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Seasonal faecal excretion, gut fill, liquid and particle marker retention in mouflonOvis ammon musimon, and a comparison with roe deerCapreolus capreolus

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Abstract

Five mouflon [average body mass (BM) 33 kg] and two roe deer (average BM 20 kg) with rumen cannulas were kept in large enclosures under semi-natural conditions and were used for seasonal studies on gastrointestinal tract (GIT) indigestible fill and digesta passage kinetics. As the mouflon were not fully mature, both species had similar digesta volumes in the reticulorumen (RR; mouflon 5.5 ± 1.8% of BM; roe deer 5.4 ± 1.5% of BM); however, the mouflon had lower RR liquid flow rates (15.1 ± 4.3 ml h−1 kg−0.75) than the roe deer (19.2 ± 0.2 ml h−1 kg−0.75), and particle retention in the RR accounted for 68 ± 3% of total GIT retention in the mouflon versus 55 ± 6% in the roe deer. Annual average total GIT retention times for liquids and particles were longer in the mouflon (23.4 ± 0.9 h and 37.9 ± 4.0 h) than in the roe deer (18.4 ± 1.7 h and 22.4 ± 1.9 h). Similarly, annual average RR retention times for liquids and particles were longer in the mouflon (11.9 ± 0.9 h and 25.8 ± 3.3 h) than in the roe deer (8.1 ± 1.7 h and 12.5 ± 2.3 h). The factor of selective particle retention in the RR (retention of particles/retention of liquid) was 2.10 ± 0.09 in the mouflon versus 1.54 ± 0.01 in the roe deer. These observations are in accord with differences in digesta passage characteristics postulated between browsing and grazing ruminants. Total GIT indigestible fill was lower in the mouflon than in the roe deer (10.7 ± 2.1 g kg−1 and 13.3 ± 1.0 g kg−1).

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Author notes

  1. Anke Behrend

    Present address: , Ziethener Str, 3, 15813, Mahlow, Germany

  2. Matthias Lechner-Doll

    Present address: , Arberstr. 13, 94256 Drachselsried, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) Berlin, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany

    Anke Behrend, Matthias Lechner-Doll & W. Jürgen Streich

  2. Institute of Animal Physiology, Physiological Chemistry and Animal Nutrition, Schoenleutner Str. 8, 85764, Oberschleissheim, Germany

    Marcus Clauss

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  1. Anke Behrend
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  2. Matthias Lechner-Doll
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  3. W. Jürgen Streich
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  4. Marcus Clauss
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Correspondence to Marcus Clauss.

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Editors were Zdzisław Pucek and Andrzej Zalewski.

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Behrend, A., Lechner-Doll, M., Streich, W.J. et al. Seasonal faecal excretion, gut fill, liquid and particle marker retention in mouflonOvis ammon musimon, and a comparison with roe deerCapreolus capreolus . Acta Theriol 49, 503–515 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03192594

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