Comparative physiology applies methods established in domestic animal science to a wider variety of species. This can lead to improved insight into evolutionary adaptations of domestic animals, by putting domestic species into a broader context. Examples include the variety of responses to seasonally fluctuating environments, different adaptations to heat and drought, and in particular adaptati...

Herbivores that digest plant material in the fore-stomach can be divided in ruminants and non-ruminants. This study describes the distribution of feed particles (and inorganic material) and dry matter (DM) in the digestive tract of non-ruminant foregut fermenters. Results from passage trials led us to hypothesize that specific particle-sorting mechanisms, as observed in ruminants, are unlikely ...

Developing production systems for ruminants using tropical feed resources requires an understanding of the relative roles and nutrient needs of the two-compartment system represented by the symbiotic relationship between rumen micro-organisms and the host animal. Fibre-rich, low-protein forages and crop residues are the most abundant and appropriate feeds for ruminants in the tropics. Strategie...

Treatment with urea, feeding of multi-nutritional blocks and high-offer level feeding are the interventions most likely to increase the potential nutritive value of fibrous crop residues. The exploitation of this potential will be determined by the level of supplementation with "bypass" nutrients, especially protein. The optimum level of supplementation will depend on the cost of the supplement...

Peste des petits ruminants virus causes a highly infectious disease of small ruminants that is endemic across Africa, the Middle East and large regions of Asia. The virus is considered to be a major obstacle to the development of sustainable agriculture across the developing world and has recently been targeted by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organ...

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