Perry S. Barboza

SEXUAL SEGREGATION IN DIMORPHIC DEER: A NEW GASTROCENTRIC HYPOTHESIS

Abstract Why do sexes of polygynous ruminants segregate spatially outside the mating season? Existing hypotheses for differences in niche partitioning among species are not sufficient to explain temporal patterns of segregation and aggregation between sexes. Moreover, other hypotheses, including risk of predation, do not explain why females of some species inhabit sites with higher-quality forage while segregated from males, although competitive exclusion of males by females has been proposed. We offer a new hypothesis to explain this conundrum in sexually dimorphic deer (Cervidae) based on an allometric model of metabolic requirements, minimal food quality, and digestive retention. The model predicts that male deer consume abundant forages high in fiber because ruminal capacity prolongs retention and permits greater use of fiber for energy than in nonpregnant females. Low density of animals, high abundance of food, and adaptations of ruminal microflora keep large males on fibrous forages until quantity of food declines. Compared with males, smaller-bodied females are better suited to postruminal digestion of food, especially when intakes increase concomitantly with requirements for energy and protein during reproduction. High demands for absorption of nutrients during lactation and growth stimulate investment in intestinal and hepatic tissue in females, increasing the cost of maintenance and reinforcing differential use of habitats and forages when sexes are segregated. This new model explains sexual segregation without invoking predation or competitive exclusion of males by females.

PROTEIN CONSERVATION IN FEMALE CARIBOU (RANGIFER TARANDUS): EFFECTS OF DECREASING DIET QUALITY DURING WINTER

Abstract Female caribou subsist primarily on lichens and some senescent browse during winter when demands for fetal growth add to costs of thermoregulation and mobility. Lichens, although potentially high in digestible energy, contain less protein than required for maintenance by most north-temperate ungulates. To understand the adaptations of caribou to the nutritional constraints of their primary food resource, we fed captive female caribou a sequence of 3 diets designed to resemble decreasing quality of forages during early, mid-, and late winter, respectively: high energy–high protein (HIGH), medium energy–low protein (MEDIUM), and low energy–low protein (LOW). In vitro digestibility of dry matter declined from 94% (HIGH) in November, to 66% (MEDIUM) in December and January, and to 53% (LOW) from February to April. Dietary protein averaged 19.8% in November and 4.3% from December to April. We used measures of body condition, stable isotopic signatures, and concentrations of nitrogen (N) metabolites to define protein dynamics in the animals. Subcutaneous rump fat declined between October and April from 2.3 cm ± 0.3 SE to <0.5 cm as intake of digestible energy declined from 44.0 ± 2.0 MJ/day to 16.3 ± 3.2 MJ/day. In erythrocytes, increasing enrichment of carbon (13C) throughout winter suggested that caribou reused body lipids, and increases in 15N during January and February indicated that they also recycled amino-N. Urinary N was primarily urea with an isotopic signature that tracked dietary 15N through late winter. Plasma urea-N declined from 44.0 ± 2.6 mg/dl to 8.5 ± 1.2 mg/dl as nitrogen intake declined from 91.5 ± 5.3 g N/day to 14.1 ± 0.9 g N/day. Examination of these data suggests that caribou catabolized dietary C and N in preference to endogenous fat reserves and body protein. Female caribou appear to tolerate low intakes of protein and energy in winter by minimizing net loss of body protein and reapportioning body reserves to support fetal growth.

Snapshot of the Eukaryotic Gene Expression in Muskoxen Rumen—A Metatranscriptomic Approach

Background Herbivores rely on digestive tract lignocellulolytic microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi and protozoa, to derive energy and carbon from plant cell wall polysaccharides. Culture independent metagenomic studies have been used to reveal the genetic content of the bacterial species within gut microbiomes. However, the nature of the genes encoded by eukaryotic protozoa and fungi within these environments has not been explored using metagenomic or metatranscriptomic approaches. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study, a metatranscriptomic approach was used to investigate the functional diversity of the eukaryotic microorganisms within the rumen of muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus), with a focus on plant cell wall degrading enzymes. Polyadenylated RNA (mRNA) was sequenced on the Illumina Genome Analyzer II system and 2.8 gigabases of sequences were obtained and 59129 contigs assembled. Plant cell wall degrading enzyme modules including glycoside hydrolases, carbohydrate esterases and polysaccharide lyases were identified from over 2500 contigs. These included a number of glycoside hydrolase family 6 (GH6), GH48 and swollenin modules, which have rarely been described in previous gut metagenomic studies. Conclusions/Significance The muskoxen rumen metatranscriptome demonstrates a much higher percentage of cellulase enzyme discovery and an 8.7x higher rate of total carbohydrate active enzyme discovery per gigabase of sequence than previous rumen metagenomes. This study provides a snapshot of eukaryotic gene expression in the muskoxen rumen, and identifies a number of candidate genes coding for potentially valuable lignocellulolytic enzymes.

Allocating Protein to Reproduction in Arctic Reindeer and Caribou

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) and caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) use body stores (capital) and food intake (income) for survival and reproduction. Intakes of low‐nitrogen (N) food declined in winter and increased in spring (51–83 g dry matter kg−0.75 d−1). Reindeer calved before regaining food intake, whereas caribou calved 28 d later. Body N was conserved by minimizing oxidation of amino acid N to urea. Maternal protein stored from early winter was used for 96% of fetal growth in reindeer but only 84% of fetal growth in later‐birthing caribou. Both subspecies rely on maternal body protein for 91% of the protein deposited in the neonate via milk over the first 4 wk. All females lost body protein over winter, but lactating females continued to lose protein while nonreproductive females regained protein. Net costs of lactation above maintenance were greater for N (110%–130%) than for energy (40%–59%). Large fat stores in reindeer spare body protein from oxidation in winter, whereas in caribou, less fat with the same body protein favors migration when food is inadequate. The resilience of Rangifer populations to variable patterns of food supply and metabolic demand may be related to their ability to alter the timing and allocation of body protein to reproduction.

Body Protein Stores and Isotopic Indicators of N Balance in Female Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) during Winter

We studied bred and unbred female reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) during 12 wk of winter when ambient temperatures were low and nitrogen (N) demand for fetal growth is highest in pregnant females. Animals were fed a complete pelleted diet ad lib. that contained 2.54% N in dry matter that was \documentclass{aastex} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{bm} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{pifont} \usepackage{stmaryrd} \usepackage{textcomp} \usepackage{portland,xspace} \usepackage{amsmath,amsxtra} \usepackage[OT2,OT1]{fontenc} \newcommand\cyr{ \renewcommand\rmdefault{wncyr} \renewcommand\sfdefault{wncyss} \renewcommand\encodingdefault{OT2} \normalfont \selectfont} \DeclareTextFontCommand{\textcyr}{\cyr} \pagestyle{empty} \DeclareMathSizes{10}{9}{7}{6} \begin{document} \landscape

Differential passage of fluids and different-sized particles in fistulated oxen (Bos primigenius f. taurus), muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus), reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and moose (Alces alces): Rumen particle size discrimination is independent from contents stratification

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Ruminal Fermentation and Fill Change with Season in an Arctic Grazer: Responses to Hyperphagia and Hypophagia in Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus)

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