scholarly journals Effect of balanced supplementary feeding in winter on qualitative and quantitative changes in the population of microbes colonizing the rumen of red deer

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 6072-2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
SEBASTIAN GNAT ◽  
ROMAN DZIEDZIC ◽  
ANETA NOWAKIEWICZ ◽  
PRZEMYSŁAW ZIĘBA ◽  
ALEKSANDRA TROŚCIAŃCZYK ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Bacterial Flora ◽  
The Body ◽  
Supplementary Feeding ◽  
Growth Media ◽  
Natural Plant ◽  
Rumen Microbiota ◽  
Rumen Microbes

Ruminants are a group of animals that process and assimilate their food in a unique manner. The functioning of the digestive tract of these animals is closely related to the abundance and composition of microbes in the forestomach, which is a complex ecosystem of bacteria, protozoa and fungi. Microorganisms present in the rumen, and in particular their effect on physiological processes in the body, influence the animal’s physical condition and state of health. Microbiological examination of rumen microbiota ecology is hindered by a lack of selective growth media, as well as by difficulties in isolating bacteria in vitro and accurately identifying them. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of food consumed by red deer (Cervus elaphus) on the diversity of their rumen microbiota. Microbes were compared in two study periods. In autumn the animals’ diet came exclusively from natural plant sources, while in winter, supplementary feeding was introduced, including specially prepared fodder. The study showed that in deer that did not receive the special fodder in winter, but only natural plant components, the abundance of bacterial flora decreased significantly compared with what it was in autumn, unlike in animals that did receive the fodder, whose composition and caloric value substantially increased the activity of rumen microbes. In winter, changes in proportions of different morphological forms of rumen bacteria were observed, as well as a decline in their total number, particularly in the animals that did not receive the pellets. A similar decline was also observed in the populations of yeasts and protozoa in winter. To sum up the results of the study, the use of the specially prepared high-calorie fodder in winter was shown to influence the rumen ecosystem of red deer. The most significant factor improving the condition of deer receiving supplementary fodder during this period is the stabilization of bacterial flora in the rumen, which directly contributes to the efficiency of digestion..

The influence of adaptation of rumen microflora on in vitro digestion of different forages by sheep and red deer

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (11) ◽  
pp. 1930-1937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain J Gordon ◽  
F Javier Pérez-Barbería ◽  
Paloma Cuartas
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
In Vitro Digestion ◽  
Ovis Aries ◽  
In Vitro Digestibility ◽  
Rumen Microbes ◽  
Digestion Technique ◽  
Digestion Efficiency ◽  
Rumen Microflora

The rumen microflora ecosystem adapts to the diet consumed by the animal. We tested the extent to which this adaptation facilitates or retards the digestion of plant-based forages. Following adaptation of sheep (Ovis aries) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) to diets containing different mixtures of alfalfa, grass, and heather (a dwarf shrub), an in vitro digestion technique was used to compare the ability of the rumen microflora to digest the mixtures of substrates to which they were adapted with their ability to digest different mixtures of the same substrates. In vitro digestion of different substrates was slightly greater in rumen liquor derived from sheep than in that derived from red deer for each of the different substrates, but the effect was not significant. Digestibility in sheep was independent of how the feed was presented (diet of equal proportions of alfalfa, grass, and heather in each meal (D-EQ): mean in vitro digestibility = 37.3%; alfalfa, grass, and heather presented sequentially on different days (D-SEQ): mean in vitro digestibility = 37.7%, SE of differences = 1.30%, p > 0.05). However, in red deer there was a significant effect of method of diet presentation (D-EQ: mean in vitro digestibility = 36.9%; D-SEQ: mean in vitro digestibility = 34.2%, SE of differences = 1.30%, p < 0.05), digestibility being substantially lower for D-SEQ than for D-EQ. Overall, the results demonstrated that whilst there were no species-specific differences in overall digestion efficiency, dietary adaptation had an effect on substrate digestion efficiency, with rumen microbes adapted to high-quality diets digesting these more efficiently than low-quality diets.

