ABSTRACT
A number of methods have been employed in studies of feeding habits of rangeland pests. The magnitude of forage removal by rangeland pests often is significant; however, estimates of this removal may not be accurate. An individual or a small number of individuals usually have been used in an attempt to measure the amount of forage removed by insects and other pests on rangelands. Since it has been difficult to use a large number of individuals over a long time interval, estimates of real forage removal by rangeland pests have been made on the basis of extrapolation. N. Moroka et al. made a study of the effects of kangaroo rat on southern New Mexico desert rangelands. The highest mound density occurred in black grama rangeland, while the lowest density occurred in a mesquite grassland. The caged-uncaged plot scheme has been used to obtain dynamic estimates of the amount of forage removed by livestock as well as some rangeland pests.
