Botanical and chemical composition of rumen contents of Sika deer on Mt Goyo,northern Japan |
| |
Authors: | Seiki Takatsuki Shoshichi Ikeda |
| |
Institution: | (1) Biological Institute, Faculty of Science, Tohoku University, Aoba-ku, 980 Sendai, Japan;(2) Department of Zoology, Miyagi Agricultural College, Hatadate, Taihaku-ku, 982-02 Sendai, Japan |
| |
Abstract: | Botanical and chemical compositions of the rumen contents of 58 Sika deer on Mt Goyo, northern Japan, collected from summer
of 1988 to spring of 1989, were analyzed.Sasa nipponica, a dwarf bamboo, was important in summer (35.0%) and winter (61.4%), but it decreased to 5.6% and was replaced by browse
leaves in fall, and to 28.0% and was replaced by dead leaves, twigs and bark of woody plants in winter. Crude protein was
20–25% lower in the washed fraction than in the gross fraction. It was highest (16.2%) in summer and lowest (8.6%) in winter.
High protein content in summer and fall foods was attributed to forb and browse leaves. Seasonal fluctuation in protein content
in the foods of these Sika deer was greater than red deer on Rhum, Scotland and smaller than wapiti in Yellowstone National
Park, Wyoming, USA. Climatically, winter severity of Mt Goyo is intermediate between the two localities, which seems to explain
the seasonal fluctuation of the protein level. Crude fiber wasca 33% in the ‘washed’ fraction, and did not change seasonally. |
| |
Keywords: | food habits nutrition protein Sasa nipponica Sika deer |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|