scholarly journals Plant Wax Alkanes and Alcohols as Herbivore Diet Composition Markers

2004 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel N. Bugalho ◽  
Hugh Dove ◽  
Walter Kelman ◽  
Jeff T. Wood ◽  
Robert W. Mayes
Keyword(s):  
Diet Composition ◽  
Plant Wax

scholarly journals Using plant wax markers to estimate the diet composition of grazing Holstein dairy cows

2017 ◽  
Vol 100 (2) ◽  
pp. 1019-1036 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Heublein ◽  
K.-H. Südekum ◽  
F.L. Gill ◽  
F. Dohme-Meier ◽  
F. Schori
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Diet Composition ◽  
Plant Wax ◽  
Holstein Dairy Cows

scholarly journals Measurement of dietary nutrient intake in free-ranging mammalian herbivores

2000 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Mayes ◽  
Hugh Dove
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Diet Composition ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Isotope Discrimination ◽  
Mammalian Herbivores ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
Dietary Nutrient ◽  
Plant Wax

AbstractThe nutrient intakes of mammalian herbivores depend on the amount and the nutrient content of the plant species and plant parts which they eat. We review the merits of oesophageal-fistulated (OF) animals, microhistological procedures, stable C-isotope discrimination and plant cuticular-wax markers as methods for estimating diet composition and intake in both ruminant and non-ruminant herbivores. We also briefly discuss methods based on grazing behaviour measurements or on H2O or Na turnover, and methods for estimating supplement or soil intake. Estimates of intake in ruminants are often based on separate measurements of faecal output and herbage digestibility. We review this approach and emphasize that, under some circumstances, the applicability ofin vitrodigestibility estimates based on OF extrusa is questionable. We discuss how plant-wax marker patterns can be used to check whether OF and test animals are consuming similar diets, but also emphasize that a major advantage of the use of plant-wax markers is that this approach may obviate altogether the need for OF animals. Estimates of total herbage intake can be partitioned into the intakes coming from different plant species and/or parts, provided diet composition can be measured. Diet composition estimates based on C-isotope discrimination have the major disadvantage that they cannot be taken to species level. By contrast, microhistological methods can identify many plant species in extrusa, digesta or faeces, but often a large proportion of plant fragments remains unidentifiable. Plant-wax hydrocarbons show great promise as markers for estimating diet composition and intake. However, we suggest that to be applicable in complex plant communities there is a need with this method either to recruit a wider range of wax markers (e.g. alcohols, sterols, fatty acids) or to use it in combination with other methods. We suggest that, in turn, this generates an urgent need for research on statistical aspects of the combined use of markers or methods, in relation to the error structures of the data or methods being combined and the standard errors of the resultant estimates of diet composition and intake. We conclude by discussing the extension of intake and/or diet composition measurements to the measurement of nutrient transactions within the gut, particularly in relation to the supply of absorbable nutrients.

Estimating diet composition for mountain hares in newly established native woodland: development and application of plant-wax faecal markers

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 1047-1056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaila J Rao ◽  
Glenn R Iason ◽  
Ian AR Hulbert ◽  
Robert W Mayes ◽  
Paul A Racey
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Sylvestris ◽  
Diet Composition ◽  
Calluna Vulgaris ◽  
Mountain Hare ◽  
Native Woodland ◽  
Form Part ◽  
Lactating Females ◽  
Browse Species ◽  
Dietary Components ◽  
Plant Wax

Knowledge of the feeding ecology of mammalian herbivores is fundamental in predicting their responses to habitat change. Where native woodlands are newly established in open moorland, the extent to which trees form part of the diet of mountain hares (Lepus timidus) is unknown. This information is necessary for predicting the potential effects of mountain hare browsing on woodland establishment. The n-alkanes and a long-chain fatty alcohols found in the cuticular wax of diet plants and faeces (N = 240) were used as markers to estimate the composition of the diet of mountain hares in an area of moorland with newly established Pinus sylvestris and Betula pubescens woodland. During winter, the diet of mountain hares was dominated by Calluna vulgaris, but there was a seasonal shift to a diet dominated by grasses, sedges, and rushes in summer. Pinus sylvestris and B. pubescens were minor dietary components in all seasons. A higher proportion of grasses, sedges, and rushes was found in the diet of lactating females. Results suggest that when an alternative browse species such as C. vulgaris is widely available, mountain hares may not have a large impact on the establishment of native woodland. The dietary results from this study are in broad agreement with those from previous studies using other techniques.

