caa a22 4500 388097361 CHVBK 20180307125307.0 cr unu---uuuuu 161130e199911 xx s 000 0 eng 10.1017/S0029665199001081 doi S0029665199001081 pii (NATIONALLICENCE)cambridge-10.1017/S0029665199001081 Habitat selection according to the ability of animals to eat, digest and detoxify foods [Elektronische Daten] Large herbivores play a major role in shaping vegetation community dynamics through selective consumption of particular plants and plant communities. An understanding of the factors influencing diet selection at the level of individual bites (‘bite scale') is important for prediction of the impact of herbivores on vegetation at the habitat scale. Bite-scale diet selection represents an integration of the twin goals of maximizing nutrient intake and minimizing toxin intake. Recent research with ruminants in pen-fed situations has shown that animals are able to make choices between artificial foods that maximize growth and other production variables. The role of post-ingestive feedback as an important mechanism for allowing animals to assess the nutritional quality of particular foods, and so select optimal diets, has been recognized in a number of recent experiments. Our understanding of the role of toxin intake minimization in diet selection decisions is more rudimentary. An important advance in the last decade has been the acknowledgement of the role of post-ingestive feedback and learning as a mechanism for avoidance of dietary toxicity. Further research is required to assess the importance of these processes in relation to free-grazing animals. The extent to which an understanding of bite-scale diet selection can be used to predict habitat utilization is not well understood. At the habitat scale additional factors such as predator avoidance, social constraints, avoidance of parasitism and microclimatic effects have an important influence on foraging decisions. Future research needs to focus on developing a quantitative understanding of such decisions at the habitat scale. The Nutrition Society Diet selection nationallicence Habitat selection nationallicence Herbivore nationallicence Post-ingestive feedback nationallicence Duncan Alan J. Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH Gordon Iain J. Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH Proceedings of the Nutrition Society Cambridge University Press 58/4(1999-11), 799-805 0029-6651 58:4<799 1999 58 PNS https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665199001081 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 conference jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665199001081 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Duncan Alan J. Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Gordon Iain J. Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society Cambridge University Press 58/4(1999-11), 799-805 0029-6651 58:4<799 1999 58 PNS CC0 http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0 nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-cambridge