivores of increasing body size. To test this, we used a camera trap array in the Serengeti National Park to quantify changes in the relative preference for burned patches of seven ruminant herbivore species. We compared observed patterns to simulation results from a grass production‐herbivore patch selection model. Burn preference and herbivore body size scaled negatively for 6 months after fire, but this relationship disappeared after 7 months when smaller species stopped selecting burns, and larger herbivores selected burns after 10 months, in a reversal of classic grazer succession. Simulations recreated the former but not the latter relationship, suggesting that an energy‐maximization mechanism can drive allometric scaling of burn preference immediately after fire, but over longer periods, grazer‐driven feedbacks are required to explain large herbivore burn preferences.

中文翻译：

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火灾与食草动物摄食率相互作用以控制食草动物栖息地占用的时间


较小的食草动物始终比较大的物种更偏爱最近被烧毁的斑块。能量优化理论认为，这种模式是由小型食草动物与大型食草动物驱动的，它们寻求通过分别选择高质量的最近燃烧的草或大量未燃烧的草来最大化能量摄入。我们提出，如果燃烧偏好是由能量最大化机制驱动的，那么随着草的再生并在体型增加的食草动物的最佳摄食高度上发展，偏好应该随着时间的推移而改变。为了测试这一点，我们在塞伦盖蒂国家公园使用了一个相机陷阱阵列来量化七种反刍动物食草动物物种对被烧毁斑块的相对偏好的变化。我们将观察到的模式与草生产-食草动物斑块选择模型的模拟结果进行了比较。火灾后 6 个月，烧伤偏好和食草动物体型呈负向缩放，但这种关系在 7 个月后消失，当时较小的物种停止选择烧伤，而较大的食草动物在 10 个月后选择烧伤，这与经典的食草动物演替相反。模拟再现了前者，但没有重建后一种关系，这表明能量最大化机制可以在火灾后立即驱动燃烧偏好的异速生长缩放，但在更长的时间内，需要食草动物驱动的反馈来解释大型食草动物的燃烧偏好。