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59-508: Most petting zoos are designed to provide only relatively placid, herbivorous domesticated animals, such as sheep , goats , rabbits , ponies and donkeys to feed and interact physically with safety. This is in contrast to the usual zoo experience, where normally wild animals are viewed from behind safe enclosures where no contact is possible. A few provide wild species (such as pythons or big cat cubs) to interact with, but these are rare and usually found outside Western nations. In 1938,

118-550: A balanced diet which is culturally appropriate. These recommendation are different from dietary reference values which provide information about the prevention of nutrient deficiencies. Exclusionary diets are diets with certain groups or specific types of food avoided, either due to health considerations or by choice. Many do not eat food from animal sources to varying degrees (e.g. flexitarianism , pescetarianism , vegetarianism , and veganism ) for health reasons, issues surrounding morality, or to reduce their personal impact on

177-523: A decrease in abundance of leaf-chewing larvae in the fall when hardwood leaf palatability decreases due to increased tannin levels which results in a decline of arthropod species richness , and increased palatability of plant communities at higher elevations where grasshoppers abundances are lower. Climatic stressors such as ocean acidification can lead to responses in plant-herbivore interactions in relation to palatability as well. The myriad defenses displayed by plants means that their herbivores need

236-400: A few exotic animals such as kangaroos , wallabies , emus , deer , zebras , parrots , porcupines , camels , ostriches , bison , water buffaloes , rheas , peafowl , guineafowl , antelopes , capybaras , lemurs , tortoises and many others. Petting zoos are popular with small children, who will often feed the animals. In order to ensure the animals' health, the food is supplied by

295-623: A greater and more diverse set of resources. Coevolution and phylogenetic correlation between herbivores and plants are important aspects of the influence of herbivore and plant interactions on communities and ecosystem functioning, especially in regard to herbivorous insects. This is apparent in the adaptations plants develop to tolerate and/or defend from insect herbivory and the responses of herbivores to overcome these adaptations. The evolution of antagonistic and mutualistic plant-herbivore interactions are not mutually exclusive and may co-occur. Plant phylogeny has been found to facilitate

354-460: A herbivore in a dense forest would spend more time handling (eating) the vegetation because there was so much vegetation around than a herbivore in a sparse forest, who could easily browse through the forest vegetation. According to the Holling's disk equation, a herbivore in the sparse forest would be more efficient at eating than the herbivore in the dense forest. The marginal value theorem describes

413-527: A major target audience of these petting zoos. Herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants , especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage , fruits or seeds , as the main component of its diet . These more broadly also encompass animals that eat non-vascular autotrophs such as mosses , algae and lichens , but do not include those feeding on decomposed plant matters (i.e. detritivores ) or macrofungi (i.e. fungivores ). As

472-495: A mutual relationship with the plant species that they forage by digging and disturbing the sediment which removes competing plants and subsequently allows colonization of other plant species. When herbivores are affected by trophic cascades , plant communities can be indirectly affected. Often these effects are felt when predator populations decline and herbivore populations are no longer limited, which leads to intense herbivore foraging which can suppress plant communities. With

531-542: A new patch of food when the patch they are currently feeding on requires more energy to obtain food than an average patch. Within this theory, two subsequent parameters emerge, the Giving Up Density (GUD) and the Giving Up Time (GUT). The Giving Up Density (GUD) quantifies the amount of food that remains in a patch when a forager moves to a new patch. The Giving Up Time (GUT) is used when an animal continuously assesses

590-559: A person's dietary intake, or "going on a diet", can change the energy balance, and increase or decrease the amount of fat stored by the body. The terms "healthy diet" and "diet for weight management" ( dieting ) are often related, as the two promote healthy weight management. If a person is overweight or obese, changing to a diet and lifestyle that allows them to burn more calories than they consume may improve their overall health, possibly preventing diseases that are attributed in part to weight, including heart disease and diabetes . Within

649-715: A result of their plant-based diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouth structures ( jaws or mouthparts ) well adapted to mechanically break down plant materials, and their digestive systems have special enzymes (e.g. amylase and cellulase ) to digest polysaccharides . Grazing herbivores such as horses and cattles have wide flat- crowned teeth that are better adapted for grinding grass , tree bark and other tougher lignin -containing materials, and many of them evolved rumination or cecotropic behaviors to better extract nutrients from plants. A large percentage of herbivores also have mutualistic gut flora made up of bacteria and protozoans that help to degrade