scholarly journals 228 Modeling repeated measurements of diet composition

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 133-133
Author(s):  
Napoleon Vargas Jurado ◽  
Ronald M Lewis ◽  
Kent M Eskridge
Keyword(s):  
Feed Intake ◽  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Diet Composition ◽  
Trifolium Pratense ◽  
Mean Squared Error ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Reconstruction Error ◽  
Repeated Measurements ◽  
Plant Wax

Abstract Estimating feed intake plays a key role in measuring the efficiency of feed use in livestock production systems. However, measuring feed intake in grazing environments is challenging. While the plant-wax marker methodology can be used to measure feed intake, an estimate of diet composition is also necessary. In addition, having a measure of the composition of the diet of grazing herbivores is important for grazing management and rangeland ecology. Although accurately estimating diet composition is possible using nonnegative least squares, modeling repeated measurements or relationships among individuals is not possible. Thus, the goal of this study was to develop models that account for covariance among repeated measurements and relationships among animals. These methodologies were tested on plant-wax marker fecal data from 21 beef cattle heifers, measured at two physiological stages, offered ad libitum pure red clover (Trifolium pratense) and tall fawn fescue (Festuca arundinacea) cubed hay. Plant-wax marker concentration (C27, C29, C31, C33) from the two forage species and fecal samples were measured using gas chromatography. The performance of the proposed methods was assessed by calculating normalized mean squared error (NMSE), mean absolute differences (MAD), reconstruction error (RE), mean bias, and standard error (posterior standard deviation). In addition, the intercept and slopes from regressing observed on estimated red clover proportion in the diet were tested for equality to zero and one, respectively. While modeling repeated measurements did not consistently improve the accuracy of estimation, accounting for relationship among animals appeared to improve MAD, NMSE and RE values. In addition, estimated intercept and slope from regressing observed on estimated red clover proportion did not differ from zero or one, respectively (P ≥ 0.18). While accounting for covariance among repeated measurements only marginally improved accuracy, incorporating a matrix of relationships among animals increased the reliability of estimates of their diet composition.

N-alkane profiles of common rangeland species in northern China and the influence of drying method on their concentrations

2008 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Shu ◽  
Lijun Lin ◽  
Yingjun Zhang ◽  
Hai Wang ◽  
Hailing Luo
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Diet Composition ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Drying Methods ◽  
Drying Method ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
Internal Markers ◽  
Steppe Grassland ◽  
Plant Wax

Plant wax alkanes have been used as internal markers to estimate diet composition of grazing animals. However, alkane contents in samples may vary depending on the drying method used. This study was undertaken to determine the alkane profiles and concentrations of 17 common range land species in northern China with two different drying methods. The results showed that regardless of drying methods, the odd-chain alkanes, particular C29 and C33, predominated in cuticular wax in all 17 common species and their component plant parts. The alkane patterns of plant species within the same genus were relatively similar and the differences in alkanes between stem and leaf were generally smaller than those between inflorescences and leaf or stem. The influence of drying methods on alkane concentrations varied depending on family and individual alkane. The effect of drying methods on C29 seemed to be smaller than other alkanes in all the samples. The oven-dry method produced higher concentrations (P < 0.05) in the three major alkanes (C23, C31 and C33) in the Gramineae family than the freeze-dry method. Therefore, studies dealing with alkane concentrations should use the same drying method for all samples. Key words: Alkane pattern, steppe grassland, oven-dry, freeze-dry

scholarly journals Plant wax alkanes and alcohols as herbivore diet composition markers

