Functional Anatomy of the Omasum in High Arctic Svalbard Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) and Norwegian Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus)

Abstract

The structure and fill of the omasum was investigated in summer and in winter in adult female reindeer living on the polar desert and tundra of the high Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and in sub-Arctic mountain habitats in northern Norway. The mean total mass of the omasum in non-lactating adult female Svalbard reindeer was 467 g (0.65 g per 100 g live body mass (BM)) in September and 477 g (1.03 g per 100 g BM) in April. By contrast, the mean mass of the omasum in non-lactating adult reindeer in northern Norway was 534 g (0.83 g per 100 g BM) in September but only 205 g (0.35 g per 100 g BM p < 0.05) in late March, owing to a decrease in both tissue mass and the wet mass of the contents of the organ. The mean absorptive surface of the omasum in Svalbard reindeer was 2300 cm2 in September and 2023 cm2 in April. In Norwegian reindeer, by contrast, the absorptive surface area decreased from 2201 cm2 in September to 1181 cm2 (p < 0.05) in late March. The marked seasonal decline of omasal tissue and contents in Norwegian reindeer probably results from intake of highly digestible forage plants, including lichens, in winter. Svalbard reindeer, a non-migratory sub-species, survive eating poor quality fibrous vascular plants in winter. The absence of any marked seasonal change in the mass, total absorptive surface area or filling of the omasum in Svalbard reindeer in winter despite a substantial decline in body mass presumably reflects their need to maintain maximum absorption of nutrients, including volatile fatty acids, when feeding on such poorly fermentable forage.