Kangaroo Flatulence Study Overturns Unique Gut Fauna Theories

Posted on November 8, 2015

An Australian/Swiss team of scientists have been studying kangaroo flatulence. The goal of the research was to find out why kangaroos produce lower methane emissions and the new findings have overturned previous research.

The researchers was led by Dr Adam Munn from the University of Wollongong’s Institute for Sustainable Ecosystem Solutions and Professor Marcus Clauss from the University of Zurich’s Clinic of Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife.

The study found that kangaroos produce similar amounts of methane to that of horses when corrected for body weight. U.S. News notes in a tweet that this finding was a disappointment to those who thought kangaroo gas would somehow help the environment with low-methane farts.

Dr. Munn said in a statement, "We knew that the kangaroos would produce little methane, but certainly not zero, and the question remained as to why. The main hypotheses behind kangaroos producing little methane have focused on kangaroos having a unique microbiome that produces less methane, mainly from flatulence rather than burping like cows and sheep. But, without wanting to burst the bubble of the microbiologists, our findings suggest otherwise."

The researchers also dispute theories that kangaroos have a lower methane output than ruminant livestock because of a unique gut fauna. Professor Clauss says, "Kangaroos have a very different stomach from that of ruminants such as sheep and cows. We think that the methane is low because of the way food moves through the kangaroo stomach, and not because of a unique gut fauna."

The researchers also say that any efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ruminant livestock by replacing their gut fauna with that from kangaroos is likely to fail.

A research paper was published here in the Journal of Experiment Biology.

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