Testing predictions on body mass and gut contents: dissection of an African elephant Loxodonta africana Blumenbach 1797

Clauss, Marcus; Robert, Nadia; Walzer, Chris; Vitaud, Christelle; Hummel, Jürgen

doi:10.1007/s10344-005-0113-0

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…In the absence of any adaptive trend, the capacity of this organ should increase in direct proportion to body mass (Owen-Smith 1988). Very recently, Clauss et al (2005) tested predictions on body mass and gut content in a dissected African elephant. They were able to confirm the above-referenced assumption by Owen-Smith (1988) and in fact established a remarkable uniformity, in mammals, of the relationship between body mass and the gastrointestinal tract.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body mass estimations for Plateosaurus engelhardti using laser scanning and 3D reconstruction methods

Gunga

Suthau²,

Bellmann³

et al. 2007

Naturwissenschaften

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Both body mass and surface area are factors determining the essence of any living organism. This should also hold true for an extinct organism such as a dinosaur. The present report discusses the use of a new 3D laser scanner method to establish body masses and surface areas of an Asian elephant (Zoological Museum of Copenhagen, Denmark) and of Plateosaurus engelhardti, a prosauropod from the Upper Triassic, exhibited at the Paleontological Museum in Tübingen (Germany). This method was used to study the effect that slight changes in body shape had on body mass for P. engelhardti. It was established that body volumes varied between 0.79 m(3) (slim version) and 1.14 m(3) (robust version), resulting in a presumable body mass of 630 and 912 kg, respectively. The total body surface areas ranged between 8.8 and 10.2 m(2), of which, in both reconstructions of P. engelhardti, approximately 33% account for the thorax area alone. The main difference between the two models is in the tail and hind limb reconstruction. The tail of the slim version has a surface area of 1.98 m(2), whereas that of the robust version has a surface area of 2.73 m(2). The body volumes calculated for the slim version were as follows: head 0.006 m(3), neck 0.016 m(3), fore limbs 0.020 m(3), hind limbs 0.08 m(3), thoracic cavity 0.533 m(3), and tail 0.136 m(3). For the robust model, the following volumes were established: 0.01 m(3) head, neck 0.026 m(3), fore limbs 0.025 m(3), hind limbs 0.18 m(3), thoracic cavity 0.616 m(3), and finally, tail 0.28 m(3). Based on these body volumes, scaling equations were used to assess the size that the organs of this extinct dinosaur have.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body mass estimations for Plateosaurus engelhardti using laser scanning and 3D reconstruction methods

Gunga

Suthau²,

Bellmann³

et al. 2007

Naturwissenschaften

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“…To emphasize the tradeoffs between plant quality and quantity we chose to study the largest terrestrial mammalian herbivore, the African elephant Loxodonta africana . Some experimental studies on elephant nutrition have been conducted in zoos (Clauss et al 2003, 2005b). However, most conventional studies in the wild are descriptive and case sensitive as nutrient selection is determined using consumption rates of plant species high in a specific nutrient in relation to its availability in the environment.…”

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confidence: 99%

Diet selection of African elephant over time shows changing optimization currency

Pretorius¹,

Stigter²,

Boer³

et al. 2012

Oikos

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Multiple factors determine diet selection of herbivores. However, in many diet studies selection of single nutrients is studied or optimization models are developed using only one currency. In this paper, we use linear programming to explain diet selection by African elephant based on plant availability and nutrient and deterrent content over time. Our results indicate that elephant at our study area maximized intake of phosphorus throughout the year, possibly in response to the deficiency of this nutrient in the region. After adjusting the model to incorporate the effects of this deficiency, elephant were found to maximize nitrogen intake during the wet season and energy during the dry season. We reason that the increased energy requirements during the dry season can be explained by seasonal changes in water availability and forage abundance. As forage abundance decrease into the dry season, elephant struggle to satisfy their large absolute food requirements. Adding to this restriction is the simultaneous decrease in plant and surface water availability, which force the elephant to seek out scarce surface water sources at high energy costs. During the wet season when food becomes more abundant and energy requirements are satisfied easier, elephant aim to maximize nitrogen intake for growth and reproduction. Our study contributes to the emerging theory on understanding foraging for multiple resources.

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“…According to Owen-Smith (1988) and his studies on megaherbivores the capacity of this organ should increase in direct proportion to body mass, in the absence of any adaptive trend. Very recently Clauss et al (2005) tested the predictions on body mass and gut contents in a dissected African elephant. They could confirm this assumption by Owen-Smith who found a remarkable uniformity of the body mass-gastrointestinal tract relationship among, at least, mammals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new body mass estimation of <i>Brachiosaurus brancai</i> Janensch, 1914 mounted and exhibited at the Museum of Natural History (Berlin, Germany)

et al. 2008

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DinosauriaSauropoda paleophysiology body mass estimation specific tissue density paleoecology Abstract Body mass and surface areas are important in several aspects for an organism living today. Therefore, mass and surface determinations for extinct dinosaurs could be important for paleo-biological aspects as well. Based on photogrammetrical measurement the body mass and body surface area of the Late Jurassic Brachiosaurus brancai Janensch, 1914 from Tendaguru (East Africa), a skeleton mounted and exhibited at the Museum of Natural History in Berlin (Germany), has been re-evaluated. We determined for a slim type of 3D reconstruction of Brachiosaurus brancai a total volume of 47.9 m 3 which represents, assuming a mean tissue density of 0.8 kg per 1,000 cm 3 , a total body mass of 38,000 kg. The volume distributions from the head to the tail were as follows: 0.2 m 3 for the head, neck 7.3 m 3 , fore limbs 2.9 m 3 , hind limbs 2.6 m 3 , thoracic-abdominal cavity 32.4 m 3 , tail 2.2 m 3 . The total body surface area was calculated to be 119.1 m 2 , specifically 1.5 m 2 for the head, 26 m 2 neck, fore limbs 18.8 m 2 , hind limbs 16.4 m 2 , 44.2 m 2 thoracic-abdominal cavity, and finally the tail 12.2 m 2 . Finally, allometric equations were used to estimate presumable organ sizes of this extinct dinosaur and to test whether their dimensions really fit into the thoracic and abdominal cavity of Brachiosaurus brancai if a slim body shape of this sauropod is assumed. museum fü r naturkunde

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Testing predictions on body mass and gut contents: dissection of an African elephant Loxodonta africana Blumenbach 1797

Cited by 9 publications

References 7 publications

Body mass estimations for Plateosaurus engelhardti using laser scanning and 3D reconstruction methods

Body mass estimations for Plateosaurus engelhardti using laser scanning and 3D reconstruction methods

Diet selection of African elephant over time shows changing optimization currency

A new body mass estimation of <i>Brachiosaurus brancai</i> Janensch, 1914 mounted and exhibited at the Museum of Natural History (Berlin, Germany)

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