A Comparison of Stomach and Fecal Samples for Diet Analysis of Grey Kangaroos

1988 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 249 ◽  
Author(s):  
GL Norbury
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Microscopic Analysis ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Stomach Content Analysis ◽  
Diet Analysis ◽  
Faecal Analysis ◽  
Differential Digestion ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Species Proportions

In an experiment with four captive eastern grey kangaroos, Macropus giganteus, microscopic analysis of both stomach contents and faeces did not reflect the ingested dry weight proportion of most plant species in a fed diet. However, close agreement was obtained by correcting for unidentifiable microscopic fragments of plants. This suggests that differential digestion may not be as important an artefact of microscopic diet analysis as previously reported. Provided corrections are made, faecal analysis may be as reliable as stomach content analysis for describing relative proportions of plant species in the diet of macropodids. In contrast, differences in proportions of plant species between stomach and faecal samples from free-ranging western grey kangaroos, Macropus fuliginosus, suggest that faecal analysis may not be suitable for quantitative studies of diet selection (comparisons of plant species proportions in the diet with species proportions in the field) in areas with heterogeneous vegetation. In these situations, samples of stomach contents are considered more appropriate.

What goes in does not come out: different non-lethal dietary methods give contradictory interpretation of prey selectivity in amphibians

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Costa ◽  
Sebastiano Salvidio ◽  
Mario Posillico ◽  
Tiziana Altea ◽  
Giorgio Matteucci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prey Selection ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Stomach Content Analysis ◽  
Selection Strategy ◽  
Prey Selectivity ◽  
Faecal Analysis ◽  
Trophic Strategy ◽  
A Site ◽  
Significant Positive Selection

To date the most commonly used non-lethal methods in amphibian dietary studies are stomach flushing and faecal analysis. In this study, we compared the outcome of these two methods in interpreting prey selectivity when the available prey community in the environment is known. Stomach flushed contents and faeces were obtained from the same 27 individuals of the spectacled salamander (Salamandrina perspicillata) from a site in Central Italy. The interpretation of the population prey selection strategy varied in relation to the method used. Stomach content analysis suggested that salamanders were highly specialized on springtails, while faecal contents indicated a generalist trophic strategy. Prey selectivity indexes were also highly divergent: the analysis of stomach contents indicated a significant positive selection upon springtails, while exactly the opposite conclusion was obtained when faecal contents were analyzed. The results confirm that in amphibians, stomach analysis provides more reliable dietary data in comparison to faecal analysis. This is related to the fact that soft-bodied prey items tend to be more fully digested, disappearing in faeces while highly chitinized and less digestible prey taxa tend to increase their relative abundances in faeces.

An Investigation Into the Accuracy of Herbivore Diet Analysis

1986 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 559 ◽  
Author(s):  
RD Barker
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Diet Analysis ◽  
Correction Factors ◽  
Size Of Particles ◽  
Number Of Particles

A commonly used technique of herbivore diet analysis consists of grinding ingested material to homogenise the size of particles, extracting a sub-set of these by sieving, and then reconstructing the diet by counting the particles referable to various plant species. A set of experiments revealed that this technique is inaccurate because of variation between species in the number of particles produced per unit dry weight, in the proportion of these retained by the sieve, and in the proportion that could be identified. Thus the technique is badly flawed even without the added complication of differential digestibility, which in itself is shown to be considerable. Certain correction factors derived to cope with these effects are shown to be only partly successful.

scholarly journals Stomach content analysis of a Dugong (Dugong dugon) from South Sulawesi, Indonesia

1993 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 229 ◽  
Author(s):  
PLA Erftemeijer ◽  
Djunarli ◽  
W Moka
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Stomach Content Analysis ◽  
Total Biomass ◽  
Feeding Selectivity ◽  
Individual Female ◽  
South Sulawesi ◽  
Total Dry Weight

A quantitative analysis of the stomach contents of an individual female dugong (Dugong dugon) caught by fishermen in February 1991 in the coastal waters of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, is presented. Of the total dry weight of digesta (about 3.4 kg), 98.9% consisted of seagrass material. Rhizome and root material of smaller pioneering genera (i.e. Halophila, Halodule, Cymodocea) accounted for 71.5% of the total dry weight. Enhalus acoroides dominated among leaf material (about 50%), but its contribution to the total biomass of the stomach contents was only 13.5%. Rhizome material of Enhalus and Thalassia was absent. The amount of sediment in the stomach was negligible. The results are compared with those from similar studies, and the implications for possible feeding selectivity are discussed.

