Seasonal adjustment of energy budget in a large wild mammal, the Przewalski horse (Equus ferus przewalskii) I. Energy intake.

Full Abstract

Large ruminants respond to changing plant phenology during winter by decreasing voluntary food intake, increasing gut passage time and utilizing body fat reserves. It is uncertain, however, how other large mammals with a non-ruminant digestive physiology cope with winter forage conditions. Therefore, we investigated seasonality of energy intake in a large herbivorous wild mammal, the Przewalski horse (Equus ferus przewalskii). Throughout all seasons we used the n-alkane method to measure daily dry matter intake (DMI), diet composition and digestion, and determined an index of gut passage time in horses living under close to natural conditions. DMI correlated positively with its content of crude protein and nitrogen-free extract. Independent of these effects, DMI further varied seasonally with a peak in autumn and a nadir in late winter. Fluctuations of DMI corresponded to the annual change in body condition, which decreased during winter while energy reserves were depleted, and increased during the fattening period. Gut passage time varied in the course of the year and was longer during winter when the diet was high in crude fibre. Nevertheless, changes in gut passage time occurred rather independently of changes in forage composition and DMI, suggesting endogenous control for timely adaption of the digestive strategy to meet predictable changes in forage quality.

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Author information

Author/s: Kuntz, Regina (R); Kubalek, Christina (C); Ruf, Thomas (T); Tataruch, Frieda (F); Arnold, Walter (W);

Affiliation: Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Savoyenstrasse 1, 1160 Vienna, Austria.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: The Journal of experimental biology (J Exp Biol), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Nov; vol 209 (issue Pt 22) : pp 4557-65

Dates: Created 2006/11/02; Completed 2007/02/08;

PMID: 17079725, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Animals
Animals, Wild - physiology
Diet
Dietary Fiber - administration & dosage
Digestion
Energy Intake

Energy Metabolism
Female
Horses - physiology
Male
Nutritional Status
Seasons

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