Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T17:23:58.107Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Application of long-chain alcohols as faecal markers to estimate diet composition of horses and cattle fed with herbaceous and woody species

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2015

C. López López ,
R. Celaya ,
A. S. Santos ,
M. A. M. Rodrigues ,
K. Osoro  and
L. M. M. Ferreira
C. López López
Affiliation:
SERIDA – Servicio Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario, PO Box 13, 33300 Villaviciosa, Asturias, Spain
R. Celaya
Affiliation:
SERIDA – Servicio Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario, PO Box 13, 33300 Villaviciosa, Asturias, Spain
A. S. Santos
Affiliation:
CITAB – Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, PO Box 1013, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal
M. A. M. Rodrigues
Affiliation:
CECAV – Departamento de Zootecnia, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, PO Box 1013, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal
K. Osoro
Affiliation:
SERIDA – Servicio Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario, PO Box 13, 33300 Villaviciosa, Asturias, Spain
L. M. M. Ferreira*
Affiliation:
CECAV – Departamento de Zootecnia, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, PO Box 1013, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal
*
†E-mail: lmf@utad.pt
Get access

Abstract

Utilization of long-chain alcohols (LCOH) as diet composition markers in horses and cattle was assessed in a study conducted with 12 mature crossbreed mares (385±47 kg BW) and six adult non-lactating cows (499±36 kg BW) of Asturiana de los Valles breed. The LCOH data were combined with alkane and long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) data to test the applicability of combining these markers to estimate diet composition. Animals were randomly divided into groups of three animals and received a daily total amount of 1.0 kg dry matter/100 kg BW of diets composed of different proportions of ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and woody species (Ulex gallii and heather). Diet composition was estimated from even-chain LCOH (C20-OH to C30-OH) combined or not with alkane (C25-C31 and C33) and/or LCFA (C22-FA to C28-FA, C30-FA, C32-FA and C34-FA) concentrations in diet components and faeces by least-squares procedures, using marker faecal concentrations uncorrected for incomplete faecal recovery (FR0) or corrected using mean recoveries across diets within animal species (FR1). Results showed large differences between plant species in their LCOH profiles, and that these markers offered additional discriminatory information to that provided by alkanes and LCFA. The LCOH markers were incompletely recovered in the faeces of both animal species. In cattle, LCOH FR tended to increase with carbon-chain length in a linear manner in both diets (P<0.001), whereas in horses overall data showed a curvilinear relationship between these variables. Combination of LCOH, LCFA and alkanes resulted in more accurate diet estimates. Correction of faecal LCOH concentrations to incomplete FR led to more accurate diet composition estimates in both animal species. Results obtained in this study suggest the usefulness of LCOH markers combined with alkanes and LCFA to estimate diet composition of horses and cattle grazing mixed grassy–woody plant communities.

