Evaluation of n-alkanes, long-chain alcohols, and carbon stable isotope enrichments of n-alkanes as diet composition markers in free-grazing animals

Context Plant species exhibit different patterns of plant cuticular wax profiles, which can potentially be used as diet composition markers in free-grazing herbivores. Aims Evaluate the suitability of the plant cuticular n-alkanes, long-chain alcohol (LCOH) profiles and carbon stable isotope enrichm...

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Autores principales: Wegi, T., Hassen, A., Bezabih, Melkamu, Nurfeta, A., Yigrem, S., Tolera, Adugna
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/119684
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author Wegi, T.
Hassen, A.
Bezabih, Melkamu
Nurfeta, A.
Yigrem, S.
Tolera, Adugna
author_browse Bezabih, Melkamu
Hassen, A.
Nurfeta, A.
Tolera, Adugna
Wegi, T.
Yigrem, S.
author_facet Wegi, T.
Hassen, A.
Bezabih, Melkamu
Nurfeta, A.
Yigrem, S.
Tolera, Adugna
author_sort Wegi, T.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Context Plant species exhibit different patterns of plant cuticular wax profiles, which can potentially be used as diet composition markers in free-grazing herbivores. Aims Evaluate the suitability of the plant cuticular n-alkanes, long-chain alcohol (LCOH) profiles and carbon stable isotope enrichment (δ13C) of n-alkanes as markers in the estimation of diet composition of grazing animals. Methods Forage samples were collected from 100 representative quadrats of 0.5 m × 0.5 m at 10 m transects and sorted by species and pooled from different quadrats to obtain enough quantities of representative individual species. In total, 10 dominant forage species were identified and analysed for n-alkanes and LCOH by gas chromatography, and the isotopic ratio by using gas chromatography–combustion–isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify inter-species differences in the concentration patterns of plant wax components. Key results Odd-chain n-alkanes comprised the highest proportion of the total n-alkane concentration, ranging from 79% in Ischaemum afrum to 95% in Haplocarpha hastata. n-Alkanes C31, C29 and C33 were the most abundant with an average of 167, 80 and 61 mg/kg DM, in that order, in all species. Even-chain LCOH comprised the highest proportion of the total LCOH concentration, accounting for 92% in Brachiaria scalaris to 97% in Ischaemum afrum. The dominant even-chain LCOH were C30OH, C32OH, C28OH and C26OH, with an average concentration of 362, 348, 266 and 237 mg/kg DM respectively, across species. The δ13C of n-alkanes showed large variations among forage species, ranging from −19.7‰ in Andropogon amethystinus to −40.6‰ in Trifolium mattirolianum. The result of the PCA showed that 81% of the variance in the pattern of concentrations of n-alkanes was explained by the first two principal components compared with 69.3% and 82.9% in the case of LCOH and δ13C of n-alkanes, respectively. Conclusions Noticeable variations were observed for forage species studied in the patterns of plant wax components. Implications The differences in the patterns of concentrations of n-alkanes, LCOH and δ13C of n-alkanes could be suitable as markers for diet composition estimation of grazing animals.
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spelling CGSpace1196842025-12-08T10:29:22Z Evaluation of n-alkanes, long-chain alcohols, and carbon stable isotope enrichments of n-alkanes as diet composition markers in free-grazing animals Wegi, T. Hassen, A. Bezabih, Melkamu Nurfeta, A. Yigrem, S. Tolera, Adugna pastures forage assessment Context Plant species exhibit different patterns of plant cuticular wax profiles, which can potentially be used as diet composition markers in free-grazing herbivores. Aims Evaluate the suitability of the plant cuticular n-alkanes, long-chain alcohol (LCOH) profiles and carbon stable isotope enrichment (δ13C) of n-alkanes as markers in the estimation of diet composition of grazing animals. Methods Forage samples were collected from 100 representative quadrats of 0.5 m × 0.5 m at 10 m transects and sorted by species and pooled from different quadrats to obtain enough quantities of representative individual species. In total, 10 dominant forage species were identified and analysed for n-alkanes and LCOH by gas chromatography, and the isotopic ratio by using gas chromatography–combustion–isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify inter-species differences in the concentration patterns of plant wax components. Key results Odd-chain n-alkanes comprised the highest proportion of the total n-alkane concentration, ranging from 79% in Ischaemum afrum to 95% in Haplocarpha hastata. n-Alkanes C31, C29 and C33 were the most abundant with an average of 167, 80 and 61 mg/kg DM, in that order, in all species. Even-chain LCOH comprised the highest proportion of the total LCOH concentration, accounting for 92% in Brachiaria scalaris to 97% in Ischaemum afrum. The dominant even-chain LCOH were C30OH, C32OH, C28OH and C26OH, with an average concentration of 362, 348, 266 and 237 mg/kg DM respectively, across species. The δ13C of n-alkanes showed large variations among forage species, ranging from −19.7‰ in Andropogon amethystinus to −40.6‰ in Trifolium mattirolianum. The result of the PCA showed that 81% of the variance in the pattern of concentrations of n-alkanes was explained by the first two principal components compared with 69.3% and 82.9% in the case of LCOH and δ13C of n-alkanes, respectively. Conclusions Noticeable variations were observed for forage species studied in the patterns of plant wax components. Implications The differences in the patterns of concentrations of n-alkanes, LCOH and δ13C of n-alkanes could be suitable as markers for diet composition estimation of grazing animals. 2022-08-18 2022-05-30T08:40:52Z 2022-05-30T08:40:52Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/119684 en Limited Access Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Wegi, T., Hassen, A., Bezabih, M., Nurfeta, A., Yigrem, S. and Tolera, A. 2022. Evaluation of n-alkanes, long-chain alcohols, and carbon stable isotope enrichments of n-alkanes as diet composition markers in free-grazing animals. Animal Production Science
spellingShingle pastures
forage
assessment
Wegi, T.
Hassen, A.
Bezabih, Melkamu
Nurfeta, A.
Yigrem, S.
Tolera, Adugna
Evaluation of n-alkanes, long-chain alcohols, and carbon stable isotope enrichments of n-alkanes as diet composition markers in free-grazing animals
title Evaluation of n-alkanes, long-chain alcohols, and carbon stable isotope enrichments of n-alkanes as diet composition markers in free-grazing animals
title_full Evaluation of n-alkanes, long-chain alcohols, and carbon stable isotope enrichments of n-alkanes as diet composition markers in free-grazing animals
title_fullStr Evaluation of n-alkanes, long-chain alcohols, and carbon stable isotope enrichments of n-alkanes as diet composition markers in free-grazing animals
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of n-alkanes, long-chain alcohols, and carbon stable isotope enrichments of n-alkanes as diet composition markers in free-grazing animals
title_short Evaluation of n-alkanes, long-chain alcohols, and carbon stable isotope enrichments of n-alkanes as diet composition markers in free-grazing animals
title_sort evaluation of n alkanes long chain alcohols and carbon stable isotope enrichments of n alkanes as diet composition markers in free grazing animals
topic pastures
forage
assessment
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/119684
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