Estimates of methane emission from the camel (Camelius dromedarius) compared to dairy cattle (Bos taurus) Guerouali, A. and Laabouri, F. Hassan II Agronomic and Veterinary Institute, Rabat, Morocco
May 10, 2015
Estimates of methane emission from the
camel (Camelius dromedarius) compared
to dairy cattle (Bos taurus)
Guerouali, A. and Laabouri, F.
Hassan II Agronomic and Veterinary Institute,
Rabat, Morocco
Plan of the presentation
• General information about the camel population
• Adaptation to desert environment and nutrients
requirementrequirement
• The bad news about the camel population of
Australia
• Mesurements of methane emission in the camel
compared to dairy cattle
• Data discussion and conclusion
-Heat Stress Tolerance
-Body temperature
-No water in the hump but energy
-Body temperature
variation (36 to 42 °C)
-Huge water intake
when dehydrated
Variations in water requirements in camel and cattle with
respect to environmental temperature
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----Species Water requirements Urine losses Water requirements
at 15 °C at 15°C at 30°C --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dairy cattle 40 l/d 25 l/d 120 l/d
Lactating camel 10 l/d 4 l/d 20 l/d
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Digestive trial in
the field and
Indirect
calorimetry with calorimetry with
face mask
Energy requirements for maintenance and growth
in the camel compared to sheep and cattle
• ENERGY REQUIREMENT FOR MAINTENANCE OF CAMEL
MEm = 306 KJ/ kg0.75(camel) →→→→ 1kg of DM/100kg LBW
MEm = 380 KJ/ kg0.75(sheep) 25% higher
MEm = 440 kj/ kg0.75(cattle) 45% higherMEm = 440 kj/ kg0.75(cattle) 45% higher
• EFFICIENCY OF ENERGY UTILIZATION FOR GROWTH
Kf = 61% (camel)
Kf = 56% (sheep) Inferior by 18%
Kf = 42% (cattle) Inferior by 31%
Kill a camel to stop pollution? That is precisely what Australia is considering.
The suggestion came from Northwest Carbon Pty Ltd (Tim Moore, 2010) to
Australian Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (ADCCEE).
Considering the camel one of the country's biggest greenhouse gas
emitters, the Northwest company proposed the shooting of camels
from a helicopter or rounding them up and send them to a
slaughterhouse.
To measure for the first time methane emissions in the
camel
As scientists working on camel physiology and
concerned with animal welfare and protection, we
developed this study with an objective: dealing with
animal welfare and protection, we developed a trial
To compare them to methane emissions in dairy cattle receiving
the same diet expressed in:
- liter/day
- liter/kg of dry matter intake.
x 7Average Body Weight = 409 kgs
Dry and non pregnante animals
8-13 years
Animals used in the experimentation
x 7Average Body Weight = 441 kgs
8 -10 years
Dry and non pregnante animals
Feeding Ration used in the trial:
3 kgs of lucerne hay3 kgs of lucerne hay
2 kgs of barley grains
Free access to water
4.5 kgs of DMI
Figure 1: The face mask system used to measure methane emission in camel and dairy cow
Figure 2: a camel wearing a mask for measurement of methane
emission shown with a companion to reduce the stress on the
experimental animal .
Camel
Figure 3: Methane emissions in dairy cattle and its variations over time (5mm/min)
Figure 4: Methane emissions in camel and its variations over time (5mm/min)
Methane emission in the camel
An average of 18 eructation
cycles per hour, covering 90%
of the methane produced.
While the rest of the
methane produced (10%) ismethane produced (10%) is
emitted through respiration
Camels Methane Production
(liters/day)
Methane Production
(liters/kg of DMI)
1 52,75 12,04
2 77,24 17,63
Table 1: Estimates of methane production in seven camels expressed in
liters per day and in liters per kg of dry matter intake
2 77,24 17,63
3 57,67 13,16
4 73,81 16,85
5 72,82 16,62
6 62,39 14,24
7 69,74 15,92
Mean 66,63 15,20
Deviation Standards 8,47 1,93
Vache
An average of 54 eructation
cycles per hour, covering 85%
of the methane produced.
Methane emission in dairy cattle
While the rest of the methane
produced (15%) is emitted
through respiration
Table 2: Estimates of methane production in seven dairy cows expressed
in liters per day and in liters per kg of dry matter intake
Dairy cows Methane Production
(liters/day)
Methane Production
(liters/kg of DMI)
1 148,75 33,961 148,75 33,96
2 157,82 36,03
3 303,06 69,19
4 200,10 45,68
5 219,27 35,82
6 159,90 36,50
7 167,46 38,23
Mean 193,76 42,20
Deviation Standards 50,41 11,56
Some digestive and metabolic particularities in camel may
explain this difference in methane production:
The camel has lower feed intake with smaller forestomach
made of tree compartments only.
Différente strains of bacteria and less protozoa in the
digestive tract.
Higher buffering capacity for acids in the rumen but very
high sensitivity to urea feeding.
Higher level of glycemia (1.5 g/l) compared to horses (1g/l)
and cattle (.5 g/l). The importance of VFA in the glucide
metabolism of the camel.
Lower production of acetate in camel compared to cattle
with tha same diet .
digestive tract.
Methane production was measured in camel and dairy cattle receiving
the same diet and the data indicated that dairy cattle produce three
times more methane that camel
conclusions
Some digestive and metabolic particularities of each species may
explain the difference
Other solutions to reduce the green house gases should be proposed
than the eradication of the camel population of Australia.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION