Variation in Body Condition and Diet of The Eastern Barred Bandicoot (Perameles gunnii) During the Breeding Season.

1996 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
A.B. Reimer ◽  
M.A. Hindell
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Change ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Isotope Dilution ◽  
Reproductive Output ◽  
Frequency Of Occurrence ◽  
Energy Demands ◽  
Faecal Samples ◽  
Lactating Females ◽  
Prey Items

Body condition and diet of eastern barred bandicoots (Perameles gunnii) in southern Tasmania were quantified to investigate lactational strategies of a marsupial with medium-duration lactation and high reproductive output. There was no significant seasonal change in body condition, assessed using isotope dilution, or weight for either females or males. Further, body condition and weight of lactating females did not change with age of the pouch young, suggesting that female P. gunnii are able to cope with the energy demands of lactation without storing and utilising stored body fat. Analysis of faecal samples from April to October 1992 revealed a change of the frequency of occurrence of some prey items.

scholarly journals Use of Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) for Predicting Body Fat in Three Populations of Hibernating Black Bears

1996 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 15-19
Author(s):  
H. Harlow ◽  
D. Tinker ◽  
J. Erwin ◽  
R. Grogan ◽  
T. Beck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Fat ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis ◽  
Tritiated Water ◽  
Bioelectrical Impedance ◽  
Black Bear ◽  
Impedance Analysis ◽  
Black Bears ◽  
Female Group ◽  
Lactating Females

Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a tool used to provide a measure of body water content and total body fat in an organism. Recently, researchers have validated BIA against tritiated water techniques in the laboratory and proposed it as a fast, non-invasive method for assessing body condition in free-ranging black bears. In the present study, we field tested BIA as a plausible tool for investigating body fat utilization during hibernation by three black bear populations in the Rocky Mountains. Body fat content in the fall ranged from a mean of about 39% for a group of large, lactating females down to about 29% by two groups of bears consisting of males and mostly non-lactating females. Daily rates of body fat use were greater for the larger, lactating female group than either of the other two groups. Although the fat data determined by BIA appear useful in terms of trends and relative changes, many of the absolute values are inconsistent and perhaps inaccurate. Because BIA is so sensitive to a variety of factors typical of field conditions, we recommend it not be used as the sole source for assessing body condition of large animals such as black bears.

Evaluation of Techniques for Indirect Measurement of Body Composition in a Free-ranging Large Herbivore, the Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew P. Woolnough ◽  
William J. Foley ◽  
Christopher N. Johnson ◽  
Murray Evans
Keyword(s):  
Body Composition ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Isotope Dilution ◽  
Total Body Water ◽  
Body Water ◽  
Large Herbivore ◽  
Total Body Fat ◽  
Total Body ◽  
Highly Correlated

Several indirect methods for measuring body composition in a large herbivore, the southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons), were evaluated. Body composition was determined by whole-body chemical analysis of 15 wild-caught wombats, and compared with several indices of body fat: total body water measured by isotope dilution, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), body-mass index, and a body- condition score. Total body water and total body fat (by soxhlet analysis) were highly correlated (r2 = 0.97, intercept s.e. = 1.00). Total body water measured by desiccation was highly correlated with isotope dilution space (r2 = 0.97, intercept s.e. = 0.43 for deuterium; r2 = 0.95, intercept s.e. = 0.44 for H218O). Percentage body fat by soxhlet analysis was highly correlated with total body water measured as deuterium dilution space (r2 = 0.83, intercept s.e. = 2.46). Multiple linear regression models using BIA plethysmograph measurements (resistance and impedance) and total body mass, were successful in predicting body fat (r2 = 0.90, s.e. = 1.99) and total body water (r2 = 0.90, s.e. = 1.64). Isotope-dilution techniques are the most accurate means of indirectly measuring total body water and total body fat, but at considerable expense of time and money. BIA offers reduced accuracy but at less cost and may be useful for measuring changes in body composition in populations of herbivores. Body-condition indices and scores correlate poorly with body fat, suggesting that their application as a means to predict body fat is limited.

Estimation in vivo of the chemical composition of the bodies of mature cows

1984 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. A. Wright ◽  
A. J. F. Russel
Keyword(s):  
Body Composition ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Body Condition Score ◽  
Deuterium Oxide ◽  
Subcutaneous Fat ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Eye Muscle ◽  
Ultrasonic Measurements ◽  
Condition Score

ABSTRACTA number of possible indices of body composition (live weight, skeletal size, total body water as estimated by deuterium oxide dilution, blood and red cell volumes as estimated by Evans Blue dilution, ultrasonic measurements of subcutaneous fat depth and eye-muscle area, and body condition scoring) was examined using 73 non-pregnant, non-lactating, mature cows of Hereford × Friesian, Blue-Grey, British Friesian, Galloway and Luing genotypes, ranging in body condition score from 0·75 to 4·5. Direct measurements of body composition in terms of water, fat, protein and ash were made following slaughter.Live weight, deuterium oxide dilution, ultrasonic measurements of subcutaneous fat depth and eyemuscle area, and body condition score were all considered to be potentially useful predictors of body composition. Combinations of techniques offered better predictions than did any single index. Using a combination of measurements it was possible to predict body fat and protein with a residual s.d. of 13·1 kg and 3·15 kg respectively. Breed differences in the partition of fat among the main adipose tissue depots necessitated the development of specific prediction equations for body fat based on condition score and subcutaneous fat depth for different breeds. Equations remain to be developed for predicting body composition in cows in different physiological states.

