Does digestion rate affect diet selection? A study in Octodon degus, a generalist herbivorous rodent

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dc.contributor.authorBozinovic, F
dc.contributor.authorTorres-Contreras, H
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-21T01:32:40Z
dc.date.available2025-01-21T01:32:40Z
dc.date.issued1998
dc.description.abstractDietary chemistry and an animal digestive physiology should be considered in any explanation of behavioral patterns of food use, as both influence dietary preference. In the degu Octodon degus (Molina, 1782), a generalist herbivorous rodent inhabiting central Chile, we determine the profitablity of natural food-plant items by measuring digestive characteristics, such as retention time and assimilation rate while also considering the effects of food chemistry. Under our experimental conditions, degus seem to select food based on at least two complementary factors, plant nutritional value (water content and the nitrogen:fiber ratio) and digestive function. We found that dry-matter intake was negatively and significantly correlated with mean retention time, that is O. degus ate more food when mean retention time was shorter and vice versa. A higher food intake concomitant with a shorter mean retention time, allow degus to process more food per unit time resulting in a higher assimilation rate than alternative food sources. We conclude that both food quality and the digestive physiology of animals should be considered in explaining the underlying processes of foraging ecology.
dc.fuente.origenWOS
dc.identifier.eissn2190-3743
dc.identifier.issn0001-7051
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/97302
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:000074722900008
dc.issue.numero2
dc.language.isoen
dc.pagina.final212
dc.pagina.inicio205
dc.revistaActa theriologica
dc.rightsacceso restringido
dc.subjectOctodon degus
dc.subjectfood selection
dc.subjectdiet quality
dc.subjectfood intake and processing
dc.subjectcentral Chile
dc.subject.ods13 Climate Action
dc.subject.ods15 Life on Land
dc.subject.odspa13 Acción por el clima
dc.subject.odspa15 Vida de ecosistemas terrestres
dc.titleDoes digestion rate affect diet selection? A study in Octodon degus, a generalist herbivorous rodent
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen43
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadWOS;2025-01-12
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