Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-v5vhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-25T09:13:44.042Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The acquisition and persistence of aversions towards flavoured foods associated with the administration of oxalic acid to sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2021

I Kyriazakis
Affiliation:
Genetics and Behavioural Sciences Department, Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road Edinburgh EH9 3JG
D H Anderson
Affiliation:
Genetics and Behavioural Sciences Department, Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road Edinburgh EH9 3JG
A J Duncan
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH
Get access

Extract

It has been suggested that large herbivores learn to avoid potentially harmful plants/foods by developing conditioned food aversions (CFAs) towards food flavours associated with negative post-ingestive consequences (Provenza, 1995). This suggestion has been based mainly on experiments which have used LiCl as a ‘model’ aversive stimulus to demonstrate the development of learned CFAs in sheep. The overall objective of the experiment was to test whether sheep are able to form CFA toward a food flavour associated with the administration of an aversive stimulus which occurs naturally in food plants : oxalic acid, OA. Specific objectives were: (1) whether the rate and degree of formation of CFA are dependent on the dose rate of OA administered, and (2) whether the persistence of formed CFA depends on the previous dose rate of OA.

Type
Programme
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Kyriazakis, I., Papachristou, T.G. Duncan, A.J. and Gordon, I.J. (1997). Mild conditioned food aversions developed by sheep towards flavours associated with plant secondary compounds. Journal of Chemical Ecology 23: 727746.10.1023/B:JOEC.0000006407.68081.26CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Provenza, F.D. (1995). Post-ingestive feedback as an elementary determinant of food preference and intake in ruminants. Journal of Range Management 48: 217.10.2307/4002498CrossRefGoogle Scholar