RESUMO
Feces from three racial categories of cattle being raised together in degraded, desertic-thorn forest environment in northwestern Mexico were compared for plant epidermal cell content. There were statistically significant group differences for approximately one-third of the plant material found in the feces. The proportional fecal differences between racial categories were similar to those found previously for B-system blood types. The feces of Bos taurus-like cattle contained a greater variety of plants than did those of B indicus-like animals. The findings have implications for studies of behavioral evolution, the effects of cattle on ecology, and cattle husbandry.
Assuntos
Bovinos/fisiologia , Preferências Alimentares , Animais , Meio Ambiente , Fezes/análise , Comportamento Alimentar , Feminino , Masculino , MéxicoRESUMO
Creole-like cattle blood types were compared with a mixed control group and Longhorn data using hemolytic and electrophoretic techniques. Among the hemolytic tests, the crucial B system analyses indicated that 1) the Creole-like animals were more similar to Longhorns than were the controls; 2) the three groups were different from each other; 3) the three groups were not mutually exclusive. Eleven new phenogroups were postulated. The remaining blood group systems and the electrophoretic tests raised interesting biohistorical questions but were generally less useful in discriminating among the three groups of cattle.