Body Size, Rumen-reticulum Functions, and Dietary Nutrition of White-Tailed Deer

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dc.contributor.advisorWeckerly, Floyd W.
dc.contributor.authorLuna, Ryan S.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberBarboza, Perry S.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberBowyer, R. Terry
dc.contributor.committeeMemberMcLean, Robert
dc.contributor.committeeMemberSimpson, Thomas R.
dc.date.accessioned2013-04-29T20:25:56Z
dc.date.available2013-04-29T20:25:56Z
dc.date.issued2013-05
dc.description.abstractRuminants have a highly specialized digestive system which allows them to obtain nutrients from fibrous forage. The morphology of this digestive system changes with respect to the quality and quantity of consumed forage. Few studies have explicitly examined variation in ruminant digestive system morphology in semi-arid environments at low latitudes. The aim of my dissertation was to examine scaling relationships of anatomical and physiological rumen-reticulum attributes, dietary nutrition, rumen-reticulum fill, reserve capacity, and surface area of rumen mucosa across a body mass gradient of white-tailed deer in a semi-arid environment. My findings indicate that scaling relationships between body mass and rumen-reticulum capacity were isometric. With regard to nutrition, juveniles and sub-adults consumed a higher quality diet (assessed by the ratio of protein to less digestible and indigestible carbohydrates), which should aid in meeting their high mass-specific metabolic demands. Factors governing rumen-reticulum function were complex because rumen-reticulum fill, reserve capacity, and absorptive surface area of the rumen mucosa were influenced by differing factors. One key finding was that surface area of the rumen mucosa had and inverse relationship with reserve capacity. This inverse relationship would allow individuals in a semi-arid environment to conserve metabolically expensive rumen-reticulum tissue, yet still allow them to accommodate sudden changes in forage quality. Additionally, my research indicates that white-tailed deer in a semi-arid environment had less pronounced seasonal changes in their surface area of rumen mucosa than deer at higher latitudes. My findings contain relevant information to intraspecific scaling relationships, forage niche partitioning, and anatomical patterns of the rumen-reticulum of deer inhabiting semi-arid environments.
dc.description.departmentBiology
dc.formatText
dc.format.extent121 pages
dc.format.medium1 file (.pdf)
dc.identifier.citationLuna, R. S. (2013). <i>Body size, rumen-reticulum functions, and dietary nutrition of white-tailed deer</i> (Unpublished dissertation). Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, Texas.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10877/4558
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectRumen-reticulum
dc.subjectScaling relationships
dc.subjectDietary nutrition
dc.subjectRumen-reticulum fill
dc.subjectReserve capacity
dc.subjectSEF
dc.subject.lcshWhite-tailed deer--Sizeen_US
dc.subject.lcshWhite-tailed deer--Nutritionen_US
dc.subject.lcshArid regionsen_US
dc.subject.lcshRumenen_US
dc.subject.lcshGastrointestinal systemen_US
dc.subject.lcshIngestionen_US
dc.titleBody Size, Rumen-reticulum Functions, and Dietary Nutrition of White-Tailed Deer
dc.typeDissertation
thesis.degree.departmentBiology
thesis.degree.disciplineAquatic Resources
thesis.degree.grantorTexas State University--San Marcos
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy

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