The Digestive System in Mammals
Food Form and Function

Biochemical, physiological and morphological aspects of mammalian digestive systems.

D. J. Chivers (Edited by), P. Langer (Edited by)

9780521440165, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 21 July 1994

464 pages, 92 b/w illus. 37 tables
23.5 x 16 x 2.9 cm, 0.891 kg

'In conclusion, the book is well presented and scholarly. It is likely to be enjoyed on a first reading and used often thereafter, because of the wide range of information it presents.' The Queen's University of Belfast, Anatomy Journal

However well the anatomy of the gastro-intestinal tracts of a wide range of mammals is described and quantified, there can be no real explanation of observed patterns without consideration of the mechanical and chemical properties of the food consumed, and of the digestive stages involved in its processing. This book aims to integrate findings from the many different types of investigations of mammalian digestive systems into a coherent whole. Using the themes of food, form and function, researchers discuss models of digestive processes, linking this with evolutionary aspects of food utilisation. Macroscopic and ultrastructural studies of the gastro-intestinal tract are also presented, as are physiological, ecological and biochemical aspects of the digestion of different food types. The book ends with an integrative chapter, bringing together the themes running through the earlier sections.

Part I. Introduction: 1. Gut form and function D. J. Chivers and P. Langer
2. Food and digestion of Caenozoic mammals in Europe P. Langer
3. Modelling gut function C. Martínez del Rio, S. J. Cork and W. H. Karasov
4. Optimum gut structure for specified diets R. McNeill Alexander
Part II. Food: 5. Foods and the digestive system C. M. Hladik and D. J. Chivers
6. Classification of foods for comparative analysis of gastro-intestinal tracts P. Langer and D. J. Chivers
7. The carnivorous herbivores R. J. Moir
8. Nutritional ecology of fruit-eating and flower-visiting birds and bats C. Martínez del Rio
9. Herbivory and niche partitioning M. R. Perrin
10. Taste discrimination and diet differentiation among New World primates B. Simmen
11. Potential hominid plant foods from woody species in semi-arid vs. sub-humid subtropical Africa C. R. Peters and E. M. O'Brien
Part III. Form: 12. The form of selected regions of the gastro-intestinal tract G. Björnhag and P. Langer
13. Categorisation of food items relevant to oral processing P. W. Lucas
14. A direct method for measurement of gross surface area of mammalian gastro-intestinal tracts M. Young Owl
15. Morphometric methods for determining surface enlargement at the microscopic level in the large intestine and their application R. L. Snipes
16. Weaning time and bypass structures in fore-stomachs of Marsupalia and Eutheria P. Langer
17. Adaptations in the large intestine allowing small animals to eat fibrous foods G. Björnhag
Part IV. Function: 18. Foraging and digestion in herbivores G. O. Batzli and I. D. Hume
19. Gut morphology, body size and digestive performance in rodents I. D. Hume
20. The integrated processing response in herbivorous small mammals G. O. Batzli, A. D. Broussard and R. J. Oliver
21. Digestive constraints on dietary scope in small and moderately-small mammals S. J. Cork
22. Effects and costs of allelochemicals for mammalian herbivores W. J. Foley and C. McArthur
23. Short-chain fatty acids as a physiological signal from gut microbes T. Sakata
Part V. Synthesis and Perspectives: 24. Food, form and function D. J. Chivers, P. Langer, C. Martínez del Rio, S. J. Cork, W. H. Karasov, R. McNeill Alexander, C. M. Hladik, R. J. Moir, M. R. Perrin, B. Simmen, C. R. Peters, E. M. O'Brien, G. Björnhag, P. W. Lucas, M. Young Owl, R. L. Snipes, G. O. Batzli, I. D. Hume, A. D. Broussard, R. J. Oliver, W. J. Foley, C. McArthur and T. Sakata.

Subject Areas: Zoology: Mammals [PSVW7], Animal physiology [PSVD]