Isotope recycling in lactating dogs (Canis familiaris)

2000 ◽  
Vol 278 (3) ◽  
pp. R669-R676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Scantlebury ◽  
Waring Hynds ◽  
Derek Booles ◽  
John R. Speakman
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
Canis Familiaris ◽  
Domestic Dogs ◽  
Domestic Dog ◽  
Water Turnover ◽  
Energy Demands ◽  
Lactating Females ◽  
Peak Lactation

Isotope-based techniques for the measurement of water turnover, energy expenditure, and milk intake often assume that there is no recycling of isotopes once they have left the labeled animal. In experiments involving lactating females or their suckling offspring, there are several possible routes of isotope recycling. These include the consumption of labeled milk by offspring, the ingestion of labeled excreta, and the rebreathing of exhaled labeled CO2 or water vapor by both mother and offspring. Isotope recycling might be especially important during lactation because the offspring are in close contact with each other and their mother for prolonged periods. We show here in 24- to 30-day-old domestic dog Canis familiarispuppies that there was no detectable transfer of 18O or2H from labeled to unlabeled pups in two litters (16 pups, 8 labeled, 8 unlabeled) that were weaned early and independent of their mother. However, there was a significant transfer of both isotopes from labeled to unlabeled pups and from labeled pups to their mothers in nine equivalent nursing litters of the same age (27 labeled, 26 unlabeled pups). The increases in enrichment of isotopes in unlabeled offspring were greater than the increases in enrichment of the mothers. This indicates that maternal ingestion of offspring excreta and subsequent transfer of isotope in milk is not the sole pathway of recycling. Additional routes must also be important, such as exchange of isotope between pups on saliva-coated nipples and perhaps direct ingestion of excreta by unweaned young. Recycling is unlikely to be an important factor when determining maternal metabolic rate during peak lactation in domestic dogs. However, experiments that are designed to assess the energy demands of pups and isotope-based estimates of water turnover in offspring may need to take into account any effects of isotope recycling. In a theoretical example, removing the effects of recycling increased the measured energy expenditure in pups by up to 7% and increased the calculated elimination rates of both isotopes by up to 11.1% in 18oxygen and 10.9% in2hydrogen.

Evaluating body condition in small mammals

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (6) ◽  
pp. 1021-1029 ◽  
Author(s):  
A I Schulte-Hostedde ◽  
J S Millar ◽  
G J Hickling
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Isotope Dilution ◽  
Condition Index ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Fat Content ◽  
Body Water ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
Fitness Consequences ◽  
Neotoma Cinerea

Body condition (energy reserves) can have important fitness consequences. Measuring condition of live animals is typically done by regressing body mass on measures of body size and using the residuals as an index of condition. The validity of this condition index was evaluated by determining whether it reflected measured fat content of five species of small mammals (yellow-pine chipmunks (Tamias amoenus Allen), bushy-tailed wood rats (Neotoma cinerea Ord), deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus Ord), red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi Vigors), and meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus Ord)). We also determined whether body water could predict fat content, enabling the use of hydrogen-isotope dilution for estimating condition. For all five species, condition estimates weakly predicted fat content and more accurately predicted variation in lean dry mass and water content. The relationship between body water and fat content was inconsistent among the five species, discouraging against the general use of isotope dilution in these animals. Although ecologically important, these indices are best interpreted as explaining variation in all constituents of body composition.

scholarly journals Effects of body fat mass and therapeutic weight loss on vitamin D status in privately owned adult dogs

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tabitha J. Hookey ◽  
Robert C. Backus ◽  
Allison M. Wara
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin D ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Composition Analysis ◽  
Vitamin D Status ◽  
Percentage Body Fat ◽  
Ideal Body ◽  
Privately Owned

