Abstract
Structural polymers of plants (mainly cellulose and hemicellulose) are possibly the most widely available sources of energy from primary producers for herbivores (Parra 1978). However, such highly fibrous diet components are extremely difficult to digest and, therefore, herbivores possess specific adaptations for the digestion of these materials. The best-known, and undoubtedly the most common, adaptation to a high-fiber diet among mammals is fermentation by symbionts (bacteria, fungi, and protozoa), coupled with mechanisms for the digestion and absorption of the products of fermentation. Symbionts themselves thrive on the large amounts of vegetation swallowed by the herbivore.
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I would like to thank Carlos Bosque and María Gloria Domínguez-Bello, as well as the editors of the book, for their comments on the manuscript.
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Herrera, E.A. (2013). Capybara Digestive Adaptations. In: Moreira, J., Ferraz, K., Herrera, E., Macdonald, D. (eds) Capybara. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4000-0_5
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