Place of the Dromedary in the Ecological Balance of Its Saharan Ecosystem

Abstract

The dromedary is the only breeding species capable of adapting to the harshness of its desert environment. It manages to reproduce, making the most of the very meagre floristic resources of the Saharan ecosystem. Moreover, thanks to these adaptive faculties and its particular feeding behaviour, it contributes largely to the preservation and proliferation of the floristic cover of its Saharan rangelands. Indeed, an overview of studies conducted by our research team has shown that this animal lives in perfect harmony with its environment. On the one hand, it adopts a mode of ambulatory grazing that respects the balance of floristic and vegetative diversity: (1) by being very selective with regard to the species and parts of the plant; (2) by moving from one plant to another without exhaustion and without uprooting; (3) by grazing the parts of the plant (stem leaves, seeds) according to availability; (4) by managing to cover its daily needs, whatever the variations in fodder supply (linked to seasonal climatic variations); and (5) by travelling daily distances that can exceed 50 km/day, so as not to exhaust and overload restricted spaces. On the other hand, the camel, by endozoochory, could play an important role in the long-distance seed dispersal of many wild plant species, and contribute to the maintenance of the diversity and propagation of its floristic cover. After gut passage, the germination percentage of seeds with physical dormancy increases and faeces represent a significant source of organic matter that is favorable for germination and seedling growth until favorable conditions (rainfall) for their germination occur.

Keywords

• dromedary
• Saharan ecosystem
• preservation
• flora
• endozoochory