Adaptation of the microflora in the rumen and caecum of the high arctic Svalbard reindeer

The Svalbard reindeer relies on a highly active rumen microbial population of bacteria, fungi and protozoa for the utilization of cellulose and hemicellulose, the major components of growing plants (Rogers and Perkins, 1968). O n Svalbard the availability and quality of food changes during the year, ranging from fresh young forage in summer (July September), to a highly concentrated diet, including seedheads with a high content of protein and starch at the end of the summer, to a highly fibrous diet in the long, harsh winter (October-June).