Digestibility of ringed seals by the polar bear
The digestive efficiency of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) feeding on their principal prey, the ringed seal (Phoca hispida) is high. Apparent digestibilities of 83.7 ± 10.3% for dietary protein, 97.3 ± 2.1% for dietary fat, and an assimilation of dietary energy of 91.7 ± 5.8% were found for the five...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Zoology |
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Language: | English |
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Canadian Science Publishing
1985
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z85-155 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z85-155 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z85-155 2024-10-13T14:05:21+00:00 Digestibility of ringed seals by the polar bear Best, Robin C. 1985 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z85-155 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z85-155 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 63, issue 5, page 1033-1036 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 journal-article 1985 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z85-155 2024-09-19T04:09:49Z The digestive efficiency of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) feeding on their principal prey, the ringed seal (Phoca hispida) is high. Apparent digestibilities of 83.7 ± 10.3% for dietary protein, 97.3 ± 2.1% for dietary fat, and an assimilation of dietary energy of 91.7 ± 5.8% were found for the five diets. Presence of hair and bone in the diet significantly reduced the apparent digestibility of protein N. Gastrointestinal transit times were affected principally by the fat (energy) content of the diet and varied between 12.3 ± 1.9 to 38.0 ± 8.0 h. The results explain the apparent preference for seal blubber by polar bears in the arctic as well as demonstrate that any seal > 1 month of age would satisfy the bear's daily energy requirements. The limiting factors in energy intake at a given feeding are the stomach capacity of the bear and the relative proportion of blubber and meat ingested. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Phoca hispida ringed seal Ursus maritimus Canadian Science Publishing Arctic Canadian Journal of Zoology 63 5 1033 1036 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
The digestive efficiency of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) feeding on their principal prey, the ringed seal (Phoca hispida) is high. Apparent digestibilities of 83.7 ± 10.3% for dietary protein, 97.3 ± 2.1% for dietary fat, and an assimilation of dietary energy of 91.7 ± 5.8% were found for the five diets. Presence of hair and bone in the diet significantly reduced the apparent digestibility of protein N. Gastrointestinal transit times were affected principally by the fat (energy) content of the diet and varied between 12.3 ± 1.9 to 38.0 ± 8.0 h. The results explain the apparent preference for seal blubber by polar bears in the arctic as well as demonstrate that any seal > 1 month of age would satisfy the bear's daily energy requirements. The limiting factors in energy intake at a given feeding are the stomach capacity of the bear and the relative proportion of blubber and meat ingested. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Best, Robin C. |
spellingShingle |
Best, Robin C. Digestibility of ringed seals by the polar bear |
author_facet |
Best, Robin C. |
author_sort |
Best, Robin C. |
title |
Digestibility of ringed seals by the polar bear |
title_short |
Digestibility of ringed seals by the polar bear |
title_full |
Digestibility of ringed seals by the polar bear |
title_fullStr |
Digestibility of ringed seals by the polar bear |
title_full_unstemmed |
Digestibility of ringed seals by the polar bear |
title_sort |
digestibility of ringed seals by the polar bear |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1985 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z85-155 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z85-155 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Phoca hispida ringed seal Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Arctic Phoca hispida ringed seal Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 63, issue 5, page 1033-1036 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z85-155 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
63 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1033 |
op_container_end_page |
1036 |
_version_ |
1812811436791955456 |