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Effect of dietary fiber concentration on apparent digestibility and digesta passage in non‐human primates. I. Ruffed lemurs ( Varecia variegata variegata and V. v. rubra )
Author(s) -
Edwards Mark S.,
Ullrey Duane E.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
zoo biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.5
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1098-2361
pISSN - 0733-3188
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-2361(1999)18:6<529::aid-zoo7>3.0.co;2-d
Subject(s) - biology , neutral detergent fiber , lemur , zoology , fiber , cellulose , dry matter , biochemistry , ecology , chemistry , primate , organic chemistry
Two test diets with different fiber concentrations (15% acid detergent fiber [ADF], 30% ADF) were fed to five adult female ruffed lemurs ( Varecia variegata ). Apparent digestibility (%) of dry matter (DM), gross energy (GE), and fiber components (neutral detergent fiber [NDF], ADF, hemicellulose [HC], and cellulose [C]) were measured. Rates of digesta transit (TT 1 ) and retention time (R GIT ) were assessed using acetate beads, Co‐ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and Cr‐mordanted fiber. Apparent digestibilities (%) of components of the 15ADF and 30ADF diets, respectively, were 51.0 and 41.7 for DM, 47.0 and 39.7 for GE, and 20.4 and 20.7 for NDF. TT 1 was approximately 2.7 hours. R GIT was 3.8 hours. No differences in TT 1 or R GIT between dietary treatments or marker types were detected. Results of this study support anecdotal observations that Varecia variegata have a limited capacity to utilize plant cell wall constituents as a significant energy source, when compared with more folivorous prosimans. Zoo Biol 18:529–536, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.