Ruminal fermentation and fill change with season in an arctic grazer:: Responses to hyperphagia and hypophagia in muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus)

We studied castrated adult muskoxen fed a standard diet of grass hay and supplement throughout the year to determine seasonal changes in digesta passage, fill, and fermentation without the confounding effects of reproductive demands or changes in food quality. Although food intake increased by 74% between spring and autumn, mean retention times of fluid and particulate digesta markers were maintained between seasons in both the rumen (9-13 h) and the intestines (27-37 h). The rumen contained 84.5% of digesta and accounted for 79% of dry matter digestion in the whole digestive tract. Ruminal fluid space and whole-gut digesta fill increased by 31%-34%, while ruminal rates of in situ degradation increased by more than 100% between spring and autumn for cellulose and hemicellulose. Hyperphagia in autumn was accompanied by increased bacterial counts in ruminal fluid (30%), declines in ruminal pH, and increases in the concentration of fermentation acids (16%) when compared with spring hypophagia. Consumption of fresh hay and supplement increased the concentrations of acids most markedly during winter and spring when bacterial counts were low. Low food intakes in winter and spring may limit the microbial population, whereas hyperphagia in autumn may foster a much more active microflora that requires consistent supplies of substrate. Plasticity of fill and fermentation in muskoxen minimizes winter costs and maximizes nutrients and energy gained from coarse forages in small home ranges throughout the year.