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Nitrogen requirements of white‐lipped peccary (Mammalia, Tayassuidae)
Author(s) -
NogueiraFilho Sérgio L. G.,
Borges Rogério M.,
Mendes Alcester,
Dias Carlos T. S.
Publication year - 2014
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/zoo.21141
Subject(s) - biology , feces , dry matter , nitrogen balance , zoology , latin square , urine , frugivore , digestion (alchemy) , nitrogen , food science , ecology , fermentation , biochemistry , rumen , physics , chemistry , chromatography , quantum mechanics , habitat
A study was conducted to determine the protein requirement of the white‐lipped peccary ( Tayassu pecari ) performing a nitrogen (N) balance digestion trial. In a 4 × 4 Latin square design, four adult captive male peccaries were fed four isoenergetic diets containing four different levels of N (13.3, 19.2, 28.7, and 37.1 g N/kg dry matter). After 15 days of adaptation, the total collection of feces and urine was carried out for five consecutive days. By regression analysis between N intake and N in feces and urine, the metabolic fecal nitrogen (MFN = 3.1 g/kg of dry matter intake) and daily endogenous urinary N (EUN = 91.0 mg/kg 0.75 ) were determined. Likewise, by regression analyses between consumption of nitrogen and the nitrogen balance [NBN consumed–(fecal N + Urine N)] we estimated the daily requirement of 336.5 mgN/kg 0.75 . Therefore, if food intake is unrestricted, white‐lipped peccaries require a minimum content in their diet of about 4.5% crude protein as percentage of dry diet. These values are similar to those found in frugivorous wild ruminants, which reinforces the proposition that peccaries have a digestive physiology nearer to that of ruminants than of domestic pigs. Furthermore, the low nutritional maintenance requirements for white‐lipped peccary may explain how this species thrive in the Neo‐tropical region eating predominantly palm‐fruits that normally have low crude protein contents. Zoo Biol. 33:320–326, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.