Effect of species, plant part, and season of harvest on n-alkane concentrations in the cuticular wax of common rangeland grasses from southern Africa

Smith, Dave; Mayes, R W; Raats, J G

Abstract

The use of plant alkane concentrations to measure diet composition of herbivores has been shown to be a reliable technique in animals grazing temperate, sown pastures that contain a relatively small number of plant species. There is potential to develop this technique for use with free-range animals foraging upon species-rich rangeland. In order for the technique to be effective, the alkane concentration patterns (ACP) of the component species of the diet must be distinct from one another. Common species of grasses from southern Africa were analysed for their alkane concentrations in order to evaluate the use of the alkane technique for measuring diet composition under complex rangeland conditions. The alkane profiles were determined in different plant parts from 40 grass species gathered during the wet season and 23 gathered during the dry season. Statistical analysis, using ANOVA, showed that there were highly significant differences (P

Citation

Smith, D., Mayes, R. W., & Raats, J. G. (2001). Effect of species, plant part, and season of harvest on n-alkane concentrations in the cuticular wax of common rangeland grasses from southern Africa. Australian journal of agricultural research, 52, 875-882. https://doi.org/10.1071/AR00032

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2001
• Deposit Date: May 15, 2015
• Print ISSN: 0004-9409
• Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 52
• Pages: 875-882
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/AR00032
• Keywords: Africa; alkanes; analysis; animals; Australia; BT; ; chemical composition; composition; diet; diet-composition; ; differences; dry season; feed composition and quality; RR300; foraging; free range; grasses; grasslands and Rangelands [PP350]; grazing; herbivores; n-alkane; pastures; plant composition; plant parts; plant-species; ; plants; Poaceae; rangeland; rangelands; Scotland; seasonal abundance; Southern Africa; statistical analysis; techniques; Techniques and Methodology [ZZ900]; temperate; UK; wet season
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/8153
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/AR00032