Energy Requirements of Adult Moose for Winter Maintenance
Schwartz CC, Hubbert ME, Franzmann AW. 1988. Energy Requirements of Adult Moose for Winter Maintenance. The Journal of Wildlife Management. 52(1):26-33
Nine adult moose (Alces alces) were randomly assigned to 1 or 3 diets in 2 separate feeding trials. Our objectives were to determine how moose respond in winter to varying amounts of the same quality of food, and to the same amount of food which possessed varying nutritional quality. During trial 1, moose were fed a pelleted diet ad libitum, and 85.1 and 72.5% of the ad libitum diet. During trial 2, moose were fed ad libitum 1 or 3 pelleted diets containing digestible energy concentrations of 2.4, 2.1, and 1.8 kcal/g dry matter. Linear regression equations of digestible energy intake (kcal/kg body wt [BW]0.75/day) with mean monthly body weight gain or loss (kg/day) provided the basis for estimating maintenance energy requirements. Our best estimates of energy required for maintenance were 148 and 131 kcal/kg BW0.75/day of digestible and metabolizable energy, respectively. The relationship between heat production and metabolizable energy intake provided an estimate for theoretical basal metabolism of 73 kcal/kg BW0.75/day.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Schwartz, Charles; Hubbert, Mike; Franzmann, Albert
- Units
- CAKN , DENA , YUCH , WRST
- Keywords
- Alces alces, Diet, Energetics, Mammals, Metabolism, Nutrition, Ungulates