What comes out of a moose subject of study

PALMER — What’s in a moose dropping?

A study by Alaska Department of Fish and Game hopes to find that answer. By studying the nutritional system of moose, researchers want to understand what elements play what role in the success of the species, and what biologist can do to help.

Wildlife biologist Bill Collins oversees the group of six moose at the Matanuska Experimental Farm.

“I have an apparatus that enables me to collect all the feces and all the urine,” Collins said. “We measure the nutritional composition of the feed, then measure the nutritional composition of the feces and urine.”

This is called a digestion balance, he said. It allows him to see what nutrients were absorbed by the moose and what went to waste.

To further refine the results, two of the moose have fistulated rumen. The rumen is the portion of the gut that harbors the bacteria necessary to break down the fibrous components of the feed, Collins said. The skin of the rumen has been brought up to the moose’s skin and opened (or fistulated). A rubber tube is sutured in place and provides access to the rumen.

“The animals don’t bother,” Collins said. “It’s just like having an additional opening in the gut.”

With this access, Collins can put markers in the rumen and measure the time from digestion until excretion. He can fill a nylon bag with foliage, suspend it in the rumen and measure how long it takes to digest different types of feed. He can test how moose act as seed carriers by dropping seeds into the rumen and attempting to germinate them after excretion.

By comparing the results of this study with already established means of testing feed, Fish and Game will have a baseline for future studies, he said. There have been chemical ways to evaluate forage for livestock developed over the years, but there has never been a study about their applicability to moose. This study will establish a relationship for future chemical analyses, Collins said.

Determining what moose need to thrive, researchers can then identify these elements in moose habitat.

“The end result is to enhance our ability to evaluate different habitats for moose. For example, what are the reasons they don’t seem to be really productive (in one area),” Collins said. “If we can establish that, if we can say this area is particularly low in digestible proteins, we can start looking at why.”

Potential variables in diet include poor quality of vegetation, defoliation by insects, elevation and climate, Collins said. Once identified, the question becomes what can Fish and Game do about it. Controlled burns might help in some places, but in some there is nothing that can be done.

“But until we can describe these nutritional differences, … we don’t have the basis to know what we can do,” Collins said.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.

Editor’s note: Biologist Bill Collins reminded readers the moose at the Experimental Farm are for scientific purposes. Viewing and petting tours are not available.