放归普氏野马粪便含水量及颗粒大小的季节变化及性别差异

Abstract

Abstract: Fecal water content （WC） and mean particle size （MPS） reflect the capacity of water balance and chewing efficiency in ungulates，which are important strategies for ungulates to survival under particular environments. How to adapt to arid environments is an important research project of Reintroduction of Przewalski’s horses. We collected totally 65 fresh feces of releasing horses during spring，summer，and autumn in the Kalamaili Nature Reserve，Xinjiang，China，and we measured the water content and particle size （wet sieving method） of these feces，then compared the seasonal and sex differences. The results show that the [MPS] was significantly higher in spring （3.98 ± 0.08 mm） than in summer （3.65 ± 0.05mm）；[MPS] of the stallions was significantly higher than that of the female horses in the spring，but there were no significant differences in summer and autumn. [WC] of total horses in spring （73.17±1.05%），summer （70.56±0.99%），and autumn （68.12±0.79%） decreased gradually，but no significant difference was found. WC of stallion was higher than that of the mares in each season，and the difference was significant in the spring. This study shows that the variation in WC and [MPS] of releasing Przewalski's horses may be related to the availability of food and water sources，and may be related to their role in the population，too.

Key words: fecal particle size（MPS）, fecal water content（WC）, Przewalski's horses, reintroduction, adaption

CLC Number:

Q958.1

ZHANG Yong-jun，HU De-fu，JI Rong，CAO Qin，CHU Hong-jun. Seasonal variation and sex differences in fecal water content （WC） and mean particle size （MPS） of releasing Przewalski's horses[J]., 2014, 37(2): 259-264.

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Seasonal variation and sex differences in fecal water content （WC） and mean particle size （MPS） of releasing Przewalski's horses

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