| Revista: | Therya |
| Base de datos: | PERIÓDICA |
| Número de sistema: | 000384786 |
| ISSN: | 2007-3364 |
| Autores: | Mandujano, Salvador1 |
| Instituciones: | 1Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Red de Biología y Conservación de Vertebrados, Jalapa, Veracruz. México |
| Año: | 2014 |
| Periodo: | Dic |
| Volumen: | 5 |
| Número: | 3 |
| Paginación: | 831-838 |
| País: | México |
| Idioma: | Español |
| Tipo de documento: | Artículo |
| Enfoque: | Analítico, descriptivo |
| Resumen en español | El análisis de nitrógeno fecal (NF) es una técnica alternativa utilizada para la evaluación de la calidad de la dieta del venado cola blanca Odocoileus virginianus. Este artículo presenta los datos de un experimento que evalúa la pérdida NF de 18 grupos fecales bajo condiciones controladas. Los resultados indicaron que los valores de NF se mantuvieron constantes durante un máximo de 15 días y disminuyó de forma exponencial a partir de entonces. Por lo tanto, muestras con más tiempo no son adecuados para la estimación confiable del NF. Se discuten las implicaciones para el muestreo |
| Resumen en inglés | Successful wildlife management requires reliable indicators of the nutritional status of the animals in order to assess the relationship between them and their habitat. Fecal nitrogen (FN) has often been considered to be a good indicator of diet quality. FN analysis has been applied extensively in the temperate region of the range of the deer Odocoileus; however, little is known about the usefulness of this approach in the tropical habitats where the white-tailed deer O. virginianus is hunted. This study presents data on the variation in FN concentration with increased time of exposure. Specifically, we discuss the implications for field sampling in tropical habitats where environmental conditions can rapidly degrade deposited deer feces. METHODS: Quantification of FN was performed with 18 freshly deposited pellet-groups collected at the end of the dry season of 2008 (April-May) in a protected natural area in Puebla state, Mexico. Samples were transported frozen to a Botanical Garden in Xalapa, Veracruz, where they were kept under controlled environmental conditions. Each pellet-group was sampled every 15 days, up to 60 days, by which time most of the droppings were covered with fungi due to the high humidity at the site. FN concentration was determined according to the micro-Kjeldahl method. An analysis of variance for repeated measures to detect differences in FN considering the deposition time and fecal groups as factors was applied using lm function in R. RESULTS: FN varied significantly depending on the exposure time of the feces. The initial concentration was 2.29 mg/ml and this value remained constant for 15 days, subsequently decreasing to a minimum of 0.019 mg/ml, which was reached 60 days after the start of the experiment. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The use of fecal indexes may be a feasible non-invasive method by which to study diet quality, and an alternative to other techniques that imply disturbance |
| Disciplinas: | Biología |
| Palabras clave: | Ecología, Fisiología animal, Mamíferos, Venados, Calidad nutricional, Nitrógeno fecal, Odocoileus virginianus |
| Keyword: | Biology, Animal physiology, Ecology, Mammals, Deers, Nutritional quality, Fecal nitrogen, Odocoileus virginianus |
| Texto completo: | Texto completo (Ver HTML) |
