Plant-eating carnivores: Multispecies analysis on factors influencing the frequency of plant occurrence in obligate carnivores.

ABSTRACT: Plant-eating behavior is one of the greatest mysteries in obligate carnivores. Despite unsuitable morphological and physiological traits for plant consumption, the presence of plants in scat or stomach contents has been reported in various carnivorous species. However, researchers' interpretations of this subject are varied, and knowledge about it is scarce, without any multispecies studies. This study assessed the extent of variation in the frequency of plant occurrence in scat and stomach contents, as well as its relationship with various factors in 24 felid species using data from 213 published articles. Since the frequency of plant occurrence has not always been reported, we created two-part models and estimated parameters in a Bayesian framework. We found a significant negative relati

SUBMITTER: Yoshimura H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8366844 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature