Adaptation Flashcards
How has the size of the large intestine compared to the stomach adapted between the different diets?
Carnivores and ruminants = small
Simple stomached herbivores = very large
What are the two digestive strategies for herbivore digestion?
Foregut fermenters
Hindgut fermenters
Up to how many hours per day can horses spend grazing?
18
Describe fermentation
Anaerobic microbial degradation of non-hydrolysable carbohydrate
What is the fermentation digestive tract adapted for?
- To allow microbial population to thrive
- To ensure slow transit of food to allow fermentation
What happens to microbial protein after digestion?
Passes into abomasum and small intestine for digestion and absorption
How efficient is hind gut fermentation compared to ruminants?
70%
What is modified into a fermentation chamber in hind-gut fermenters? Where are the products absorbed?
- Large intestine
- Colon
Why is hind gut fermentation less efficient than foregut fermentation?
They lose microbial protein in their faeces
What is the gut transit time in fore-gut fermenters dependent on?
Rate of fermentation
Which foods are high in hydrolysable carbohydrate?
Fruit, seeds, buds, young shoots & leaves
How are ruminant browsers adapted?
- narrow muzzles
- mobile lips/tongue
- smaller forestomach
- eat hydrolysable carbohydrates
How are ruminant grazers adapted?
- Wide muzzles
- less mobile lips
- larger forestomach
What is the oesophageal groove?
- present in all young ruminants
- enables milk to bypass fermentation chamber
Why do broswer ruminants retain oesophageal groove function?
To allow diet high in hydrolysable carbohydrate to escape fermentation