Microscopic Analysis of Herbivore Diets - a Problem and a Solution

1988 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
GL Norbury
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Microscopic Analysis ◽  
Diet Analysis ◽  
Relative Area ◽  
Plant Fragment ◽  
Point Quadrat ◽  
Conversion Equation ◽  
Microscopic Techniques ◽  
Quadrat Analysis

Three microscopic techniques are commonly used to score the relative abundance of types of plant epidermis in the diet of herbivores: 1 frequency of occurrence; 2 the number; and 3 the area covered by different fragment types. A survey of the literature indicates that the relative area of fragments, determined by point quadrat analysis, is the most precise means of diet analysis. However, none of these techniques can identify every plant fragment. I describe an experiment that shows that the proportion of the unidentifiable component varies between four plant species, indicating that diet descriptions based only on identifiable tissue are unreliable. By knowing the proportion of identifiable tissue for each species, a conversion equation may be calculated that significantly improves point frequencies when compared with known dry weights. The techniques of point quadrat analysis and converted point frequencies may provide accurate estimates of relative abundance of other plant species in samples of herbivore diets.

Using stomach contents for diet analysis of carnivores through DNA barcoding

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Santos ◽  
Carlos Fonseca ◽  
Tânia Barros ◽  
Raquel Godinho ◽  
Cristiane Bastos-Silveira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Barcoding ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Diet Analysis

scholarly journals Influence of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles on Two Terrestrial Wild Plant Species

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 335
Author(s):  
Daniel Lizzi ◽  
Alessandro Mattiello ◽  
Alessio Adamiano ◽  
Guido Fellet ◽  
Emanuele Gava ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerium Oxide ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles ◽  
Oxide Nanoparticles ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Wild Plant Species ◽  
Leaf Tissues

Most current studies on the relationships between plans and engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are focused on food crops, while the effects on spontaneous plants have been neglected so far. However, from an ecological perspective, the ENMs impacts on the wild plants could have dire consequences on food webs and ecosystem services. Therefore, they should not be considered less critical. A pot trial was carried out in greenhouse conditions to evaluate the growth of Holcus lanatus L. (monocot) and Diplotaxis tenuifolia L. DC. (dicot) exposed to cerium oxide nanoparticles (nCeO2). Plants were grown for their entire cycle in a substrate amended with 200 mg kg−1nCeO2 having the size of 25 nm and 50 nm, respectively. nCeO2 were taken up by plant roots and then translocated towards leaf tissues of both species. However, the mean size of nCeO2 found in the roots of the species was different. In D. tenuifolia, there was evidence of more significant particle aggregation compared to H. lanatus. Further, biomass variables (dry weight of plant fractions and leaf area) showed that plant species responded differently to the treatments. In the experimental conditions, there were recorded stimulating effects on plant growth. However, nutritional imbalances for macro and micronutrients were observed, as well.

scholarly journals Geographic source estimation using airborne plant environmental DNA in dust

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea Lennartz ◽  
Joel Kurucar ◽  
Stephen Coppola ◽  
Janice Crager ◽  
Johanna Bobrow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Fungal Spores ◽  
Geographic Origin ◽  
Microscopic Analysis ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Dust Sample ◽  
Accurate Estimate ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
Settled Dust ◽  
Great Utility

AbstractInformation obtained from the analysis of dust, particularly biological particles such as pollen, plant parts, and fungal spores, has great utility in forensic geolocation. As an alternative to manual microscopic analysis of dust components, we developed a pipeline that utilizes the airborne plant environmental DNA (eDNA) in settled dust to estimate geographic origin. Metabarcoding of settled airborne eDNA was used to identify plant species whose geographic distributions were then derived from occurrence records in the USGS Biodiversity in Service of Our Nation (BISON) database. The distributions for all plant species identified in a sample were used to generate a probabilistic estimate of the sample source. With settled dust collected at four U.S. sites over a 15-month period, we demonstrated positive regional geolocation (within 600 km2 of the collection point) with 47.6% (20 of 42) of the samples analyzed. Attribution accuracy and resolution was dependent on the number of plant species identified in a dust sample, which was greatly affected by the season of collection. In dust samples that yielded a minimum of 20 identified plant species, positive regional attribution was achieved with 66.7% (16 of 24 samples). For broader demonstration, citizen-collected dust samples collected from 31 diverse U.S. sites were analyzed, and trace plant eDNA provided relevant regional attribution information on provenance in 32.2% of samples. This showed that analysis of airborne plant eDNA in settled dust can provide an accurate estimate regional provenance within the U.S., and relevant forensic information, for a substantial fraction of samples analyzed.

