Rumen ciliate protozoa in sheep raising in the caatinga region of Pernambuco State, Brazil

Abstract

This work sought to determine the number and genus of rumen ciliate protozoa in caatinga sheep raising, before and four hours after feeding them. There were collected 10 mL of ruminal fluid which was fixed in 10 mL of 10% formalin. After counting and identification of genera, the variables were submitted to variance analysis, the means compared by Tukey test and accomplished of simple correlation test between protozoa and chemical composition diet. Among found genera there was predominance of Entodinium (around 90%). Holotricha subclass only Isotricha genus was registered which represented 1.94% of population. The percentage of protozoa only varied (P <0.05) for Eodinium genus. It’s highest variation was showed in May 2005. Related to the collection schedule, only the pH, the medium number of Entodinium gender and total number of protozoa presented significant difference, being larger before feeding the animals. Other genera also presented the same behavior, thus reflecting the stability of ruminal environment for animals without access to night feeding. The protozoa of Entodiniomorphid subclass present high positive correlation with level of total digestible nutrients and crude protein of the diet. This reflects the necessity, for microorganism, of energy and protein for synthesis (cellular division) and storage.