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708-522: A sign of major medical problems including thyroid issues and cancer among other diseases . An eating disorder is a mental disorder that interferes with normal food consumption. It is defined by abnormal eating habits, and thoughts about food that may involve eating much more or much less than needed. Common eating disorders include anorexia nervosa , bulimia nervosa , and binge-eating disorder . Eating disorders affect people of every gender , age, socioeconomic status , and body size. Agriculture

767-635: A single plant can have hundreds of different chemical defenses. Chemical defenses can be divided into two main groups, carbon-based defenses and nitrogen-based defenses. Plants have also changed features that enhance the probability of attracting natural enemies to herbivores. Some emit semiochemicals, odors that attract natural enemies, while others provide food and housing to maintain the natural enemies' presence, e.g. ants that reduce herbivory. A given plant species often has many types of defensive mechanisms, mechanical or chemical, constitutive or induced, which allow it to escape from herbivores. According to

826-574: A terrestrial mammal to be called a grazer, at least 90% of the forage has to be grass, and for a browser at least 90% tree leaves and twigs. An intermediate feeding strategy is called "mixed-feeding". In their daily need to take up energy from forage, herbivores of different body mass may be selective in choosing their food. "Selective" means that herbivores may choose their forage source depending on, e.g., season or food availability, but also that they may choose high quality (and consequently highly nutritious) forage before lower quality. The latter especially

885-399: A tradeoff however, between foraging on many plant species to avoid toxins or specializing on one type of plant that can be detoxified. Herbivore modification is when various adaptations to body or digestive systems of the herbivore allow them to overcome plant defenses. This might include detoxifying secondary metabolites , sequestering toxins unaltered, or avoiding toxins, such as through

944-438: A trophic cascade involved plant-herbivore interactions are coral reef ecosystems. Herbivorous fish and marine animals are important algae and seaweed grazers, and in the absence of plant-eating fish, corals are outcompeted and seaweeds deprive corals of sunlight. Agricultural crop damage by the same species totals approximately $ 100 million every year. Insect crop damages also contribute largely to annual crop losses in

1003-579: A variety of physical and metabolic alterations in the way the host plant interacts with itself and other surrounding biotic factors. Fungi, bacteria, and protists that feed on living plants are usually termed plant pathogens (plant diseases), while fungi and microbes that feed on dead plants are described as saprotrophs . Flowering plants that obtain nutrition from other living plants are usually termed parasitic plants . There is, however, no single exclusive and definitive ecological classification of consumption patterns; each textbook has its own variations on

1062-527: A variety of skills to overcome these defenses and obtain food. These allow herbivores to increase their feeding and use of a host plant. Herbivores have three primary strategies for dealing with plant defenses: choice, herbivore modification, and plant modification. Feeding choice involves which plants a herbivore chooses to consume. It has been suggested that many herbivores feed on a variety of plants to balance their nutrient uptake and to avoid consuming too much of any one type of defensive chemical. This involves

1121-934: Is a driver of environmental degradation , such as biodiversity loss , climate change , desertification , soil degradation and pollution . The food system as a whole – including refrigeration, food processing, packaging, and transport – accounts for around one-quarter of greenhouse gas emissions . More sustainable dietary choices can be made to reduce the impact of the food system on the environment. These choices may involve reducing consumption of meat and dairy products and instead eating more plant-based foods, and eating foods grown through sustainable farming practices. Some cultures and religions have restrictions concerning what foods are acceptable in their diet. For example, only Kosher foods are permitted in Judaism , and Halal foods in Islam . Although Buddhists are generally vegetarians ,

1180-460: Is a model for predicting animal behavior while looking for food or other resources, such as shelter or water. This model assesses both individual movement, such as animal behavior while looking for food, and distribution within a habitat, such as dynamics at the population and community level. For example, the model would be used to look at the browsing behavior of a deer while looking for food, as well as that deer's specific location and movement within

1239-403: Is aided in reproduction. Plants can also be indirectly affected by herbivores through nutrient recycling , with plants benefiting from herbivores when nutrients are recycled very efficiently. Another form of plant-herbivore mutualism is physical changes to the environment and/or plant community structure by herbivores which serve as ecosystem engineers , such as wallowing by bison. Swans form

