Nitrogen requirements of white-lipped peccary (Mammalia, Tayassuidae)
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
2014 |
Authors: |
Sérgio L. G. Nogueira-Filho, Rogério M. Borges, Alcester Mendes, Carlos T. S. Dias |
Publication/Journal: |
Zoo Biology |
Keywords: |
animal nutrition, balance trials, comparative physiology, endogenous urinary nitrogen, metabolic fecal nitrogen, wildlife feeding |
ISBN: |
1098-2361 |
Abstract:
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/kg0.75) 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/kg0.75. 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.