Evaluation of Urinary Indices of Nutritional Status for White-Tailed Deer: Tests with Winter Browse Diets

Servello, Frederick A.; Schneider, James W.

doi:10.2307/3802983

Cited by 11 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The increased nutritional restriction associated with increased proportion of fir in the diet (Fig. C) may be the result of high concentrations of particularly toxic PSMs (Terra‐Berns , Servello and Schneider ). While that inference is inconsistent with the lack of association between GA:C and the proportion of balsam fir in the diet (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, this inference is consistent with the detoxification limitation hypothesis, which predicts that higher concentrations of PSM (which may limit an herbivore's capacity to detoxify and excrete PSMs) will limit food intake (Freeland and Janzen , Marsh et al ). For example, captive white‐tailed deer fed large amounts of balsam fir substantially reduced food intake (Ullrey et al , Servello and Schneider ). Also, captive mule deer refuse a single species diet to the point of starving to death (Milchunas et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because the analyzed sample is a mixture of snow and urine, the concentration of nitrogen in a sample is influenced by the amount of snow (and the degree to which an individual is dehydrated). To account for those sources of variation, the measured concentration of UN is standardized by dividing by the concentration of C, which is excreted at a constant rate over time (DelGiudice et al , , , Servello and Schneider ). Finally, it is important to note that UN:C can be high both when animals are in poor condition and using their body stores for protein and when in animals are eating high protein food.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…During winter, forage is low in energy and high in potentially toxic PSMs (Shipley et al , Servello and Schneider ). We conducted this assessment in two different winters, one of which was average and the other was severe (i.e.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The influence of plant defensive chemicals, diet composition, and winter severity on the nutritional condition of a free‐ranging, generalist herbivore

Parikh

Forbey

Robb

et al. 2016

Oikos

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When consuming plants, herbivores must deal with both low nutritional quality from cell wall constituents and potentially toxic plant secondary metabolites, which are often inversely related. Herbivores that consume a highly nutritious, but chemically defended plant, may consume high levels of toxins that require energy for detoxification. Alternatively, herbivores may avoid consuming high levels of toxins by consuming a diverse diet that may be lower in overall nutritional quality. In this study, we assessed the relationship among nutritional restriction, detoxification and diet diversity in a freeranging wild herbivore. We collected urine deposited in the snow (hereafter, snow-urine) and feces by free-ranging moose Alces americanus, a generalist browser, during winter. We used the ratio of urinary urea nitrogen to creatinine (UN:C), measured in snow-urine samples, as an indicator of nutritional restriction, and the ratio of glucuronic acid to creatinine (GA:C), as an indicator of investment in detoxification. We used microhistology to determine diet composition from fecal pellets. GA:C and UN:C were positively associated, suggesting that nutritional condition tends to be worse for individuals investing more in detoxification. We found, after accounting for the influence of winter severity, diet diversity and UN:C to be negatively related, suggesting that increasingly diverse diets were associated with improved nutritional condition. Overall, the most important predictor of UN:C was winter severity and proportion of diet comprised of balsam fir Abies balsamea. Physiological indicators of nutritional restriction tended to be worse during severe winters and among individuals that had consumed more balsam fir. These results highlight complex relationships among environmental conditions, foraging decisions, and costs of detoxification that can influence nutritional condition of herbivores.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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The influence of plant defensive chemicals, diet composition, and winter severity on the nutritional condition of a free‐ranging, generalist herbivore

Parikh

Forbey

Robb

et al. 2016

Oikos

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“…Urine analyses have been widely used to evaluate body condition or nutrition quality of wild herbivores through the monitoring of catabolism of body protein and toxin detoxification (DelGiudice et al 1988(DelGiudice et al , 1998White et al 1995White et al , 1997Garrott et al 1996;Servello and Schneider 2000). We tested the hypothesis that deer body condition during winter could be estimated by monitoring the concentration of 3-methylhistidine in urine collected in the snow (i.e., snow-urine).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is winter diet quality related to body condition of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)? An experiment using urine profiles

Sauvé¹,

Côté²

2006

Can. J. Zool.