2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Bugalho ◽  
Hugh Dove ◽  
Walter Kelman ◽  
Jeff Wood ◽  
Robert Mayes
Keyword(s):  
Diet Composition ◽  
Plant Wax

The possible use of n-alkanes, long-chain fatty alcohols and long-chain fatty acids as markers in studies of the botanical composition of the diet of free-ranging herbivores

2003 ◽  
Vol 2003 ◽  
pp. 155-155
Author(s):  
H. A. M. Ali ◽  
R. W. Mayes ◽  
B. L. Hector ◽  
E. R. Ørskov
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Diet Composition ◽  
Fatty Alcohols ◽  
Long Chain Fatty Acids ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Plant Wax ◽  
Long Chain ◽  
Made In ◽  
Chain Fatty Acids

Few methods exist for quantitatively estimating the diet composition of free-ranging herbivores. Because their patterns differ between species, plant n-alkanes have been successfully used as faecal markers to estimate the botanical composition of simple diets, however, the reliability of this methods may decline as the number of dietary plant species increases (Dove and Mayes, 1996). The objective of this study was to examine whether additional plant-wax compounds, such as long-chain fatty alcohols (Alc) or long–chain fatty acids (Ac) could be used along with n-alkanes (Alk) to allow reliable diet composition estimates to be made in herbivores consuming complex diets.

Using plant wax markers to estimate diet composition and intakes of mixed forages in sheep by feeding a known amount of alkane-labelled supplement

2007 ◽  
Vol 58 (12) ◽  
pp. 1215 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Charmley ◽  
H. Dove
Keyword(s):  
Diet Composition ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Annual Ryegrass ◽  
Release Rates ◽  
Release Device ◽  
Dietary Component ◽  
Dietary Components ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Plant Wax ◽  
Supplement Intake

The feeding of known amounts of supplements to grazing animals can be accomplished relatively easily. If the supplement and the other diet components have distinctive profiles of cuticular wax n-alkanes, then the supplement intake and the alkane profiles of the supplement, other dietary components and faeces can be used to estimate the proportions and hence intakes of several forages by the grazing animal. However, this method requires knowledge of recoveries of n-alkanes in faeces. Twenty four wethers were fed one of four diets comprising equal combinations of 1, 2, 3 or 4 forages. Forages used were subterranean clover, phalaris, annual ryegrass and wheat straw. Forages were chopped using a chaff cutter and fed with solvent-extracted cottonseed meal (CSM) labelled with beeswax and synthetic C28 alkane to provide a characteristic alkane profile. Faecal grab samples were taken from sheep from 14 to 23 days after administration of an intra-ruminal controlled-release device (CRD) containing 1 g of each of C32 and C36 alkane. Total faeces were collected from half the sheep on each treatment in order to measure alkane recoveries in individual sheep. Faecal concentrations of the n-alkanes C25 to C31 and C33 were corrected for recovery using the individual sheep value, the treatment mean or the grand mean for all four treatments. Dietary compositions were then estimated from corrected faecal concentrations of n-alkanes using a least-squares procedure and, together with the known supplement intakes, were used to estimate the intakes of all other diet components. Estimates from this ‘labelled supplement’ method were compared with the amounts fed or those estimated using the alkanes derived from the CRD. The labelled supplement method accurately and precisely estimated dietary component proportions and intake for all treatments when measured recoveries for individual sheep were used. Precision declined when recovery was based on estimated recoveries for treatment means or the grand mean. Estimates of intake based on dietary C33 and the measured release rates of C32 or C36 alkanes from the CRD did not differ from measured intakes. Estimates based on the C32 : C31 alkane pair over-estimated intake. Estimates of whole-diet digestibility based on the various ways of estimating intake were all very close to the digestibilities calculated from directly-measured intakes and faecal outputs. It is concluded that the feeding of a known amount of supplement can be successfully used to estimate dietary proportions and hence intakes of diet components, in mixed diets with up to five ingredients, but this approach requires estimates of faecal alkane recovery.

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