In-Vitro production of wapiti and red deer (Cervus elaphus) embryos

1995 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 301 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.W. Pollard ◽  
M.J. Bringans ◽  
B. Buckrell
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
In Vitro Production ◽  
Vitro Production

In vitro culture of early cleavage stage embryos recovered from superovulated red deer (Cervus elaphus)

1994 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 160 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.K. Berg ◽  
J.G. Thompson ◽  
P.A. Pugh ◽  
H.R. Tervit ◽  
G.W. Asher
Keyword(s):  
In Vitro Culture ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Cleavage Stage ◽  
Early Cleavage

In vitro maturation and fertilization of red deer (Cervus elaphus) oocytes

1991 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Fukui ◽  
L.T. McGowan ◽  
R.W. James ◽  
G.W. Asher ◽  
H.R. Tervit
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
In Vitro Maturation ◽  
Red Deer

Effects of cold conditions on heat production by young sambar (Cervus unicolor) and red deer (Cervus elaphus)

1996 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Semiadi ◽  
C. W. Holmes ◽  
T. N. Barry ◽  
P. D. Muir
Keyword(s):  
Heat Production ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Fibre Diameter ◽  
Fibre Length ◽  
The Body ◽  
Wind Effect ◽  
Total N ◽  
Sambar Deer ◽  
Cervus Unicolor

SUMMARYAn experiment to measure the effects of cold conditions upon heat production in young sambar (Cervus unicolor) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) was conducted during winter 1994, at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand (NZ), using four young animals of each species. Animals were fed a pelleted concentrated diet (total N 29g/kg DM; 11·9MJ metabolizable energy (ME)/kg DM) at approximately maintenance ME intake (MEI). Hair coat characteristics were measured on samples cut from a patch on the mid-side of the body. Pairs of animals (one sambar and one red deer) were confined in two open circuit calorimetry chambers (one deer in each chamber) for 18-day periods, and oxygen consumption was measured at 20 and 5 °C, with and without simulated wind (6 km/h). Heat production was calculated as 20·5 MJ/1 oxygen consumed.Hair coats of sambar deer were less deep, lighter in weight (g/m2) and contained a lower proportion of undercoat than those of red deer. Fibre length of both guard hairs and undercoat were shorter in sambar deer than in red deer, whilst fibre diameter of both guard hairs and undercoat was greater in sambar deer. Heat production (HP) at 20 °C was lower in sambar than in red deer (P <0·05; 0·46 v. 0·48-0·53 MJ/kgW0·75 per day). Increases in HP from 20 to 5 °C and from 20 °C to 5 °C W (i.e. with wind effect) were greater in sambar than in red deer (P < 0·01; 34 v. 16% and 44 v. 20%, respectively). Calculated lower critical temperatures (LCT) were higher for sambar than for red deer (P < 0·10) both in the absence (0 km/h; 11·6 v. 8·9 °C) and in the presence of wind (6 km/h; 140 v. 11·1 °C). Under field conditions, young sambar deer are likely to require more shelter and better feeding during cold weather than do red deer.

Pregnancies following the transfer of in vitro matured and fertilized red deer (Cervus elaphus) oocytes

1995 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 166 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.K. Berg ◽  
G.W. Asher ◽  
P.A. Pugh ◽  
H.R. Tervit ◽  
J.G. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer

Influence supplementary feeding on bark browsing by red deer (Cervus elaphus) under experimental conditions

2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 701-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Rajský ◽  
M. Vodňanský ◽  
P. Hell ◽  
J. Slamečka ◽  
R. Kropil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Supplementary Feeding ◽  
Experimental Conditions

scholarly journals Nocturnal hypometabolism as an overwintering strategy of red deer (Cervus elaphus)

2004 ◽  
Vol 286 (1) ◽  
pp. R174-R181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Arnold ◽  
Thomas Ruf ◽  
Susanne Reimoser ◽  
Frieda Tataruch ◽  
Kurt Onderscheka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Metabolic Rate ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
The Body ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Body Shell ◽  
Classical Models

Herbivores of temperate and arctic zones are confronted during winter with harsh climatic conditions and nutritional shortness. It is still not fully understood how large ungulates cope with this twofold challenge. We found that red deer, similar to many other northern ungulates, show large seasonal fluctuations of metabolic rate, as indicated by heart rate, with a 60% reduction at the winter nadir compared with the summer peak. A previously unknown mechanism of energy conservation, i.e., nocturnal hypometabolism associated with peripheral cooling, contributed significantly to lower energy expenditure during winter. Predominantly during late winter night and early morning hours, subcutaneous temperature could decrease substantially. Importantly, during these episodes of peripheral cooling, heart rate was not maintained at a constant level, as to be expected from classical models of thermoregulation in the thermoneutral zone, but continuously decreased with subcutaneous temperature, both during locomotor activity and at rest. This indicates that the circadian minimum of basal metabolic rate and of the set-point of body temperature regulation varied and dropped to particularly low levels during late winter. Our results suggest, together with accumulating evidence from other species, that reducing endogenous heat production is not restricted to hibernators and daily heterotherms but is a common and well-regulated physiological response of endothermic organisms to energetically challenging situations. Whether the temperature of all tissues is affected, or the body shell only, may simply be a result of the duration and degree of hypometabolism and its interaction with body size-dependent heat loss.

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