scholarly journals Seasonal and Nutrient Supplement Responses in Rumen Microbiota Structure and Metabolites of Tropical Rangeland Cattle

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1550
Author(s):  
Gonzalo Martinez-Fernandez ◽  
Jinzhen Jiao ◽  
Jagadish Padmanabha ◽  
Stuart E. Denman ◽  
Christopher S. McSweeney

This study aimed to characterize the rumen microbiota structure of cattle grazing in tropical rangelands throughout seasons and their responses in rumen ecology and productivity to a N-based supplement during the dry season. Twenty pregnant heifers grazing during the dry season of northern Australia were allocated to either N-supplemented or un-supplemented diets and monitored through the seasons. Rumen fluid, blood, and feces were analyzed before supplementation (mid-dry season), after two months supplementation (late-dry season), and post supplementation (wet season). Supplementation increased average daily weight gain (ADWG), rumen NH3–N, branched fatty acids, butyrate and acetic:propionic ratio, and decreased plasma δ15N. The supplement promoted bacterial populations involved in hemicellulose and pectin degradation and ammonia assimilation: Bacteroidales BS11, Cyanobacteria, and Prevotella spp. During the dry season, fibrolytic populations were promoted: the bacteria Fibrobacter, Cyanobacteria and Kiritimatiellaeota groups; the fungi Cyllamyces; and the protozoa Ostracodinium. The wet season increased the abundances of rumen protozoa and fungi populations, with increases of bacterial families Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Muribaculaceae; the protozoa Entodinium and Eudiplodinium; the fungi Pecoramyces; and the archaea Methanosphera. In conclusion, the rumen microbiota of cattle grazing in a tropical grassland is distinctive from published studies that mainly describe ruminants consuming better quality diets.

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 35-40
Author(s):  
Hanne H. Hansen ◽  
Jørgen Madsen

SummaryThe diet of cattle grazing in the Sanyati communal area, Zimbabwe was determined using plant particle identification from faeces from intact animals, and faeces and oesophageal extrusa from fistulated animals. A total of 130 plant genus, species and types were identified. The twenty most frequently occurring species in the samples comprised between 76 and 90% of the identifiable diet. The most frequent grass species were more than half of the identified diet in the dry season while they were half or less of the identified diet in the wet season. There were more plant species identified in the wet season than in the dry season. Significant differences were found when comparing the plant species identified in faeces to those in oesophageal extrusa from fistulated animals. This may be due to incomplete recovery of ingesta in the bags, or to the loss of identifiable particles in the faeces when compared to oesophageal extrusa because of digestibility. More research is needed to validate the use of oesophageal extrusa for diet botanical determination.


1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 781 ◽  
Author(s):  
DB Coates

The dietary preference of cattle grazing Stylosanthes-based pastures in the seasonally dry tropics of North Queensland was studied using faecal carbon ratios (S13C) to determine grass-legume proportions. Estimates were made at monthly intervals for several years in 1 experiment to determine the effect of year, season and botanical composition on dietary stylo proportions. In another experiment, the effect of stylo cultivars (Verano and Seca) on dietary preference was monitored for 17 months. Where pastures provided ample opportunity for selection, cattle showed a strong preference for grass in the early wet season and in the late dry season. The proportion of stylo in the diet increased during the wet season and reached peak proportions (as high as 80%) in the late wet season or early dry season. Dietary stylo proportions decreased as pastures dried off and as the stylo shed leaf or became more stemmy. The length of the wet season and the amount and distribution of rainfall had a major influence on the seasonal pattern of diet selection. Stylo rarely fell below 20% in the diet. On an annual basis, stylo accounted for about 45% of the diet which was appreciably higher than the proportion of stylo in the pasture. Dietary stylo proportions were higher on Seca-based pasture than on Verano-based pasture. The avoidance of stylo in the early wet season was less pronounced with Seca compared with Verano. Later in the season Seca was the dominant dietary component for a much longer period than Verano. The effect of botanical composition on dietary grass-legume proportions varied between and within years. Correlations between grass-legume proportions in the pasture and in the diet were highest in the late dry season and early wet season when preference for grass was strongest. At the end of the wet season when cattle preferred stylo, dietary stylo was not related to pasture stylo content except in a drought year. Averaged over the full year, dietary stylo content was significantly correlated with pasture stylo content in all years and the correlation was highest in a drought year when there was a high level of utilisation and less opportunity for selection. A simple model relating dietary stylo to pasture stylo was developed and is discussed.


