A study of nutritional status of Finnish reindeer (Rangifer Tarandus L.) in differents months: I. Composition and volume of the rumen microbiota

Abstract

Abstract. The rumen microbiota were studied in free-ranging semi-domestic reindeer in Finnish Lapland under the nutritional conditions obtaining at two different sampling times. Qualitative and quantitative investigations were made of the rumen ciliate fauna and quantitative investigations of the rumen bacterial flora. The volume coefficients for rumen ciliates obtained by Westerling (1970) and that for rumen bacteria obtained by Warner (1962) were used to obtain an indication of the volume of the rumen microbe mass in reindeer.The rumen samples were collected in connection with the round-up and slaughter of reindeer, being taken from 30 animals in December and 29 animals in March. The reindeer slaughtered in December had normal access to food,but those slaughtered in March had grazed on better pastures and received a supplementary feed of hay.The total number of ciliate cells was over six times as high in March as in December, the numbers being 1 182 900 and 188 300 per ml rumen contents, respectively. The corresponding total numbers of bacterial cells were 9.65 x 10 9 in March and 6.65 x 10 9 in December. The reason for the statistically significantly (P < 0.01) higher numbers in March than in December is probably the better nutritional conditions of the herd slaughtered in March, not the time of the year.The ciliate fauna consisted of 19 different species, although not all the species were found in every sample. The percentage composition of the ciliate fauna did not vary considerably between the two sampling times.The volume of the total microbe mass constituted 8.2% of the rumen contents in March and 1.9 % in December, the average being 5.1 %. The proportion of the ciliate volume in the total microbe mass was clearly higher than that of the bacteria at both sampling times: 7.2 times as high in March and 1.7 times in December, the average being 4.7 times.Since the importance of the rumen microbiota for the utilization of food by ruminants was established, many investigations have been made of the numbers and kinds of rumen microorganisms and the factors affecting them (Warner 1965, Hungate 1966. The majority of the studies have been devoted to the rumen microbiota of domestic animals, but some have also dealt with semi-domestic or wild animals (Giesecke 1970). An extensive review of the

Rumen function in reindeer (<em>Rangifer tarandus tarandus</em>) after sub-maintenance feed intake and subsequent feeding

“…The delay between death and preparation of the samples may have reduced the number of protozoa in the present material. Protozoa counts more similar to ours were, however, found by Westerling in reindeer from a herd that had been grazing on winter ranges with very deep snow (56 x 10 4 per ml) and by Syrjälä et al (1973) in reindeer on natural pasture in December (19 x 10 4 per ml).…”

“…A negative effect of restricted feed intake on the area volume and surface of rumen papillae may be explained by a decline in the production of VFA, since VFA is a main growth factor for rumen papillae (Warner et al, 1956;Sander et al, 1959;Sakata & Tamate, 1978; although the time was rather short and adaptation has been reported to take 2-3 weeks with a low-energy diet (Dirksen et al, 1984). Poor access to food generally reduces the number of bacteria (Mathiesen et al, 1984;Aagnes et al, 1995) and protozoa (Westerling, 1970;Syrjälä et al, 1973;Mathiesen et al, 1984) in the reindeer rumen. In this experiment, both the TC and LU bacteria declined significantly as an effect of the restricted feed intake, whilst no significant decline could be detected in the number of protozoa.…”

Effect of γ-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) Producing Bacteria on &lt;italic&gt;In vitro&lt;/italic&gt; Rumen Fermentation, Biogenic Amine Production and Anti-oxidation Using Corn Meal as Substrate

“…However, the NH 3 -N concentration in the ruminant stomach is between 1 to 76 mg/100 ml of rumen fluids (Syrjålå et al, 1973). GPB (live and heat treated) and chemical GABA are sources of protein in the rumen.…”

“…The maximum growth of rumen microbes is considered to occur under a concentration of 2 to 5 mg NH 3 -N per 100 ml of rumen fluid ( Slyter et al, 1979 ), and a minimum of about 80 mg N per liter is required to achieve the maximum degradation of carbohydrates by rumen microbes ( Dryhurst and Wood, 1998 ). However, the NH 3 -N concentration in the ruminant stomach is between 1 to 76 mg/100 ml of rumen fluids ( Syrjålå et al, 1973 ). GPB (live and heat treated) and chemical GABA are sources of protein in the rumen.…”