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Tracking the fate of digesta 13C and 15N compositions along the ruminant gastrointestinal tract: Does digestion influence the relationship between diet and faeces?

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Abstract

Faecal stable isotope compositions reflect wildlife diets, if digestive processes along the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) do not alter diet–faeces isotopic relationships in an unpredictable way. We investigated 13C and 15N compositions of digesta along the ruminant GIT, using Saanen dairy goats kept on pure grass hay or browse for >20 days. Isotopic changes occurred in the ventral rumen, and in the small intestine, where digesta had significantly higher δ13C and δ15N (associated with lower C or higher N content, respectively) values relative to other GIT sites. However, effects on isotope fractionation were small (∼1.0‰ for δ13C and ∼ 2.0‰ for δ15N), and were reversed in the hindgut such that faecal isotope compositions did not differ from the foregut. No other substantial isotopic changes occurred across GIT sites, despite the morphophysiological complexity of the ruminant GIT. We found similarly small differences across GIT components of rheem gazelles (Gazella leptoceros) fed a mixture of C3 lucerne and C4 grass, although in this case faeces were 15N-depleted relative to other GIT components. Along with differences in δ15N between goats fed browse or grass, this result implies a systematic difference in diet–faeces δ15N relationships, contingent on the botanical composition of ruminant diets. Thus, while our results support faecal δ13C as a reliable proxy for wildlife diets, further work on factors influencing faecal 15N abundance is needed. Finally, we note high levels of isotopic variability between individuals fed the same diets, even accounting for the relatively short duration of the experiments, suggesting an important influence of stochasticity on isotope fractionation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Merle Gierga, Stewart Bishop, Werner Suter, and Carla Soliva for laboratory assistance, and Catrin Hammer and Muthukrishnan Chelapandythevar for help with experimental animals. We thank Jeanne Peter for the diagram used in Fig. 1. Three anonymous reviewers commented on an earlier version, leading to significant improvements. Funding was provided by the European Union (Marie-Curie PIIF-GA-2009-236670) and the Swiss National Fund (IZ32Z0-125787). The study was approved by the ethics committee of the canton of Zürich, Switzerland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 260, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland

    Daryl Codron & Marcus Clauss

  2. School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa

    Daryl Codron & Jacqui Codron

  3. Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA

    Daryl Codron & Matt Sponheimer

  4. Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation, Doha, Qatar

    Sven Hammer

  5. Department of Farm Animals, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 260, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland

    Andreas Tschuor & Ueli Braun

  6. Geological Institute, ETH-Zürich, Sonneggstrasse 5, CH-8092, Zürich, Switzerland

    Stefano M. Bernasconi

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  1. Daryl Codron
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Correspondence to Daryl Codron.

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Communicated by C. Gortázar

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Codron, D., Sponheimer, M., Codron, J. et al. Tracking the fate of digesta 13C and 15N compositions along the ruminant gastrointestinal tract: Does digestion influence the relationship between diet and faeces?. Eur J Wildl Res 58, 303–313 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0581-3

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