In the high-altitude Andean grasslands of South America, there is a conflict of interest between pastoralists farming domestic livestock (such as sheep, goats, and llamas) and conservationists protecting the wild vicuña (a threatened wild relative of the alpaca).
When livestock are given supplementary winter feed, their populations can grow artificially large and outcompete the vicuña.
Name the type of competition that occurs between domestic livestock and wild vicuña.
Livestock will outcompete vicuña if they:
Scientists investigated this conflict of interests. Table 1 summarizes some of their findings.
Table 1
| Type of livestock | Difference between livestock diet and vicuña diet* | Difference between livestock grazing altitude and vicuña altitude* |
|---|---|---|
| Goat | 0.8 | 1.6 |
| Sheep | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Llama | 0.0 | 2.4 |
* A score of 0.0 indicates that the diet or altitude range is identical.
There must be a balance between the need for conservation of the threatened vicuña and the economic needs of local farmers.
Using all the information provided, suggest and explain three actions that the farmers could take to achieve this balance.
