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Herbivory
Herbivory
Herbivores, including giant herds of megafauna, rely on producers for survival.
Learning Objective: Provide examples of herbivores, including their structures and reliance on producers.
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Herbivory is consumption of producers, typically plants or algae. There are many specific types of herbivores, including:
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Grazers: Eat a variety of plant leaves, like grasses, that are close to the ground
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Browsers: Eat a variety of plant parts, including leaves, branches, and fruits
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Algivores: eat algae
The majority of large terrestrial herbivores are ungulates.
Match these tracks to the correct ungulate.
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Zebra
Giraffe (and Mark)
In these videos from a safari park, try to identify different families of ungulates.
Many ungulates have antlers or horns. Find out the difference in this video.
Watch this video; you can select the closed captioning \”cc\” option if you would like to see the text.
Does this elk have antlers or horns?
Elephants are herbivores classified in Order Proboscidea.
Most of the proboscids, including mammoths and mastodons are extinct.
Guinea pigs are rodent herbivore grazers.
Similar to other herbivores, guinea pigs spend much of their waking hours eating enough plant material to maintain their metabolism.
Many herbivore species are potential prey for carnivores. The next two guides explore the predator-prey interaction.
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