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Nutrition and feeding behavior underlies many critical issues in wildlife ecology and

management, such as determining the adequacy of food supplies for endangered species

or determining the potential yield in response to harvesting. For carnivores, the

nutrient composition of their prey is usually well balanced to a consumer’s specific

needs, whereas in herbivores the foods eaten may be deficient in key nutrients, such

as protein or sodium. Many plant tissues defend themselves against herbivory using

poisons, protective structures such as spines, or chemicals that bind to ingested pro-

teins, making them unavailable for digestion. In herbivores, it can also prove difficult

to assess food availability in a meaningful way, because the plant tissues eaten

represent only a small fraction of the plant biomass present. Various animal-based

measures, such as fecal nutrient composition, have been developed to assess food

availability and body condition from the herbivore’s point of view. Nutritional con-

straints often vary disproportionately with body size. Many aspects of the behavior

and ecology of wildlife species are closely tied to seasonal and spatial variation in

food availability, including social organization, spacing patterns, breeding syn-

chrony, and mating system.

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4.10 Summary