harvard gatton Natural science

animal nutritional study design

Nutritional Study Design
Type: Project Plan
Learning Objectives Assessed: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 
1    Identify the general features of the different classes of feeds and the constituents of feeds that supply nutrients to the animal 
  2    State the general anatomical features of the digestive systems of the different species of animals, and differentiate between the type of digestive system they have, and the feeds they select. 
  3    Outline the digestion and absorption processes and demonstrate the role of the different segments of the gastrointestinal tract 
  4    Analyse the interactions between nutrients, and the impact of that on the utilisation of feed by animals. 
  5    Explain the fundamental differences in digestion and metabolism between the simple stomach animal and the ruminant animal. 
  6    Use feed and animal requirement tables to assess the nutritional status of animals and design diets to meet their needs. 
  7    Get familiar with basic laboratory procedure including the sampling and preparation of feed for analysis, handling feed analysis data, and reporting of results. 

Task Description:
Develop a proposal for a nutrition study.
– Pick a nutritional topic
– Pick a species canine or feline pick one
– Review few papers related to the topic
– Come up with an objective which needs further research
– Develop a short proposal including:
– Introduction and description of the problem
– Hypothesis
– Aims and objectives
-Suggested materials and methods including number of animals / replicates / feeding trial / duration / samples to be analyzed
-Expected outcomes

The Criteria will include:
Understanding of the topic
Logical and practical format
Quality of written communication
Word limit: 2000  words.