Feeding Adaptations

Feeding Strategies

• Herbivorous

• Folivorous

• Frugivorous

• Granivorous

• Nectivorous

• Myrmecophagous

• Carnivorous

• Omnivorous

• Durophagus

• Insectivorous

• Piscivorous

• Sanguinivorous

Herbivorous

Eating plant/organic material

Folivorous

Subset of herbivorous where only foliage is consumed

Granivorous

Grain/seed-eating

Nectivorous

Nectar-eating

Myrmecophagous

Diet of colonial insects such as ants or termites

Carnivorous

Eating animal (vertebrate) material

Not all carnivorous mammals are carnivores

Not all carnivores are carnivorous (ex. Pandas)

Omnivorous

Eating plants and meat

Durophagus

Eating hard-shelled chitinous animalsI

Insectivorous

Eating insects

Piscivorous

Eating fish

Sanguinivorous

Diet consisting of blood

Alimentary Tracts (Order)

Mouth → Esophagus → Stomach (Digestion) → Small Intestine (Nutrient Extraction) → Large Intestine (Water Absorption)

Herbivore Guts

• Foregut

• Hindgut

Caecum

The caecum is a pouch connected to the junction of the small and large intestines, serving as a fermentation chamber for the digestion of cellulose and other fibrous materials.

Foregut

Highly modified stomach; four-chambered stomach present in herbivores

Hindgut

Caecum: Site of microbial fermentation process; Microbes digest plant material (cellulose) and produce byproducts which the herbivores then harvest

Coprophagy

Eating your own poop to reabsorb nutrients; Run poop through digestive system again in order to reabsorb nutrients in intestines

Perissodactyla

Non-ruminating (odd-toed ungulates)

Hindgut fermenters

Artiodactyls

Even-toed ungulates

Foregut fermenters

Ruminating Definition

Ex. Chewing cud

• Grass that was already swallowed and digested, regurgitated back up to chew on grass for longer, then swallow it back down = more surface area for microbes to break down cellulose

Suidae, Tayassuidae, and Hippopotamidae

Non-ruminating

3-chambered stomach

Camelidae and Tragulidae

Ruminating

3-chambered stomach

Giraffidae, Antilocapridae, Cervidae, Bovidae

Ruminating

4-chambered stomach

Four Stomach Chambers

1. Rumen

2. Reticulum

3. Omasum

4. Abomasum

____ and _____ are modifications to the stomach

Rumen; Reticulum

What is the “true stomach” chamber?

Omasum

What are the “holding” stomach chambers?

Rumen, Reticulum, and Omasum

Which is the biggest stomach chamber?

Rumen

What stomach chamber is akin to wringing out a wet towel before sending the “dry” towel back up to the mouth?

Reticulum

Omasum Function

Absorbs some material

Acts like a holding area

Abomasum Function

Where digestive enzymes are put into food material

2 Categories of Abomasum

1. Products that the microorganisms produce

   1. FFA (Free Fatty Acids)

   2. Nitrogen metabolism

   3. Vitamins

2. Microorganism slaughter

Cow calf milk groove

Special adaptation for drinking milk

Calf picks up microorganisms from mother and begins to develop own microorganisms

There is a significant period where the calf is fermenting and still drinking milk, so mixing would be bad

• Head position prevents mixing

  • Head is DOWN when eating grass

  • Head is UP when drinking milk

How long does it take for food to pass through a HORSE?

30-45 hours

How long does it take for food to pass through a COW?

70-100 hours