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Protein requirements of collared peccary (Pecari tajacu)

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Abstract

A nitrogen (N) balance digestion trial was conducted to determine the protein requirement of collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu). In a 4 × 4 Latin square design, four captive adult male peccaries were fed four isoenergy diets containing four different levels of N (11.7, 16.3, 22.8, and 26.7 g N/kg of dry matter—DM). After 15 days of adaptation, a total collection of feces and urine was carried out for five consecutive days. Regression analyses between N intake and N in feces and urine allowed to calculate the metabolic fecal nitrogen (MFN = 2.3 g N/kg of dry matter intake—DMI) and daily endogenous urinary N (EUN = 185 mg N/kg0.75). Likewise, by regression analyses between consumption of nitrogen and the nitrogen balance (NB = N ingested − N excreted, mg N/kg0.75), a daily requirement of 514 mg N/kg0.75 was calculated. Therefore, if food intake is unrestricted, collared peccaries require a minimum in their diet of about 5.4% crude protein on DM basis. These values are almost as low as those found for browsing and frugivorous wild ruminants, which reinforce the proposition that peccaries’ digestive physiology is nearer to that of domestic and wild ruminants than domestic pigs. This relatively low protein requirement of collared peccary and its great ability to digest protein reveal the relevance of the forestomach for the species on nitrogen/protein metabolism and allow the use of diets with lower crude protein levels than the commercial ones used for the domestic pig, which reduces feed costs.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Marcus Clauss for his relevant valuable comments that helped improve the original manuscript. Research for this manuscript was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) (Process#476033/2010-1) and by the Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Estudos Interdisciplinares e Transdisciplinares em Ecologia e Evolução (IN-TREE) (Process# 465767/2014-1), and the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education/Wallonie Bruxelles International (Process# 021/2014). Rogério Borges, Alcester Mendes, and Sérgio Nogueira-Filho were funded by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq Process# 305428/2012-8, 478315/2013-9, and 303589/2015-9, respectively).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neo-tropical Animal Nutrition Laboratory, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil

    Rogério M. Borges, Alcester Mendes, Selene S. C. Nogueira & Sérgio L. G. Nogueira-Filho

  2. Animal Science Unit, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liege, Gembloux, Belgium

    Jérôme Bindelle

  3. Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rod. Jorge Amado km 16, Ilhéus, Bahia, 45662-900, Brazil

    Sérgio L. G. Nogueira-Filho

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  1. Rogério M. Borges
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  2. Alcester Mendes
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  3. Selene S. C. Nogueira
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  4. Jérôme Bindelle
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  5. Sérgio L. G. Nogueira-Filho
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Correspondence to Sérgio L. G. Nogueira-Filho.

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Conflict of interest

The co-authors of the ms Protein requirements of collared peccary (Pecari tajacu) and we have no actual or potential conflict of interest including any financial, personal, or other relationships with other people or organizations within 3 years of the beginning of the submitted work that could inappropriately influence, or be perceived to influence, this work.

Ethical approval

The protocol for this experiment was in compliance with the “Guidelines for the use of animals in research” published in Animal Behavior, vol 43, 1992 and was approved by the Ethics Committee on Animal Use (CEUA) of the UESC.

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Borges, R.M., Mendes, A., Nogueira, S.S.C. et al. Protein requirements of collared peccary (Pecari tajacu). Trop Anim Health Prod 49, 1353–1359 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-017-1333-5

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