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1298-431: Is derived from Latin herba 'small plant, herb' and vora , from vorare 'to eat, devour'. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants , algae and photosynthesizing bacteria . More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in general are known as primary consumers . Herbivory is usually limited to animals that eat plants. Insect herbivory can cause

1357-563: Is determined by the body mass of the herbivore, with small herbivores selecting for high-quality forage, and with increasing body mass animals are less selective. Several theories attempt to explain and quantify the relationship between animals and their food, such as Kleiber's law , Holling's disk equation and the marginal value theorem (see below). Kleiber's law describes the relationship between an animal's size and its feeding strategy, saying that larger animals need to eat less food per unit weight than smaller animals. Kleiber's law states that

1416-783: Is irrelevant and derived to explain trends that do not exist in nature. Holling's disk equation models the efficiency at which predators consume prey. The model predicts that as the number of prey increases, the amount of time predators spend handling prey also increases, and therefore the efficiency of the predator decreases. In 1959, S. Holling proposed an equation to model the rate of return for an optimal diet: Rate (R )=Energy gained in foraging (Ef)/(time searching (Ts) + time handling (Th)) R = E f / ( T s + T h ) {\displaystyle R=Ef/(Ts+Th)} Where s=cost of search per unit time f=rate of encounter with items, h=handling time, e=energy gained per encounter. In effect, this would indicate that

1475-488: Is the ability of a plant to withstand damage without a reduction in fitness. This can occur by diverting herbivory to non-essential plant parts, resource allocation, compensatory growth, or by rapid regrowth and recovery from herbivory. Resistance refers to the ability of a plant to reduce the amount of damage it receives from herbivores. This can occur via avoidance in space or time, physical defenses, or chemical defenses. Defenses can either be constitutive, always present in

1534-817: The London Zoo included the first children's zoo in Europe and the Philadelphia Zoo was the first in North America to open a special zoo just for children. During the 1990s, Dutch cities began building petting zoos in many neighbourhoods, so that urban children could interact with animals. Petting zoos feature a variety of domestic animals. Common animals include cattle , zebu , yaks , sheep , goats , rabbits , guinea pigs , ponies , alpacas , llamas , pigs , miniature donkeys , miniature horses , ducks , geese , chickens , and turkeys . They occasionally contain

1593-484: The cellulose in plants, whose heavily cross-linking polymer structure makes it far more difficult to digest than the protein - and fat -rich animal tissues that carnivores eat. Herbivore is the anglicized form of a modern Latin coinage, herbivora , cited in Charles Lyell 's 1830 Principles of Geology . Richard Owen employed the anglicized term in an 1854 work on fossil teeth and skeletons. Herbivora

1652-411: The transmission of diseases between animals and humans ( zoonosis ) so it is recommended that people should thoroughly wash their hands before and after touching the animals. There have been several outbreaks of E. coli etc. Another threat is salmonella specifically from chicks handled by children. Petting zoo attendees under the age of 5 are at a higher risk of contracting these diseases and they are

1711-432: The wetland ecosystem . Such differences in herbivore modalities can potentially lead to trade-offs that influence species traits and may lead to additive effects on community composition and ecosystem functioning. Seasonal changes and environmental gradients such as elevation and latitude often affect the palatability of plants which in turn influences herbivore community assemblages and vice versa. Examples include

1770-511: The U.S. Herbivores also affect economics through the revenue generated by hunting and ecotourism. For example, the hunting of herbivorous game species such as white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbits, antelope, and elk in the U.S. contributes greatly to the billion-dollar annually, hunting industry. Ecotourism is a major source of revenue, particularly in Africa, where many large mammalian herbivores such as elephants, zebras, and giraffes help to bring in

1829-416: The balance between eating all the food in a patch for immediate energy, or moving to a new patch and leaving the plants in the first patch to regenerate for future use. The theory predicts that absent complicating factors, an animal should leave a resource patch when the rate of payoff (amount of food) falls below the average rate of payoff for the entire area. According to this theory, an animal should move to

