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Shiro TSUYUZAKI
Plant community ecology / Environmental conservation

Mount Usu / Sarobetsu post-mined peatland
From left: Crater basin in 1986 and 2006. Cottongrass / Daylily

(Update on March 1 2005. Revise on Janurary 13 2009)

Feeding habit (食性)

Contents

Classification

Carnivore 肉食動物 → carnivorous 肉食性
Herbivore 草食動物 → herbivorous 草食性
Omnivore 雑食動物 → omnivorous 雑食性

References

Classification based on food types

adjective: -rous

carnivore (s.l.): terrestrial large vertebrates and invertebrates (predation and scavenging)

carnivore (s.s.): terrestrial vertebrates
piscivore: fish
lepidophagy: fish scales insectivore 食虫動物: insect → insectivorous 食虫性

myrmecophagy: ants and/or termites

molluscivore: molluscs
sanguinivore (hematophagy): blood
spongivore: sponges
ophiophagy: snakes

herbivore (s.l.): eating plants

graminivore: grasses (s.l., i.e., including sedges, rushes, etc.)
folivore: leaves
palynivore: pollen
nectarivore: nectars
mucivore: sap
frugivore: fruits
granivore: seeds
xylophagy: wood

mycovore: fungi
bacterivore: bacteria

omnivore: eating any food (or animals, plants, fungi, etc.)
none of above (eating non-living or decaying food)

scavenger: carrion
coprophagy 糞食: faces → coprophagous 食糞性
limnivore: soils, muds, etc.
detritivore: decompsed substances, such as litter

Feeding habit

Carnivore

meat eaters, generally requiring live foods

have a short intestinal tract, and a relatively large stomach designed to hold an entire fish. Their digestive system lacks the ability to digest vegetable matter, so even though they might eat plants, they cannot derive nutrients from them as other fish do. Because they will chase down and eat other fish in the aquarium, carnivores are not suitable for a community tank.

- Carnivorous plant

Omnivore

eat a variety of meat and vegetable matter. Although omnivores can and will eat vegetable matter, they cannot digest some types of grains and plants. Their teeth and digestive tract possesses some of the traits of both the carnivore and the herbivore. Omnivores are the easiest of all fish to feed, as they eat flake foods as well as live foods, and everything in between. For that reason, omnivores are an excellent choice for a community tank.


Herbivore

Herbivore

are on the opposite end of the dietary food chain from carnivores. Although herbivores can sometimes be seen eating live foods, the proper diet for an herbivore consists of plants, algae, and fruits. They have no true stomach; instead they possess a specialized intestine that is capable of breaking down plant matter. Their teeth are flat, which allows them to grind food before swallowing it. Because they lack a stomach for holding large volumes of food, the herbivore must eat frequently - at least several times per day. Because herbivores require frequent feedings of vegetables and fruits, they are often not the best choice for a community tank.
Any heterotrophic organism that feeds (consumes) exclusively on plant matter.


Plants damaged by herbivores on Mount Koma


[Left] sharp feeding trace by hare. Photo taken on April 28 2005 by Miyuki Matsuda. [Center] the stem bark of Larix kaempferi is completely removed by mouse or rat. On April 28 2005, by Miyuki Matsuda. [Right] the most dangerous omnivore on Mount Koma. On April 28 2005, by M. Akasaka

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References

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