Many species of hindgut fermenters, including horses, eat their feces to a great
ID: 3473607 • Letter: M
Question
Many species of hindgut fermenters, including horses, eat their feces to a greater extent when they have protein insufficiency than when they have plenty of protein. How might increase fecal consumption help? It can be difficult or impossible to find a single diet that will serve the needs of both an herbivore and a carnivore. If you were trying to determine if two related species, one an herbivore and the other a carnivore, differ genetically in their digestive enzymes or absorption transporters, why would it be important to try to find a common diet for your test subjects of both species?Explanation / Answer
1) The first question is actually related to coprophagy. As it is considered in the case of horses, it would be lot better if horses are taken an example to explain this phenomenon.
Normally we do see young foals eating the mare's poop at times and doing so can help the foal to recieve some of the microbes that essential in maintaining the gastroinntestinal tract in a healthy condition.
Also Deoxycholic acid is a bile acid that is present in the stool of a mare and is transferred to the foal after the feces consumption. This compund has a lot of abilities in keeping the foal away from many of the bacterial and viral diseases etc.
Sometimes coprophagy can also be seen in the case of other animals like rabbits as and this is done to extract the extra nutrients that is present there.
2. A tricky question but it can be explained in a special way by taking the example of humans. Though humans are classified as omnivores, they are actually titled towards hebrivores. This can be due to various reasons where some of the them are
a) Body cooling of carnivores are done by panting but hebrivores by sweating.
b) Carnivores can produce vitamin C by itself but hebrivores have it their diet.
c) Carnivores consume fluids by lapping whereas hebrivores by sipping.
So all these can only be inferred by including the diet factor.
Another instance where a carnivore diet is given to both the nebrivores and carnnivores. Usually carnivore diet lacks a lot in vitamin C which would become difficult for the hebrivore. This conclusion can only be drawn when a common diet in given to both of them. In the same manner, many other conclusions can be drawn by included the common diet procedure during the test of both the species
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