Direct and indirect caecotrophy behaviour in paca (Cuniculus paca)

Abstract

The colonic separation mechanism in lagomorphs and some rodents, associated with caecotrophy, serves to retain microbial protein. As tropical fruits have low protein concentrations, caecotrophy could be an important microbial protein source in frugivorous rodents such as the paca (Cuniculus paca). Due to conflicting reports on the occurrence of caecotrophy in this species, we obtained digestive tracts of three adult animals and observed the behaviour of four specimens maintained on a diet of a pelleted feed (P) and a supplemental mix of fruits and sweet potato (S, a source of structural fibre). In a Latin square design, P and S were both offered either in the morning (M) or in the afternoon (A), or with one item in the morning and the other in the afternoon (SP or PS). The paca's proximal colon is characterized by a distinct furrow typical for the colonic separation mechanism of hystricomorph rodents. Caecotrophy, both "direct" (from the anus) and "indirect" (from a pile of defecated faeces), was a regular component of the paca's behavioural repertoire, and caecotrophs contained more nitrogen and less fibre than hard faeces. Higher food intake led to less overall caecotrophy. With afternoon feeding of S, the onset of caecotrophy was delayed and the proportion of indirect caecotrophy increased, with hard faeces and caecotrophs often defecated together. No indirect caecotrophy occurred on treatment M. The results suggest that the time available after ingestion of structural fibre determines the efficiency of the colonic mechanism for the separation of hard faeces and caecotrophs.

MetaGeneHunt for protein domain annotation in short-read metagenomes

“…Interestingly, communities from the colon and stomach, although being the most distal communities characterized here, displayed a high degree of structural and functional similarity. This supported the murine practice of coprophagy where material released from the colon get re-ingested as a way to retain bacterial proteins 43 , to further process some partially digested material 44 , and to re-colonize the GIT 45,46 .…”

Microbiome-Metabolome Analyze The Immune Microenvironment of Cecal Contents, Soft and Hard Feces of Hyplus Rabbits

“…Because rabbits have a special colon separation mechanism, they can produce two different forms of feces (soft feces and hard feces) [28,29]. There are a lot of nutrients in soft feces, and rabbits have the behavior of eating soft feces from the beginning.…”

Digestive physiology of captive capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)

“…However, the degree to which the occurrence of these peaks depends on actually performed coprophagic behavior, diet, intake level, or individual characteristics such as defecation frequency, has not yet been investigated conclusively. Cecotrophy itself is known to vary with diet (Carabano, Fraga, Santoma, & de Blas, ; Guerra Aldrigui et al, ; Fekete & Bokori, ; García, de Blas, Carabaño, & García, ; Martino, Zenuto, & Busch, ; Nogueira‐Filho, Mendes, et al, ) and with the feeding schedule (Guerra Aldrigui, Nogueira‐Filho, Mendes, Souza Altino, Clauss, et al, ). In the present study, the number of secondary marker peaks seemed to be independent from the diet (0, 1, or 2 peaks on fresh grass and grass hay; 0, 3, or 4 peaks on grass only; 2 peaks on fresh grass and straw; 0 or 2 peaks on fresh grass and concentrates; 2 or 3 peaks on lucerne hay and lucerne pellets), and did not correlate with any other measure.…”