关键词: 黄毛鼠, 摄食量, 消化率, 消化能, 消化对策

Abstract: The digestive physiological characteristics and strategy of an animal can determine their trophic niche. To examine
the digestive response of Rattus losea to high-fiber food,food intake,fecal output,and corresponding energy parameters were measured after 10 days and 20 days of high-fiber food consumption. There was no significant change in food intake, but fecal output significantly increased and apparent digestibility decreased significantly after feeding on high-fiber food for 10 days. On day 20,apparent digestibility was lower still,but digestible energy was similar to controls due to a significant increase in food intake. Body weight on day 10 of rats fed the high-fiber diet decreased significantly from their initial weight,but did not decline further on day 20. The results show that R losea adapted to a high-fiber diet by increasing food consumption and reducing apparent digestibility,as is observed in strict-herbivorous rodent species. However, R. losea adapted to high-fiber foods more slowly than strict-herbivorous rodents. This response led to a reduction in body weight and hence,overall energy demands,and may be one strategy to used by R. losea to adapt to and survive on low-quality food.

Key words: Apparent digestibility, Digestible energy, Digestive strategy, Food intake, Rattus losea