Yuan Lihong, Wilder Shawn, Raubenheimer David, Simpson Stephen J, Shaw Michelle, McAllan Bronwyn M
School of Public Health Sun Yat-Sen University Guangzhou Guangdong Province China.
School of Medical Sciences University of Sydney Sydney NSW Australia.
Ecol Evol. 2018 Mar 5;8(7):3636-3647. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3843. eCollection 2018 Apr.
Diet regulation behavior can mediate the consequences of imbalanced diets for animal well-being, particularly for captive species that have little dietary choice. Dasyurids (carnivorous marsupials) are of conservation concern in Australia, and many species are in captive breeding programmes. However, their nutrient targets and dietary regulation behaviors are poorly understood, a limitation that may decrease the breeding success and well-being of captive animals. We tested how dietary protein content influenced the intake and utilization of nutrients, physical activity, and body mass of fat-tailed dunnarts . Twelve adult dunnarts from six sibling pairs (one female and one male per pair) were provided ad libitum access to three diets in a repeated measures design: cat food, cat food supplemented with raw lean beef (1:1), and cat food supplemented with cooked lean beef (1:1). Food intake, activity level, and fecal output were measured daily. Dunnarts significantly decreased food intake, increased protein digestion, and physical activity, but body mass was unchanged when on the high-protein diet compared to the normal cat food diet. These observations suggest a capacity of dunnarts to maintain constant body mass using a dynamic balance of feeding, digestion, and activity. We also found a significant effect of family, with differences between families as large as the difference between the diet treatments, suggesting a genetic component to diet selection. The nutrient regulation responses of dunnarts to high-protein diets and the strong family effects provide important messages for the management of populations of small carnivores, including the aspects of dietary manipulation and conservation of genetic diversity.
饮食调节行为可以调节不均衡饮食对动物健康的影响，特别是对于饮食选择有限的圈养物种。袋鼬科动物（肉食性有袋动物）在澳大利亚受到保护关注，许多物种都在圈养繁殖计划中。然而，人们对它们的营养目标和饮食调节行为了解甚少，这一限制可能会降低圈养动物的繁殖成功率和健康水平。我们测试了饮食蛋白质含量如何影响肥尾袋鼩的营养摄入与利用、身体活动和体重。在重复测量设计中，为来自六对同胞（每对一雌一雄）的12只成年袋鼩随意提供三种饮食：猫粮、添加生瘦牛肉（1:1）的猫粮以及添加熟瘦牛肉（1:1）的猫粮。每天测量食物摄入量、活动水平和粪便排出量。与正常猫粮饮食相比，袋鼩在高蛋白饮食时食物摄入量显著减少，蛋白质消化和身体活动增加，但体重没有变化。这些观察结果表明，袋鼩有能力通过进食、消化和活动的动态平衡来维持恒定体重。我们还发现了家族的显著影响，家族之间的差异与饮食处理之间的差异一样大，这表明饮食选择存在遗传成分。袋鼩对高蛋白饮食的营养调节反应以及强烈的家族效应为小型食肉动物种群的管理提供了重要信息，包括饮食操纵和遗传多样性保护等方面。
