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Fecal acetone and isopropanol levels of wild sika deer ( Cervus nippon yesoensis ) in spring and winter
Author(s) -
Sato Hiroshi
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
grassland science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.388
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1744-697X
pISSN - 1744-6961
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-697x.2009.00174.x
Subject(s) - feces , zoology , cervus , biology , fermentation , acetone , population , cervus elaphus , food science , ecology , medicine , biochemistry , environmental health
Recently, the population of Cervus nippon yesoensis , a subspecies of sika deer, has been increasing in Hokkaido, Japan. The food habits and alimentary fermentation of sika deer change dramatically with season, with food primarily composed of bark in winter, and grasses and woody leaves for the remainder of the year. To investigate the relationship of colonic fermentation in the deer with food changes, fresh fecal samples were collected in March with lingering snow, and during a verdurous period in June. Fecal alcohol, acetone, ammonia and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were analyzed after extracting the samples with water. With the change in food from winter to spring, ethanol level decreased while acetone and isopropanol levels increased in the majority of fecal samples. In June, higher n‐butyrate levels and a lower proportion of minor VFAs containing branched acids were found, with an accompanying tendency toward higher total VFA level. Thus, alterations of colonic fermentation occurred in conjunction with the transition from winter to spring food in wild sika deer.