A pilot study on dietary and faecal calcium/phosphorus ratios in different types of captive ruminating herbivores

Böswald, Linda; Dobenecker, Britta; Lücht, Maike; Gohl, Christine und Kienzle, Ellen (2021): A pilot study on dietary and faecal calcium/phosphorus ratios in different types of captive ruminating herbivores. In: Veterinary Medicine and Science, Bd. 8, Nr. 1: S. 349-356

Abstract

Quantitative differences in calcium and phosphorus metabolism between domestic species exist and can be visualised using data on calcium and phosphorus intake and faecal excretion. The parameter for analysing the results was defined as Delta = dietary calcium/phosphorus (Ca/P) ratio - faecal Ca/P ratio. In previous studies, hindgut fermenters had significantly higher Delta values than ruminants (sheep, cattle, goats), which was explained by the high calcium digestibilities in hindgut fermenters in contrast to highly efficient phosphorus recycling in ruminants. The first hypothesis of the present study was that different types of ruminants (grazer, browser, intermediate feeder) would show differences in Delta as a proxy for quantitative calcium and phosphorus metabolism. The second hypothesis was that camelids as functional, but not taxonomic ruminants would show Delta values similar to ruminants. We used herbivorous zoo animals (17 species, hindgut and foregut fermenters), which were kept on their regular diet without variation for 1 week. Then, faecal samples were obtained from the individual animals. Feed items and faecal samples were analysed for calcium and phosphorus, and dietary and faecal Ca/P ratios as well as A were calculated. A comparison of the species groups (one-way ANOVA on ranks, p <0.05) showed that zoo hindgut fermenters had significantly higher A values (0.67 +/- 0.34) than camelids and zoo ruminants (-1.07 +/- 0.35 and -1.87 +/- 1.56). There was no significant difference between camelids, grazers (-1.49 +/- 1.31), browsers (-1.63 +/- 0.88) and intermediate feeders (-2.11 +/- 1.76). The ruminant species from this study had markedly lower Delta than domestic ruminants from literature data. Especially intermediate feeders had low Delta, possibly due to more efficient phosphorus recycling than the domestic ruminants.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Tiermedizin > Veterinärwissenschaftliches Department
• Themengebiete: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften > 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
• Sprache: Englisch