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

  • Type:

    Article

  • Date:

    30 November 2000

  • Publication Status:

    Published

  • Publisher

    CSIRO publishing

  • DOI:

    10.1071/AR00032

  • ISSN:

    0004-9409

  • Dewey Decimal Classification:

    590 Animals (Zoology)

Citation

Smith, D., Mayes, R. W. & Raats, J. G. (2000). 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. doi:10.1071/AR00032. ISSN 0004-9409

Authors

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;

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