Energy Requirements of Adult Moose for Winter Maintenance

Nine adult moose (Alces alces) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 diets in 2 separate feeding trials. Our objectives were to determine how moose respond in winter to varying amounts of the same quality of food, and to the same amount of food which possessed varying nutritional quality. During trial 1,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of wildlife management 1988-01, Vol.52 (1), p.26-33
Main Authors: Schwartz, Charles C., Hubbert, Mike E., Franzmann, Albert W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alces alces
Diet
Digestion
Energy intake
Energy requirements
Experimentation
Food
Food availability
Food intake
Metabolism
Research facilities
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Summary:Nine adult moose (Alces alces) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 diets in 2 separate feeding trials. Our objectives were to determine how moose respond in winter to varying amounts of the same quality of food, and to the same amount of food which possessed varying nutritional quality. During trial 1, moose were fed a pelleted diet ad libitum, and 85.1 and 72.5% of the ad libitum diet. During trial 2, moose were fed ad libitum 1 of 3 pelleted diets containing digestible energy concentrations of 2.4, 2.1, and 1.8 kcal/g dry matter. Linear regression equations of digestible energy intake (kcal/kg body wt$[\text{BW}]^{0.75}$/day) with mean monthly body weight gain or loss (kg/day) provided the basis for estimating maintenance energy requirements. Our best estimates of energy required for maintenance were 148 and 131 kcal/kg$\text{BW}^{0.75}$/day of digestible and metabolizable energy, respectively. The relationship between heat production and metabolizable energy intake provided an estimate for theoretical basal metabolism of 73 kcal/kg$\text{BW}^{0.75}$/day.
ISSN:0022-541X
1937-2817
DOI:10.2307/3801052