Integrative Wildlife Nutrition

About this book

This book applies the basic principles of nutrition to the study of fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals in their natural environments. The acquisition of food, its digestion and absorption, and the retention and utilization of energy substrates, water and other nutrients are treated in detail.

This integrated approach connects behavioral, morphological, and biochemical traits of animals to their life histories and their responses to variable and changing environments. The authors also provide a practical framework for understanding the interactions between food resources and wildlife populations, and for managing the harvest of abundant species and the conservation of threatened populations.

"Integrative Wildlife Nutrition" provides a general reference work for students and professionals in animal physiology and ecology, conservation biology, and wildlife management. Lecturers can use this text for wildlife and conservation biology programs and as a reference source for related courses in animal ecology.

Contents

Contents1 Introduction: common themes across diverse taxa1.1 Resource supply and organismal demand 1.2 Principal components of animals and plants1.3 Scaling body size and demands for energy and nutrients1.4 Dietary requirements and nutritional niche1.5 Summary: introductionPart I Functional Relationships2 Food and populations2.1 Population growth and animal density2.2 Individual demands and food limits2.3 Trophic relationships2.4 Environmental variation2.5 Summary: populations3 Feeding dynamics: functional and behavioral responses3.1 Functional response and diet breadth3.2 Predicting foraging behavior with models3.2.1 Optimal foraging time3.2.2 Risk-sensitive foraging3.3 Mechanics of foragingU3.4 Form and function of the mouth3.5 Mechanisms of foods3.5.1 Physical characteristics of foods3.5.2 Chemical characteristics of foods3.6 Summary: feeding dynamics4 Measuring food consumption4.1 UAdjustment and steady state4.2 Direct measures of intake4.2.1 Behavioral observations of food intake4.2.2 Food intake by mass balance4.2.3 Digestible and metabolizable food intake4.3 Indirect measures of intake4.3.1 Measuring intake with indigestible markers4.3.2 Measuring intake with digestible markers4.4 Summary: food consumption5 Digestive function5.1 Food intake, digestive efficiency and digestive tract capacity5..2 Reaction rates and retention time5.3 Common functions of digestive systems5.4 Digesta flow5.4.1 Digesta flow in the foregut of ruminants and kangaroos5.4.2 Digesta flow in the hindgut of herbivores5.5 Optimizing digestive systems5.6 Summary: digestive function Part II Substrates and Tissue Constituents6 Carbohydrates: sugars, fiber and fermentationU6.1 Complementary substrates for metabolism6.2 Functions of carbohydrates6.3 Functional chemistry of carbohydrates6.4 Digestion and absorption of non-structural carbohydrates6.5 Glucose metabolism and homeostasis6.6 Digestion of structural carbohydrates6.7 Microbial fermentation6.7.1 Host-microbe relationshipsU6.8 Summary: carbohydrates7 Lipids: fatty acids and adipose tissue7.1 Functional chemistry of fatty acids7.2 Classes of lipids7.3 Digestion and transport of lipids7.4 Fat synthesis and mobilization7.5 Summary: lipids8 Nitrogenous substrates: nucleic acids to amino excretion8.1 Amino acids and essentiality8.2 Proteins and digestion8.3 Intermediary metabolism of amino acids8.4 Nucleic acids and digestion8.5 Nitrogen metabolism8.5.1 Ammonia8.5.2 Urea8.5.3 Uric acid8.5.4 Creatinine8.6 Nitrogen balance and the requirement for N8.6.1 Endogenous urinary N8.6.2 Fecal N losses8.6.3 Protein quality8.7 Summary: nitrogen9 Metabolic constituents: water, minerals and vitamins9.1 Water and electrolytes9.1.1 Transport mechanisms9.1.2 Aquatic exchanges of water9.1.3 Terrestrial exchanges of water9.1.4 Water turnover and balance9.2 Minerals9.2.1 Sodium, chlorine, and potassium9.2.2 Calcium and phosphorus9.2.3 Magnesium and sulfurU9.2.4 Trace metals9.2.5 Iodine and selenium9.3 Vitamins9.3.1 Water-soluble vitamins9.3.1.1 B vitamins9.3.1.2 Vitamin C9.3.2 Fat-soluble vitamins9.3.2.1 Vitamin A9.3.2.2 Vitamin D9.3.2.3 Vitamin E9.3.2.4 Vitamin K9.4 Summary: metabolic constituentsPart III Energy and Integration10 Energy: carbon as a fuel and a tissue constituent10.1 Energy flow and balance10.1.1 Digestible energy10.1.2 Metabolizable energy10.1.3 Net energy10.2 Measuring energy expenditure10.3 Basal metabolism and maintenance of the body10.4 Temperature10.4.1 Ectothermy10.4.2 Endothermy10.5 Activity10.6 Energy budgets and field metabolic rate10.7 Body condition10.7.1 Morphometry10.7.2 Chemical composition10.8 Survival10.9 Reproduction10.9.1 Life History10.9.2 Capital-income continuum10.10 Growth10.11 Summary: energy11 Integrating nutrient supply and demand in variable environments11.1 Neuro-endocrine integration of food intake and metabolism11.2 Stressors11.3 Plasticity of food intake and production11.4 Global climate change11.5 Resilience and wildlife11.6 Conclusion ReferencesList of Common and Scientific Names of Animals and PlantsIndex

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