ALLOMETRY AND ECOLOGY OF FEEDING-BEHAVIOR AND DIGESTIVE CAPACITY IN HERBIVORES - A REVIEW

The purpose of this review is to give some perspective of the factors that influence feeding behaviors and the ability of herbivores to adap t to diets. The most important of these are digestibility, ability to select feed, and achievement of a nutritionally adequate intake. Plant morphology, observed feeding behavior, body size, and gut architectur e and size impinge upon these factors. Feeding behavior and dietary sp ecializations are associated with adaptations of gut and mouth parts a s well as body size. Parallel and overlapping behaviors occur among he rbivores and particularly between ruminants and nonruminants. The conv entional classifications of grazers, browsers, and selective feeders a re blurred by these evolutionary developments. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, In c.