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Herbivores and carnivores are examples of organisms that obtain carbon and electrons or hydrogen from living organic matter. Chemoorganotrophs are organisms which use the chemical energy in organic compounds as their energy source and obtain electrons or hydrogen from the organic compounds, including sugars (i.e. glucose ), fats and proteins. [ 2 ]
For example, increased abundance of herbivores such as deer decrease plant diversity and species richness, [37] while other large mammalian herbivores like bison control dominant species which allows other species to flourish. [38] Plant-herbivore interactions can also operate so that plant communities mediate herbivore communities. [39]
Herbivory is of extreme ecological importance and prevalence among insects.Perhaps one third (or 500,000) of all described species are herbivores. [4] Herbivorous insects are by far the most important animal pollinators, and constitute significant prey items for predatory animals, as well as acting as major parasites and predators of plants; parasitic species often induce the formation of galls.
Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients , which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures.
[82] [83] The digestive systems of herbivores and carnivores are very different as plant matter is harder to digest. Carnivores mouths are designed for tearing and biting compared to the grinding action found in herbivores. [84] Herbivores however have comparatively longer digestive tracts and larger stomachs to aid in digesting the cellulose ...
Nutritional science is often combined with food science (nutrition and food science). Trophology is a term used globally for nutritional science in other languages, in English the term is dated. Today, it is partly still used for the approach of food combining that advocates specific combinations (or advises against certain combinations) of food.
Many herbivores have a diet that is low in nutrition and high in fiber (which is a non-starch polysaccharide carbohydrate). [13] Fiber can be either soluble (pectins and gums) or insoluble (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignocellulose). [13] A simple gastrointestinal tract is not capable of extracting enough nutrients for these animals.
Elephants are an example of a mammalian folivore. In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less energy than other types of foods, and often toxic compounds. [1] For this reason, folivorous animals tend to have long digestive tracts and slow ...