scholarly journals Decreasing methane yield with increasing food intake keeps daily methane emissions constant in two foregut fermenting marsupials, the western grey kangaroo and red kangaroo

2015 ◽  
Vol 218 (21) ◽  
pp. 3425-3434 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Vendl ◽  
M. Clauss ◽  
M. Stewart ◽  
K. Leggett ◽  
J. Hummel ◽  
...  
1992 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
R.D. Barker ◽  
G. Caughley

The dominant species of large macropods in Victoria are the Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) and the Southern (= Western) Grey Kangaroo (M. fuliginosus). On the limited historic data available there is no indication that their ranges have changed since European settlement. The Red Kangaroo (M. rufus) was restricted to the northwest corner of the state, then as now. Moderate densities of Grey Kangaroos at settlement increased under forest clearing, probably peaking about the mid-nineteenth century. With intensification of farming and associated heavy hunting they declined again to establish by about the turn of the century the distribution of modera te density that we see today.


2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn J. Harvey ◽  
Natalie Warburton

Comparative morphological studies can provide insights into an animal’s ecology and evolutionary history. Functional morphological studies of the kangaroo forelimb are few in number and new work could provide novel tools to aid in the interpretation of fossil taxa and the understanding of the evolutionary history of kangaroos and marsupials as a whole. A description of the shoulder and forelimb musculature of the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) with comparisons to the red kangaroo (Macropus rufus Desmarest, 1842), the western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus Desmarest, 1817) and the quokka (Setonix brachyurus Quoy & Gaimard, 1830) is presented. The species chosen were readily available and represent a range in size of the archetypal kangaroo form. Muscle maps of forelimb and shoulder muscles were constructed as an aid to comparing the spatial arrangement of muscle origins and insertions. The anatomical pattern of forelimb musculature in terrestrial macropodine kangaroos and wallabies is highly conservative. Functionally, the musculature of the forelimb corresponds to a supporting role of the limb during slow pentapedal locomotion. The illustrations of muscle insertions provided in this work will be a useful reference for future work in comparative marsupial anatomy and palaeobiology.


1983 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 435 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Short ◽  
G Caughley ◽  
D Grice ◽  
B Brown

Red and western grey kangaroos were surveyed from the air in Western Australia during the winter of 1981. The area covered, 1 528 000 km2 or 61% of the State, excluded only the Kimberleys in the north and the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts of the interior. Hence almost all kangaroo range within the State was surveyed, to provide an estimate of 980 000 reds and 436 000 greys. Densities were much lower than those of the eastern States. Red kangaroos were most abundant in mulga shrubland, chenopod shrubland and tussock grassland, and least abundant in hummock grassland. Densities were associated strongly with land-use categories, being high in areas used for extensive sheep grazing and low in vacant Crown Land and arable land. In contrast to reds the western grey kangaroos were confined to the south and west of the state, their distribution being related more directly to climate than to vegetation or land use. They live in the winter rainfall zone. We suggest that their restricted breeding season results in peak nutritional demands associated with lactation, and hence energy requirements, being synchronized with the spring flush of pasture following winter rains. Approximately 14% of the red kangaroo and 8% of the western grey kangaroo populations in Western Australia were harvested legally in 1981.


2021 ◽  
Vol 191 (2) ◽  
pp. 371-383
Author(s):  
Adam J. Munn ◽  
Edward P. Snelling ◽  
David A. Taggart ◽  
Roger S. Seymour

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuezhao Sun ◽  
David Pacheco ◽  
Dongwen Luo

A series of experiments was conducted in New Zealand to evaluate the potential of forage brassicas for mitigation of enteric methane emissions. Experiments involved sheep and cattle fed winter and summer varieties of brassica forage crops. In the sheep-feeding trials, it was demonstrated that several species of forage brassicas can result, to a varying degree, in a lower methane yield (g methane per kg of DM intake) than does ryegrass pasture. Pure forage rape fed as a winter crop resulted in 37% lower methane yields than did pasture. Increasing the proportion of forage rape in the diet of sheep fed pasture linearly decreased methane yield. Feeding forage rape to cattle also resulted in 44% lower methane yield than did feeding pasture. In conclusion, reductions in methane emission are achievable by feeding forage brassicas, especially winter forage rape, to sheep and cattle. Investigating other aspects of these crops is warranted to establish their value as a viable mitigation tool in pastoral farming.


