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Fruit and fibre: the nutritional value of figs for a small tropical ruminant, the blue duiker ( Cephalophus monticola )
Author(s) -
Kendrick Erin L.,
Shipley Lisa A.,
Hagerman Ann E.,
Kelley Lauren M.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
african journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.499
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1365-2028
pISSN - 0141-6707
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2008.00985.x
Subject(s) - ruminant , biology , frugivore , tannin , digestion (alchemy) , rumen , proanthocyanidin , botany , palatability , zoology , pasture , agronomy , food science , ecology , polyphenol , chemistry , biochemistry , chromatography , habitat , fermentation , antioxidant
Tropical forests throughout the world are home to a guild of small ruminants that consume fruit as a substantial portion of their diet. Because the rumen is relatively inefficient at digesting nonstructural carbohydrates and only slowly digests cellulose, the feeding adaptations of frugivorous ruminants are enigmatic. We examined the nutritional value of wild figs to blue duikers, one of the smallest and most frugivorous ruminants, through chemical analyses and a series of digestion trials with six species of wild African figs. These figs were high in fat, protein, cell wall, lignin and Ca : P ratios, low in sugar and starch, and high in unextractable, fibre‐bound tannins when compared with many other fruits. The fibre‐bound tannins and protein caused protein digestibility and nitrogen balance to be consistently low or negative. The high fibre content of the figs allowed duikers to only digest 30–60% of energy contained in the figs. However, duikers were able to consume enough digestible energy to maintain body mass during 4‐day trials. Therefore, a ruminant digestive system is beneficial to mammals eating high fibre, high‐tannin tropical fruit like figs, especially if the mammal is small enough to harvest a sufficient amount to meet its daily energy requirements and has adaptations for reducing the effects of tannins on protein digestibility.