Keywords

cattlehorsesfaecal markersdiet compositionheathland
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 9 , Issue 11 , November 2015 , pp. 1786 - 1794
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ali, HAM, Mayes, RW, Hector, BL, Verma, AK and Ørskov, ER 2005. The possible use of n-alkanes, long-chain fatty alcohols and long-chain fatty acids as markers in studies of the botanical composition of the diet of free-ranging herbivores. Journal of Agricultural Science 143, 85–95.Google Scholar
Ali, HAM, Mayes, RW, Lamb, CS, Hector, BL, Verma, AK and Ørskov, ER 2004. The potential of long-chain fatty alcohols and long-chain fatty acids as diet composition markers: development of methods for quantitative analysis and faecal recoveries of these compounds in sheep fed mixed diets. Journal of Agricultural Science 142, 71–78.Google Scholar
Boland, HT, Scaglia, G, Notter, DR, Rook, AJ, Swecker, WS and Abaye, AO 2012. Diet composition and dry matter intake of beef steers grazing tall fescue and alfalfa. Crop Science 52, 2817–2825.Google Scholar
Charmley, E and Dove, H 2007. Using plant wax markers to estimate diet composition and intakes of mixed forages in sheep by feeding a known amount of alkane-labelled supplement. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 58, 1215–1225.Google Scholar
Dove, H and Mayes, RW 2005. Using n-alkanes and other plant wax components to estimate intake, digestibility and diet composition of grazing/browsing sheep and goats. Small Ruminant Research 59, 123–139.Google Scholar
Dove, H and Mayes, RW 2006. Protocol for the analysis of n-alkanes and other plant-wax compounds and for their use as markers for quantifying the nutrient supply of large mammalian herbivores. Nature Protocols 4, 1680–1697.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dove, H and Charmley, E 2008. Using the alkanes and long-chain alcohols of plant cuticular wax to estimate diet composition and the intakes of mixed forages in sheep consuming a known amount of alkane-labelled supplement. Animal 2, 1474–1485.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ferreira, LMM, Oliván, M, García, U, Rodrigues, MAM and Osoro, K 2005. Validation of the alkane technique to estimate diet selection of goats grazing heather–gorse vegetation communities. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 85, 1636–1646.Google Scholar
Ferreira, LMM, García, U, Celaya, R, Rodrigues, MAM and Osoro, K 2009a. Differences between domestic herbivores species in alkane faecal recoveries and the accuracy of subsequent estimates of diet composition. Animal Feed Science and Technology 151, 128–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferreira, LMM, García, U, Rodrigues, MAM, Celaya, R, Dias-da-SIlva, A and Osoro, K 2007. Estimation of feed intake and apparent digestibility of equines and cattle grazing on heathland vegetation communities using the n-alkane markers. Livestock Science 110, 46–56.Google Scholar
Ferreira, LMM, Celaya, R, Santos, AS, Falco, V, Guedes, C, Rodrigues, MAM and Osoro, K 2010. Comparison of long-chain fatty acids and alkanes as markers to estimate diet composition of equines and cattle consuming heathland vegetation species. Livestock Science 131, 260–271.Google Scholar
Ferreira, LMM, Celaya, R, Santos, AS, Falco, V, Guedes, C, Rodrigues, MAM and Osoro, K 2011. The utilization of long-chain fatty acids as markers for diet composition estimates in ruminants: effects of animal species, diet composition and marker combination. Grass and Forage Science 66, 183–195.Google Scholar
Ferreira, LMM, Celaya, R, Santos, AS, Guedes, CMV, Rodrigues, MAM, Mayes, RW and Osoro, K 2012. Evaluation of long-chain alcohols as diet composition markers in goats grazing heathland areas. Animal 6, 683–692.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ferreira, LMM, Celaya, R, Santos, AS, Mayes, RW, Rodrigues, MAM and Osoro, K 2015. Application of long-chain alcohols as diet composition markers in sheep fed on grass–white clover and heather–gorse plant species. Grass and Forage Science 70, 30–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferreira, LMM, Carvalho, S, Falco, V, Celaya, R, García, U, Santos, AS, Rodrigues, MAM and Osoro, K 2009b. Assessment of very long-chain fatty acids as complementary or alternative natural fecal markers to n-alkanes for estimating diet composition of goats feeding on mixed diets. Journal of Animal Science 87, 2732–2745.Google Scholar
Ferreira, LMM, Celaya, R, Benavides, R, Jáuregui, BM, García, U, Santos, AS, Rosa-García, R, Rodrigues, MAM and Osoro, K 2013. Foraging behaviour of domestic herbivore species grazing on heathlands associated with improved pasture areas. Livestock Science 155, 373–383.Google Scholar
GenStat 2015. GenStat, 17th edition. Lawes Agricultural Trust, Rothamsted Experimental Station, VSN International, Oxford, UK.Google Scholar
Krebs, CJ 1989. Ecological methodology. Harper and Row Publishers, New York, NY, USA.Google Scholar
Lin, LJ, Luo, HL, Zhang, YJ, Wang, H, Shu, B and Hong, FZ 2009. The potential use of long-chain alcohols and fatty acids as diet composition markers: Factors influencing faecal recovery rates and diet composition estimates in sheep. Animal 3, 1605–1612.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lin, LJ, Zhu, XY, Jiang, C, Luo, HL, Wang, H, Zhang, YJ and Hong, FZ 2012. The potential use of n-alkanes, long-chain alcohols and long-chain fatty acids as diet composition markers: indoor validation with sheep and herbage species from the rangeland of Inner Mongolia of China. Animal 6, 449–458.Google Scholar
Oliván, M, Ferreira, LMM, Celaya, R and Osoro, K 2007a. Accuracy of the n-alkane technique for intake estimates in beef cattle using different sampling procedures and feeding levels. Livestock Science 106, 28–40.Google Scholar
Oliván, M, Ferreira, LMM, García, U, Celaya, R and Osoro, K 2007b. Application of n-alkanes as diet composition markers in grazing/browsing goats and sheep: effect of using different faecal recovery corrections and plant species grouping approaches. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 58, 1013–1022.Google Scholar
Osoro, K, Ferreira, LMM, García, U and Celaya, R 2011. Performance of domestic herbivores in marginal heathlands. In New trends for innovation in the Mediterranean Animal Production, EAAP Publication No. 129 (ed. R Bouche, A Derkimba and F Casablanca), pp. 148–152. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Rook, AJ, Dumont, B, Isselstein, J, Osoro, K, Wallis de Vries, MF, Parente, G and Mills, J 2004. Matching type of livestock to desired biodiversity outcomes in pastures – a review. Biological Conservation 119, 137–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosa-García, R, Fraser, MD, Celaya, R, Ferreira, LMM, García, U and Osoro, K 2013. Grazing land management and biodiversity in the Atlantic European heathlands: a review. Agroforestry Systems 87, 19–43.Google Scholar
Salt, CA, Mayes, RW, Colgrove, PM and Lamb, CS 1994. The effects of season and diet composition on the radiocaesium intake by sheep grazing on heather moorland. Journal of Applied Ecology 31, 125–136.Google Scholar
Vargas-Jurado, N, Tanner, AE, Blevins, SR, McNair, HM, Mayes, RW and Lewis, RM Long-chain alcohols did not improve predictions of the composition of tall fescue and red clover mixtures over n-alkanes alone. Grass and Forage Science, doi: 10.1111/gfs.12134, Published online by Wiley Online Library 12 July 2014, in press.Google Scholar