1978 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 487
Author(s):  
AW White ◽  
CJF Harrop

The development of the endocrine pancreas in kangaroos was examined histologically with tissue from three kangaroo species, the red kangaroo Megaleia rufa, the euro Macropus robustus erubescens, and the grey kangaroo Macropus giganteus. The relative size of the pancreas of the pouch young was found not to differ significantly from that of adults. Stages of pancreatic development were described from the frequency of the occurrence of the pancreatic epithelial ducts and the B or insulin-secreting cells, while the development and distribution of the A2 or glucagon-producing cells was also observed. In pouch young of less than 22 days of age the pancreas is dominated by ductular epithelial and undifferentiated pancreatic cells. From days 42 to 97 of pouch life B endocrine cells tend to be concentrated together and ductular tissue encroaches into areas previously dominated by connective tissue. After 120-135 days the first A2 cells are apparent and are usually located at the periphery of the islets, which now take on a distinctive appearance as the acinar tissue expands and separates them. After 135 days of pouch life A2 cells outnumber B cells; the endocrine tissue assumes an adult appearance after 150-160 days. The major difference between the development of pancreatic tissue in foetal sheep and pouch-young kangaroo is the prolonged dominance of connective tissue and the slow development of endocrine tissue in the former.


2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip Matson ◽  
Christopher Mayberry ◽  
Nicole Willers ◽  
Margaret A. Blackberry ◽  
Graeme B. Martin

An enzyme immunoassay with an anti-bovine-LH antibody (518B7) was applied to female western grey kanagaroos (Macropus fuliginosus ocydromus) and black-flanked rock wallabies (Petrogale lateralis lateralis). Validation showed parallelism to the assay standard curve, and significant increases in plasma LH concentrations after challenging animals with intramuscular GnRH.


2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
P. Matson ◽  
C. Mayberry ◽  
N. Willers ◽  
M. A. Blackberry ◽  
G. B. Martin

Methods for the measurement of marsupial LH invariably rely upon the similarity of the LH molecule between different species and usually use anti-ovine or anti-bovine LH antibody and an ovine or bovine labelled LH preparation. Initial attempts to measure plasma LH in the Western Grey Kangaroo with assays using antibodies to 4 different isoforms of ovine LH raised in 7 different rabbits were unsuccessful. An enzymeimmunoassay (EIA) developed for the Asian elephant (Zoo Biology 23:45–63) was then applied to the Western Grey Kangaroo and the Black-flanked Rock Wallaby. This EIA has an anti-bovine-LH monoclonal antibody (518B7 provided by Dr Jan Roser, University of California, Davis, USA), biotinylated ovine LH label and bovine LH standard (NIADDK-oLH-26 and NIH-bLH-B10, both provided by Dr Janine Brown and Nicole Abbondanza, Smithsonian Institute, Front Royal, Virginia USA). Technical validation showed that serial dilution down to 1:8 of plasma from 7 individuals of each species showed parallelism to the assay standard curve, and control samples (1.24–5.30 ng/mL) had between-assay coefficients of variation <9%. Biological validation was achieved by challenging animals with intramuscular GnRH (Fertagyl®, 2.5 µg/kg) and measuring LH before and 25 min after the injection. Significant increases in plasma concentrations of LH (mean ± sem; all P > 0.0005) were seen after GnRH for both the Western Grey Kangaroo (from 5.0 ± 0.8 ng/mL to 9.4 ± 1.2 ng/mL; n = 19) and the Black-flanked Rock Wallaby (from 6.0 ± 0.7 ng/mL to 10.6 ± 0.6 ng/mL; n = 28). In conclusion, this assay can be successfully used to measure LH in these two species.


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