AbstractMore than one-third of humans and companion dogs in Western societies are overweight or obese. In people, vitamin D deficiency is widespread and associated with obesity, a now recognised inflammatory state. Low vitamin D status occurs in dogs with inflammatory conditions, but its relationship with obesity has not been investigated. In otherwise healthy privately owned adult dogs of ideal body condition (control,n7) and dogs with overweight to obese body condition (treatment,n8), serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration and body composition as inferred from2H-labelled water dilution space were evaluated. Subsequently, the dogs were transitioned to a commercial canine therapeutic weight-loss diet; control dogs were fed to maintain body weight and treatment dogs were energy-restricted to achieve a safe weight-loss rate. Thereafter, serum 25(OH)D concentration was re-evaluated 8 weeks after diet transition, and at the study end, which was 6 months or when ideal body condition was achieved. At study end, body composition analysis was repeated. Initial body condition scores and percentage body fat were positively correlated (ρ = 0·891;P< 0·001). However, percentage body fat and serum 25(OH)D concentration were not significantly correlated. Final serum 25(OH)D concentrations were greater (P< 0·05) than initial concentrations for control and treatment groups, indicating a diet but not weight-loss effect on vitamin D status. These findings suggest that vitamin D status of dogs is not affected by obesity or loss of body fat with therapeutic weight reduction.

The partition of nutrients in ewes maintained in a moderate compared with a lean body condition in late pregnancy

1997 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 743 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. McNeill ◽  
R. W. Kelly ◽  
I. H. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Feed Intake ◽  
Late Pregnancy ◽  
Placental Weight ◽  
Fetal Weight ◽  
Fetal Size ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Free Body

The effect of ewe fatness on fetal weight at term was tested without the confounding effects of placental weight and feed intake. We hypothesised that fetal weights should be similar in fat or lean ewes with placentas of a similar size, and tested the hypothesis by manipulating nutrition so that, at mating, Merino ewes carrying a single fetus were in a medium (score 2·9, liveweight 46·6 kg) or lean (score 2·0, liveweight 40·6 kg) condition. They were maintained at this fatness difference until slaughter at Day 146 of pregnancy when fetal, placental, and maternal tissues were weighed and analysed for composition. Subgroups (n = 8 per fatness group) slaughtered at Day 110, a stage when most placental hypertrophy is complete but the majority of fetal hypertrophy is yet to occur, confirmed that the treatments differed in ewe fatness (3·82 v. 9·19 kg empty-body fat, s.e.m. = 0·960; P < 0·001) but not placental weight (487 v. 538 g, s.e.m. = 41·5, P > 0·05). By Day 146, fatness differences (4·77 v. 9·56 kg empty-body fat, s.e.m. = 0·960, P < 0·001) and placental similarities (434 v. 502 g, s.e.m. = 38·3, P > 0·05) were maintained, and both groups produced fetuses of similar size (4408 v. 4382 g, s.e.m. = 204·6, P > 0·05). However, the fetuses in the lean ewes had 20% less fat/kg fat-free body weight (24 v. 30 g/kg, s.e.m. = 1·3, P < 0·01). Fetal weight was correlated with placental weight (r = 0·70; P < 0·01) but not with ewe fatness. Fetal fatness, however, was correlated with ewe fatness (r = 0·69; P < 0·01). Ewe fatness per se did not influence fetal size but did influence the deposition of fat in the fetus, possibly via a greater ability of fatter ewes to partition more glucose toward their fetus.

Leptin interrelationships to energy-related metabolites and hormones in fed and fasted sheep

2002 ◽  
Vol 2002 ◽  
pp. 87-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.R.G. Wylie ◽  
D.J. Devlin ◽  
A.J. Bjourson
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Previous Investigation ◽  
Body Condition Score ◽  
Backfat Thickness ◽  
Early Lactation ◽  
Weak Correlation ◽  
Condition Score

A review of published leptin data for growing lambs, older ewes and mature dairy cows in late lactation showed that only 0.30-0.37 of the variation in blood leptin concentration was explained by differences in body fat variably expressed as % of liveweight (LW), backfat thickness and body condition score (BCS) respectively (Wylieet al., 2002). In dairy cows between 15d and 226d postpartum, Wylieet al(2002) observed no overall correlation between leptin at slaughter and lipid expressed as % of LW, empty body weight or carcase weight and only a weak correlation in cows in mid-lactation. Losses of fat during early lactation may ‘uncouple’ the link between leptin and fat and produce a bias across all of lactation. Another explanation is that leptin may be more closely linked with lipogenesis than with the amount of stored fat. This study revisits some metabolite and hormone data from a previous investigation of IGF-1 changes in fed, fasted and re-fed sheep in the light of more recently obtained leptin concentrations in the same animals.

scholarly journals Seasonal change in body fat of the Hyrax Procavia capensis (Pallas, 1766) using a body fat ranking index

Koedoe ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
L.J. Fourie ◽  
M.R. Perrin
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Change ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
Seasonal Variations ◽  
Physiological Condition ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Fat Content ◽  
Total Body Fat ◽  
Procavia Capensis ◽  
Total Body ◽  
Ranking Index

Changes in the body fat content of the hyrax Procavia capensis were used as an indicator of physiological condition. Body fat rankings for the different sexes showed seasonal variations related to physiologically stressful periods (rutting, gestation and lactation). The subjective body fat rankings were correlated significantly with total body fat.

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