i Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies Using fecal analysis to assess nutritional differences between three herds of Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) reintroduced in different areas Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of "Master of Science" By Ido Isler Under the Supervision of David Saltz and S. Yan Landau Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology Author's Signature …………….……………………… Date ……………. Approved by the Supervisor…………….…………… Date ……………. Approved by the Director of the School …………… Date ……… ii Abstract The Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx), a specialized desert ungulate of the Bovidae family found in arid and hyper-arid zones, is among the first rare animals to be reintroduced to the wild. In 1997 a reintroduction program was initiated in the central Negev desert of Israel. Releases were carried out in three regions: Ein Shachak, Paran, and Nahal Kezev. Thirty-one individuals were released in 1997-1998 in the Ein Shachak (Arava) population, and today there are over 50 individuals. In the Paran area, where a total of 40 individuals were released in 2000 and 2002, only approximately 14 survive today, while the Kezev population has declined from the 30 released to 21. Observations indicate that the main cause of poor performance in the Paran and Kezev populations is low recruitment and not adult mortality. Vegetation differs in these regions, as Paran belongs to the Saharo-Arabian biogeographic zone in the Negev plateau, while Ein-Shachak is in the Sudanese biogeographic zone in the Arava valley, and Kezev is a transition zone between the two zones. This thesis uses fecal NIRS to test the hypothesis that poor nutritional quality is the cause of low recruitment in the Paran population compared to the Arava population. A NIRS calibration was performed with several captive oryx at the Hai-Bar Yotvata nature reserve. Calibration results provided spectra needed for Fecal NIRS analysis, giving diet predictions for different nutritional components (crude protein, ADF, NDF, condensed tannins, polyphenols, and acacia fruits). NIRS for fecal chemistry was also performed. Results showed high fecal protein levels, especially in the Arava, as well as more than adequate protein in Fecal NIRS predictions. In addition, Fecal NIRS indicated much higher percentages of Acacia tortillis fruits in the Arava diet predictions, as well as high condensed tannins and polyphenols compared with the iii other regions. High concentrations of tannins in Arava diets may be responsible for higher reproductive success in the Arava population, related to control of parasites. iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank all the people who joined me in the field and supported me in my search for fresh oryx feces, who helped collect feces (with their bare hands). I’d like to thank Maarten Hofman, who helped me with fieldwork many times and also did chemical analysis of feces samples which were crucial for validation of the Fecal NIRS calibration. Thanks to Doron Nakar for provided a graphing calculator which was immensely helpful in telemetry triangulation calculations. A special thanks to “The Patio Ranch” in Texas, who provided funding for radio tracking equipment for locating oryx in the field. A very special thanks to the staff of the Hai-Bar and the Nature Reserves and Parks Authority who made this research possible and were always ready to lend a hand and give me the opportunity to fly around. Of course, I couldn’t have done this without the guidance and assistance of my supervisors, David Saltz and Yan Landau. Also, Levana Dvash who helped in the lab at Volcani. The most special thanks of all I give to my wifey, Phoenix who was there for me and helped me in so many ways I can’t even describe. Thank you thank you thank you Phoenix. v Table of Contents 1. Introduction..............................................................................................................1 2. Background ..............................................................................................................3 2.1 Reintroduction....................................................................................................3 2.2 Arabian oryx – a reintroduction pioneer.........................................................6 2.3 Oryx Reintroduction in Israel...........................................................................9 2.4 Ruminant nutrition..........................................................................................13 2.5 Methods for monitoring nutritional quality..................................................15 2.6 Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy – NIRS: ........................................16 2.7 Research Subject and Hypothesis...................................................................20 3. Materials and methods ..........................................................................................22 3.1 Calibration experiment ...................................................................................22 3.2 Fieldwork..........................................................................................................31 4. Results.....................................................................................................................39 4.1 Hai-bar fecal NIRS calibrations .....................................................................39 4.2 Fecal NIRS (indirect) analysis of diet quality for wild oryx populations ...40 4.3 Regional and Seasonal difference in fecal chemistry....................................44 5. Discussion................................................................................................................50 5.1 Seasonal variations in nutritional constituents .............................................50 5.2 Nutritional differences among regions...........................................................51 5.3 Relationship between nutrition and recruitment in different regions ........53 6. Conclusions.............................................................................................................56 7. References...............................................................................................................58 vi List of Tables and Figures Figure 2.1 Three release regions in Israel ………………………………………… 10 Figure 3.1 The oryx enclosure, during cleaning………………………………….. 23 Table 3.1 The feed type and chemical components …………………………......... 26 Table 3.2 Experimental Cycle ……………………………………………………. 27 Table 3.4 Feeding cycle for three oryx………………………………………........ 28 Table 3.3 Feeding cycle for two oryx…………………………………………….. 29 Table 3.5 Amount of feces samples collected in the different regions by date …... 32 Figure 3.2 NIRS Spectra with no mathematical treatment………………………... 37 Figure 3.3 1st derivative spectra after De-trend………………………………........ 37 Figure 3.4 2nd derivative spectra after De-trend…………………………………... 38 Table 4.1 Calibration performance for 19 nutritional constituents for Fecal NIRS for Arabian oryx……………………………………………………………. 39 Figure 4.1 Fecal NIRS prediction of crude protein dietary content …………........ 40 Figure 4.2 Fecal NIRS prediction of ADF dietary content……………………….. 41 Figure 4.3 Fecal NIRS prediction of NDF dietary content……………………….. 41 Figure 4.4 Fecal NIRS prediction of ADL dietary content……………………….. 42 Figure 4.5 Fecal NIRS prediction of polyphenols dietary content……………….. 42 Figure 4.6 Fecal NIRS prediction of condensed tannins dietary content………… 43 Figure 4.7 Fecal NIRS prediction of acacia fruit dietary content…………........... 43 Figure 4.8 Comparison of seasonal variations in fecal crude protein content in different regions……………………………………………………………… 45 Figure 4.9 Comparison of seasonal variations in fecal NDF in different regions… 45 Figure 4.10 Comparison of seasonal variations in fecal ADF in different regions... 46 Figure 4.11 Comparison of seasonal variations in fecal ADL in different regions.. 46 Figure 4.12 Comparison of seasonal variations in fecal polyphenols in different regions …………………………………………………………………………….. 47 Figure 4.13 Comparison of seasonal variations in fecal condensed tannins in different regions…………………………………………………………………………….. 47 Table 4.2: Comparison between fecal constituent percentages in each region … 48 Table 4.3 Effects of region, season and combined region/season on each constituent…………………………………………………………………… 49 Table 5.1 Phenolic and CT content of Acacia tortillis…………………………. 53 vii List of Abbreviations ADF – Acid Detergent Fiber CP – Crude Protein NDF – Neutral Detergent Fiber NIRS – Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy SD – Standard Deviation SEC – Standard Error of Calibration SECV – Standard Error of Cross Validation SEP – Standard Error of Prediction RSQ – Coefficient of Determination 1-VR – Correlation between laboratory data and cross-validation results 1. Introduction Understanding ecological requirements of reintroduced species is vital for a successful reintroduction of endangered or extinct species. All biological factors can play a role in population viability by acting on survival and fecundity rates (Sarrazin and Barbault, 1996). Specifically, knowledge about resource requirements, life traits, and demography of the species is highly important for planning reintroduction programs, especially since endangered species (the main target of reintroduction), are among the least understood species. Consequently, many reintroductions have failed (Sarrazin and Barbault,