©ONCFS
©ONCFS
100 μm
100 μm
The herbivore parts result from a study made of the Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa, directed by the National
Hunting and Wildlife Agency - ONCFS
Hunting and Wildlife Agency - ONCFS
The preparation of both faeces and reference collections requires a knowledge of microscopy. After the animal prey remains are sorted,
the faeces are placed in a 60°C steamroom for 48 hours to obtain dry material. Next, they are ground and sieved to obtain calibrated fragments
(0.5/1mm).
The preparation of the reference collection follows the same procedure. Each organ of each plant species is dried, ground and sieved to
obtain homogeneous fragments.
The mean dry biomass of one fragment from a given tissue, from a given organ and from a given plant species is calculated by dividing the
biomass of a preparation by the number of fragments that it contains.
To obtain translucent tissues, each preparation is left in a Sodium Hypochlorite solution. Bath duration depends on the Hypochlorite
concentration and on the kinds of tissues; those from faeces are more fragile than those from the plants of the reference collection.
Tissues are rinsed with water and with Acetic Acid (50 vol %). Cell walls are coloured. Finally, the fragments are incorporated between two
slides in an aquaeous mounting media.
The following photographs (Fabaceae Undetermined) show the difference between a non-coloured fragment and a same kind of fragment
coloured. The cell structure appears, and trichomes, stomata, vascular tissues and crystals are more visible.
the faeces are placed in a 60°C steamroom for 48 hours to obtain dry material. Next, they are ground and sieved to obtain calibrated fragments
(0.5/1mm).
The preparation of the reference collection follows the same procedure. Each organ of each plant species is dried, ground and sieved to
obtain homogeneous fragments.
The mean dry biomass of one fragment from a given tissue, from a given organ and from a given plant species is calculated by dividing the
biomass of a preparation by the number of fragments that it contains.
To obtain translucent tissues, each preparation is left in a Sodium Hypochlorite solution. Bath duration depends on the Hypochlorite
concentration and on the kinds of tissues; those from faeces are more fragile than those from the plants of the reference collection.
Tissues are rinsed with water and with Acetic Acid (50 vol %). Cell walls are coloured. Finally, the fragments are incorporated between two
slides in an aquaeous mounting media.
The following photographs (Fabaceae Undetermined) show the difference between a non-coloured fragment and a same kind of fragment
coloured. The cell structure appears, and trichomes, stomata, vascular tissues and crystals are more visible.