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During winter, boreal forest herbivores have access to only poor-quality forage. On Anticosti Island (Quebec, Canada), the ongoing reduction of balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) P. Mill.) owing to overbrowsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780)) may force deer to include a higher proportion of white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), a browse normally avoided, in their winter diet. We tested the hypotheses that (i) deer body condition during winter and (ii) the costs of detoxification of plant secondary metabolites in the winter diet could be estimated by monitoring the 3-methylhistidine / creatinine and glucuronic acid / creatinine ratios, respectively, in urine collected in snow from white-tailed deer fawns. Doubling the amount of white spruce in the winter diet of deer (from the current 20% under natural conditions to 40%) did not increase 3-methylhistidine / creatinine ratios but increased the glucuronic acid / creatinine ratio in urine, suggesting that a diet containing more spruce was more toxic. A weak positive relationship was observed between 3-methylhistidine and percent cumulative mass loss. There was no relationship between the 3methylhistidine / creatinine ratio and the number of days left before death, as well as no relationship between the ratio of glucuronic acid / creatinine and percent cumulative mass loss. We conclude that the costs of detoxification of plant secondary metabolites in the winter diet of white-tailed deer in boreal forests could be monitored with glucuronic acid / creatinine ratios, but that 3-methylhistidine / creatinine ratios were weak indicators of deer body condition in winter.Résumé : Durant l'hiver, les herbivores des forêts boréales se nourrissent de nourriture de faible qualité. Sur l'île d'Anticosti (Québec, Canada), la raréfaction graduelle du sapin baumier (Abies balsamea (L.) P. Mill.) causée par le surbroutement du cerf de Virginie (Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780)) pourrait forcer ces derniers à ingérer en hiver plus d'épinette blanche (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), une essence normalement évitée. Nous avons testé les hypothèses selon lesquelles (i) la détérioration de la condition corporelle des cerfs en hiver et (ii) les coûts de la détoxication des produits métaboliques secondaires des plantes dans l'alimentation d'hiver pouvaient être estimés par l'analyse de l'évolution des rapports 3-méthylhistidine / créatinine et acide glucuronique / créatinine, respectivement, dans l'urine de faons récoltée dans la neige. Doubler la proportion d'épinette blanche dans l'alimentation d'hiver (de 20 % en conditions naturelles à 40 %) n'a pas affecté le rapport 3-méthylhistidine / créatinine, mais a augmenté le rapport acide glucuronique / créatinine dans l'urine, suggérant qu'une alimentation plus riche en épinette blanche est plus toxique. Une faible relation positive a été observée entre la 3-méthylhistidine et le pourcentage cumulatif de perte de masse. La concentration de 3-méthylhistidine n'a pas augmenté quelques jours avant la mort....

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Review: Using physiologically based models to predict population responses to phytochemicals by wild vertebrate herbivores

Forbey

Liu

Caughlin

et al. 2018

Animal

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To understand how foraging decisions impact individual fitness of herbivores, nutritional ecologists must consider the complex in vivo dynamics of nutrient–nutrient interactions and nutrient–toxin interactions associated with foraging. Mathematical modeling has long been used to make foraging predictions (e.g. optimal foraging theory) but has largely been restricted to a single currency (e.g. energy) or using simple indices of nutrition (e.g. fecal nitrogen) without full consideration of physiologically based interactions among numerous co-ingested phytochemicals. Here, we describe a physiologically based model (PBM) that provides a mechanistic link between foraging decisions and demographic consequences. Including physiological mechanisms of absorption, digestion and metabolism of phytochemicals in PBMs allows us to estimate concentrations of ingested and interacting phytochemicals in the body. Estimated phytochemical concentrations more accurately link intake of phytochemicals to changes in individual fitness than measures of intake alone. Further, we illustrate how estimated physiological parameters can be integrated with the geometric framework of nutrition and into integral projection models and agent-based models to predict fitness and population responses of vertebrate herbivores to ingested phytochemicals. The PBMs will improve our ability to understand the foraging decisions of vertebrate herbivores and consequences of those decisions and may help identify key physiological mechanisms that underlie diet-based ecological adaptations.

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Evaluation of Urinary Indices of Nutritional Status for White-Tailed Deer: Tests with Winter Browse Diets

Cited by 11 publications

References 28 publications

The influence of plant defensive chemicals, diet composition, and winter severity on the nutritional condition of a free‐ranging, generalist herbivore

The influence of plant defensive chemicals, diet composition, and winter severity on the nutritional condition of a free‐ranging, generalist herbivore

Is winter diet quality related to body condition of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)? An experiment using urine profiles

Review: Using physiologically based models to predict population responses to phytochemicals by wild vertebrate herbivores

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