1980 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 393 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Romero ◽  
BD Siebert

Organic matter intake of cattle grazing tropical pastures was measured during periods of, firstly, new grass growth in the wet season, secondly, regrowth of grass pasture following rain, and thirdly, mature growth consisting of chiefly either grass or legume. The measurements were made by reference to digesta markers on fistulated cattle carrying portable equipment. The intake values of digestible energy were considered in relation to digestibility values obtained from diet samples from oesophageally fistulated cattle grazing grass and legume pastures over a 5-month period, and also to changes in liveweight of a group of unfistulated cattle grazing the same pastures. The measured values of digestible energy intake during new pasture growth, regrowth and during the dry season were in accord with the weight changes. The relationship between digestibility and liveweight change suggested that the primary limitation to the growth of cattle on tropical pastures is one of digestibility. Although supplementary nitrogen is known to increase feed intake in deficient situations, it would seem that substantial improvement of dry season nutrition can only be achieved by using forage that is more digestible than the native vegetation. Some legume introductions appear to do this.


1976 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Playne ◽  
P. M. Kennedy

SummaryTotal VFA concentrations, individual VFA proportions and ammonia concentrations in the rumen of cattle grazing tropical pastures for 7 months during the dry season were compared with concentrations of these metabolites in cattle grazing in the wet season and in cattle given two pasture hays in pens.Neither total VFA nor ammonia concentrations were altered by periods of new pasture growth within the dry season although responses in live weight occurred. Further evidence that concentrations of total VFA were insensitive to differences in feed quality was shown in the pen experiment.VFA concentrations were 53% higher in the rainy season than in the dry season and ammonia concentrations doubled from 62 mg/1 in the dry to 128 mg/1 in the wet season. Ruminal ammonia was related to ingested bolus N concentration (r= 0·58,P< 0.001) during the dry season.Individual VFA proportions did not vary greatly. The highest acetic (79·1%) and lowest butyric acid (5.10%) proportions occurred in the same sample. Iso-valeric and valeric acid proportions were related positively to ruminal ammonia (P< 0·001).In grazing cattle, concentrations of VFA and ammonia in their rumen taken at hourly intervals between 07.00 and 18.00 h did not vary greatly with time. Samples taken before 10.00 h had higher VFA and ammonia levels.


1981 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 133
Author(s):  
A.McR. Holm ◽  
AL Payne ◽  
PD Morgan ◽  
EJ Speijers

The study was designed to evaluate the effects of phosphorus and non protein nitrogen supplementation on weaner cattle grazing natural pastures on the Fitzroy Pastoral Research Station, north Western Australia. The study was repeated over the period July 1971 to April 1976, with four drafts of weaners which grazed Mitchell grass pastures during the dry season and curly spinifex-ribbon grass pastures during the wet season. In each year, one of four groups received either no supplement (control), urea plus sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, or urea plus ammonium sulphate plus phosphoric acid. The supplements were measured into and mixed with the drinking water. Weaners given phosphoric acid gained between 10.5 and 21.7 kg a head more than those not given phosphorus. The response was significant in two of the four dry seasons, three of the four wet seasons and for every ye= when both seasons were considered together. Urea supplements increased liveweight gain over the dry season and depressed liveweight gain over the wet season. There was no advantage to urea when the two seasons were combined. Cattle given supplements through the drinking water drank less water and more of those given nitrogenous compounds died than those not receiving supplements.


BMC Genomics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue Zhu ◽  
Jiyue Qin ◽  
Chongyang Tan ◽  
Kang Ning

Abstract Background Most studies investigating human gut microbiome dynamics are conducted on humans living in an urban setting. However, few studies have researched the gut microbiome of the populations living traditional lifestyles. These understudied populations are arguably better subjects in answering human-gut microbiome evolution because of their lower exposure to antibiotics and higher dependence on natural resources. Hadza hunter-gatherers in Tanzania have exhibited high biodiversity and seasonal patterns in their gut microbiome composition at the family level, where some taxa disappear in one season and reappear later. Such seasonal changes have been profiled, but the nucleotide changes remain unexplored at the genome level. Thus, it is still elusive how microbial communities change with seasonal changes at the genome level. Results In this study, we performed a strain-level single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis on 40 Hadza fecal metagenome samples spanning three seasons. With more SNP presented in the wet season, eight prevalent species have significant SNP enrichment with the increasing number of SNP calling by VarScan2, among which only three species have relatively high abundances. Eighty-three genes have the most SNP distributions between the wet season and dry season. Many of these genes are derived from Ruminococcus obeum, and mainly participated in metabolic pathways including carbon metabolism, pyruvate metabolism, and glycolysis. Conclusions Eight prevalent species have significant SNP enrichments with the increasing number of SNP, among which only Eubacterium biforme, Eubacterium hallii and Ruminococcus obeum have relatively high species abundances. Many genes in the microbiomes also presented characteristic SNP distributions between the wet season and the dry season. This implies that the seasonal changes might indirectly impact the mutation patterns for specific species and functions for the gut microbiome of the population that lives in traditional lifestyles through changing the diet in wet and dry seasons, indicating the role of these variants in these species’ adaptation to the changing environment and diets.


Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 319
Author(s):  
Cristian Pérez-Granados ◽  
Karl-L. Schuchmann

Climatic conditions represent one of the main constraints that influence avian calling behavior. Here, we monitored the daily calling activity of the Undulated Tinamou (Crypturellus undulatus) and the Chaco Chachalaca (Ortalis canicollis) during the dry and wet seasons in the Brazilian Pantanal. We aimed to assess the effects of climate predictors on the vocal activity of these focal species and evaluate whether these effects may vary among seasons. Air temperature was positively associated with the daily calling activity of both species during the dry season. However, the vocal activity of both species was unrelated to air temperature during the wet season, when higher temperatures occur. Daily rainfall was positively related to the daily calling activity of both species during the dry season, when rainfall events are scarce and seem to act as a trigger for breeding phenology of the focal species. Nonetheless, air temperature was negatively associated with the daily calling activity of the Undulated Tinamou during the wet season, when rainfall was abundant. This study improves our understanding of the vocal behavior of tropical birds and their relationships with climate, but further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms behind the associations found in our study.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 320
Author(s):  
Qianyao Si ◽  
Mary G. Lusk ◽  
Patrick W. Inglett

Stormwater infiltration basins (SIBs) are vegetated depressions that collect stormwater and allow it to infiltrate to underlying groundwater. Their pollutant removal efficiency is affected by the properties of the soils in which they are constructed. We assessed the soil nitrogen (N) cycle processes that produce and remove inorganic N in two urban SIBs, with the goal of further understanding the mechanisms that control N removal efficiency. We measured net N mineralization, nitrification, and potential denitrification in wet and dry seasons along a sedimentation gradient in two SIBs in the subtropical Tampa, Florida urban area. Net N mineralization was higher in the wet season than in the dry season; however, nitrification was higher in the dry season, providing a pool of highly mobile nitrate that would be susceptible to leaching during periodic dry season storms or with the onset of the following wet season. Denitrification decreased along the sediment gradient from the runoff inlet zone (up to 5.2 μg N/g h) to the outermost zone (up to 3.5 μg N/g h), providing significant spatial variation in inorganic N removal for the SIBs. Sediment accumulating around the inflow areas likely provided a carbon source, as well as maintained stable anaerobic conditions, which would enhance N removal.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1053
Author(s):  
Gonzalo Martinez-Fernandez ◽  
Jinzhen Jiao ◽  
Jagadish Padmanabha ◽  
Stuart E. Denman ◽  
Christopher S. McSweeney

We have found one inadvertent error in our paper published in Microorganisms [...]


2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (9) ◽  
pp. 788 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. E. Pettit ◽  
T. D. Jardine ◽  
S. K. Hamilton ◽  
V. Sinnamon ◽  
D. Valdez ◽  
...  

The present study indicates the critical role of hydrologic connectivity in floodplain waterholes in the wet–dry tropics of northern Australia. These waterbodies provide dry-season refugia for plants and animals, are a hotspot of productivity, and are a critical part in the subsistence economy of many remote Aboriginal communities. We examined seasonal changes in water quality and aquatic plant cover of floodplain waterholes, and related changes to variation of waterhole depth and visitation by livestock. The waterholes showed declining water quality through the dry season, which was exacerbated by more frequent cattle usage as conditions became progressively drier, which also increased turbidity and nutrient concentrations. Aquatic macrophyte biomass was highest in the early dry season, and declined as the dry season progressed. Remaining macrophytes were flushed out by the first wet-season flows, although they quickly re-establish later during the wet season. Waterholes of greater depth were more resistant to the effects of cattle disturbance, and seasonal flushing of the waterholes with wet-season flooding homogenised the water quality and increased plant cover of previously disparate waterholes. Therefore, maintaining high levels of connectivity between the river and its floodplain is vital for the persistence of these waterholes.


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