Data from: The nutritional balancing act of a large herbivore: an experiment with captive moose (Alces alces L) ...

• Main Authors: Felton, Annika M., Felton, Adam, Raubenheimer, David, Simpson, Stephen J., Krizsan, Sophie J., Hedwall, Per-Ola, Stolter, Caroline
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2017
• Subjects: daily food intake; pellet; adult moose; Alces alces; nutritional balance; water soluble carbohydrate; Salix cinerea; moose calves; NDF; Salix caprea; protein; ash; fat; feeding behaviour; Salix fragilis; macronutrient; Holocene; energy; browse
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.857dd; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.857dd

The nutrient balancing hypothesis proposes that, when sufficient food is available, the primary goal of animal diet selection is to obtain a nutritionally balanced diet. This hypothesis can be tested using the Geometric Framework for nutrition (GF). The GF enables researchers to study patterns of nutrient intake (e.g. macronutrients; protein, carbohydrates, fat), interactions between the different nutrients, and how an animal resolves the potential conflict between over-eating one or more nutrients and under-eating others during periods of dietary imbalance. Using the moose (Alces alces L.), a model species in the development of herbivore foraging theory, we conducted a feeding experiment guided by the GF, combining continuous observations of six captive moose with analysis of the macronutritional composition of foods. We identified the moose’s self-selected macronutrient target by allowing them to compose a diet by mixing two nutritionally complementary pellet types plus limited access to Salix browse. Such ... : Data For Depository Felton et alWorksheet 1 contains observations of daily food intakes of six captive moose individuals included in the feeding experiment, which included 5 different treatments. The weight measurements are translated into nutrient intakes and displayed separately for pellets and browse items. Worksheet 2 contains daily data on individuals' browse and pellet intake per metabolic body weight, matched with the browse species offered, air temperature and browse availability. ...