Ingesta particle size, food handling and ingestion in the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii Desmarest)

1999 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 75 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Lentle ◽  
K. J. Stafford ◽  
M. A. Potter ◽  
B. P. Springett ◽  
S. Haslett
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Particle Size Distribution ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Tammar Wallaby ◽  
Food Handling ◽  
Macropus Eugenii ◽  
Food Particles ◽  
Chewing Rates ◽  
Free Ranging

The particle size distribution of stomach contents from 25 tammar wallabies (Macropus eugenii Desmarest) shot in the Okataina State Forest and adjoining farmland near Rotorua, New Zealand, were determined. There was a greater percentage of finer, and a smaller percentage of larger, particles than reported in the stomach contents of larger macropods. The chewing and biting activities of four free-ranging tammars fitted with radio-microphone collars were monitored. Chewing rates (chews per minute) were similar to those of other small herbivorous vertebrates. There were significantly lower rates of chewing and higher chew-to- bite ratios when browsing than when grazing. Observations of browsing by three captive tammars showed inefficient handling by mutually opposed palms and digitopalmar grip, resulting in low rates of ingestion. We suggest that tammars lower the time necessary for fermentation of food by reducing the size of food particles, and that their choice between graze and browse is influenced by food handling and chewing investment.

scholarly journals FEEDING HABITS AND HELMINTH PARASITES OF SARDINE (S. PILCHARDUS) AND ANCHOVY (E. ENCRASICOLUS) IN THE ADRIATIC SEA

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 216 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. ZORICA ◽  
V. ČIKES KEČ ◽  
O. VIDJAK ◽  
I. MLADINEO ◽  
D. EZGETA BALIČ
Keyword(s):  
Diet Composition ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Stomach Content Analysis ◽  
Helminth Parasites ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Prey Composition ◽  
One Year ◽  
Paratenic Hosts ◽  
Hysterothylacium Aduncum

We examined the stomach contents of two of the most economically and ecologically important small pelagic fish species, the sardine, Sardina pilchardus and the anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus, obtained monthly from commercial purse-seine catches operating on Croatian fishing grounds during a one-year period (January–December, 2011). Both species generally showed a similar diet, with copepod and decapod larvae as dominant prey groups. The composition of anchovy and sardine stomach contents was not size- or sex-related, but throughout the year, a significant difference in diet composition was observed for each species as well as between species. Two gastrointerstinal helminths; the digenean Parahemiurus merus and nematode Hysterothylacium aduncum, were recorded during the stomach content analysis. Differences in population dynamics between the two parasites are congruent with differences in the prey composition of sardine and anchovy, reflecting fine-tuned interactions in the trophic web between parasites and intermediate or paratenic hosts included in the sardine and anchovy diet.

scholarly journals A linear model for leaf area measurement to screen potential leaf material for herbal drug in Adhatoda vasica L.

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-143
Author(s):  
J. V. Thaker ◽  
R. P. Kuvad ◽  
V. S. Thaker
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Linear Model ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Nondestructive Method ◽  
Area Measurement ◽  
Adhatoda Vasica ◽  
Linear Correlations

Leaf area is an important parameter in physiology and agronomy studies. Linear models for leaf area measurement are developed for plant species as a nondestructive method. The plant Adhatoda vasica L. (a medicinal plant) was selected and the leaves of this plant were used for development of linear model for leaf area using Leaf Area Meter (LAM) software. Planimetric parameters (length, length2, width and width2) and gravimetric (dry weight and water content) parameters are considered for the development of linear model for this plant species. Single factor ANOVA and linear correlations were worked out using these parameters and leaf area. The plant was showed significant relationship with the parameters studied. The best correlation as represented by regression coefficient (R2) was used and improved R2 is worked out. It is observed that with increase in leaf area, water content is also increased and showed best correlation with the leaf area. Thus water content can be taken as a parameter for developing linear model for leaf area is concluded.

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