Ruminant and rodent strategies in digestion of plant material, and digestion in rodents with different types of diets

Osnovna podjela ţivotinja s obzirom na prehranu jest na biljojede, svejede i mesojede. Biljna je prehrana najkompliciranija – herbivori su morali razviti posebne strategije kako bi što efikasnije iskoristili teško dostupne izvore energije. Želudac preživača podijeljen je na četiri dijela, a iz njega se hrana vraća nazad u usta na dodatno usitnjavanje. Zahvaljujući veličini, hrana se u probavnom sustavu može dugo zadržavati, što omogućuje njeno bolje iskorištavanje. Iako su daleko manji od preživača i biljojedni glodavci preživljavaju na slabo probavljivoj hrani – u slijepom crijevu zadržavaju lakše probavljive frakcije, dok teško probavljiva vlakna brzo i lako prolaze dalje što omogućava viši i češći unos. Koprofagijom postaju dostupni nutrijenti koje je sintetizirala njihova mikroflora. Neki se glodavci pak hrane sjemenkama, voćem, ili drugim životinjama – njihovi se probavni sustavi uvelike međusobno razlikuju te su potpuno prilagođeni kemijskim i fizikalnim karakteristikama prehrane.According to their diet, animals are classified as herbivores, omnivores or carnivores. Herbivorous diet is the most complicated – herbivores have had to develop special strategies in order to utilize energy sources with limited nutrient availability. The ruminant stomach is separated into four chambers, from which food can return to the mouth for further grinding. Their large body size allows the food to be retained in the GI tract for a long time, to extract as much nutrients as possible. Although much smaller, herbivorous rodents are also surviving on a low quality diet – digestible fractions are retained in the cecum while the passage of less digestible fibre is facilitated, which allows for a higher food intake. Nutrients synthesized by gut microflora become more available by coprophagy. Various rodents feed on grains, fruits, or other animals – their digestive systems show many differences and are adapted to the chemical and physical characteristics of their diets