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1888-824: The colonization and community assembly of herbivores, and there is evidence of phylogenetic linkage between plant beta diversity and phylogenetic beta diversity of insect clades such as butterflies . These types of eco-evolutionary feedbacks between plants and herbivores are likely the main driving force behind plant and herbivore diversity. Abiotic factors such as climate and biogeographical features also impact plant-herbivore communities and interactions. For example, in temperate freshwater wetlands herbivorous waterfowl communities change according to season, with species that eat above-ground vegetation being abundant during summer, and species that forage below-ground being present in winter months. These seasonal herbivore communities differ in both their assemblage and functions within

1947-424: The effectiveness of plant defenses activated by sunlight. A plant defense is a trait that increases plant fitness when faced with herbivory. This is measured relative to another plant that lacks the defensive trait. Plant defenses increase survival and/or reproduction (fitness) of plants under pressure of predation from herbivores. Defense can be divided into two main categories, tolerance and resistance. Tolerance

2006-530: The end of that period. Herbivory among four-limbed terrestrial vertebrates, the tetrapods , developed in the Late Carboniferous (307–299 million years ago). The oldest known example being Desmatodon hesperis. Early tetrapods were large amphibious piscivores . While amphibians continued to feed on fish and insects, some reptiles began exploring two new food types, tetrapods (carnivory) and plants (herbivory). The entire dinosaur order ornithischia

2065-532: The environment (e.g. environmental vegetarianism ). People on a balanced vegetarian or vegan diet can obtain adequate nutrition, but may need to specifically focus on consuming specific nutrients, such as protein , iron , calcium , zinc , and vitamin B 12 . Raw foodism and intuitive eating are other approaches to dietary choices. Education, income, local availability, and mental health are all major factors for dietary choices. A particular diet may be chosen to promote weight loss or weight gain. Changing

2124-750: The equivalent of millions of US dollars to various nations annually. Diet (nutrition) In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism . The word diet often implies the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management reasons (with the two often being related). Although humans are omnivores , each culture and each person holds some food preferences or some food taboos. This may be due to personal tastes or ethical reasons. Individual dietary choices may be more or less healthy. Complete nutrition requires ingestion and absorption of vitamins , minerals , essential amino acids from protein and essential fatty acids from fat-containing food, also food energy in

2183-489: The first land plants evolved. Insects fed on the spores of early Devonian plants, and the Rhynie chert also provides evidence that organisms fed on plants using a "pierce and suck" technique. During the next 75 million years , plants evolved a range of more complex organs, such as roots and seeds. There is no evidence of any organism being fed upon until the middle-late Mississippian , 330.9  million years ago . There

2242-596: The food chain because they consume plants to digest the carbohydrates photosynthetically produced by a plant. Carnivores in turn consume herbivores for the same reason, while omnivores can obtain their nutrients from either plants or animals. Due to a herbivore's ability to survive solely on tough and fibrous plant matter, they are termed the primary consumers in the food cycle (chain). Herbivory, carnivory, and omnivory can be regarded as special cases of consumer–resource interactions . Two herbivore feeding strategies are grazing (e.g. cows) and browsing (e.g. moose). For

2301-565: The food source, in this case, the plant. Several factors play into these fluctuating populations and help stabilize predator-prey dynamics. For example, spatial heterogeneity is maintained, which means there will always be pockets of plants not found by herbivores. This stabilizing dynamic plays an especially important role for specialist herbivores that feed on one species of plant and prevents these specialists from wiping out their food source. Prey defenses also help stabilize predator-prey dynamics, and for more information on these relationships see

2360-426: The forested habitat and its interaction with other deer while in that habitat. This model has been criticized as circular and untestable. Critics have pointed out that its proponents use examples that fit the theory, but do not use the model when it does not fit the reality. Other critics point out that animals do not have the ability to assess and maximize their potential gains, therefore the optimal foraging theory

2419-496: The form of carbohydrate, protein, and fat. Dietary habits and choices play a significant role in the quality of life , health and longevity . A healthy diet can improve and maintain health, which can include aspects of mental and physical health. Specific diets, such as the DASH diet , can be used in treatment and management of chronic conditions. Dietary recommendations exist for many different countries, and they usually emphasise

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2478-823: The fossil record of their jaws near the Permio-Carboniferous boundary, approximately 300 million years ago. The earliest evidence of their herbivory has been attributed to dental occlusion , the process in which teeth from the upper jaw come in contact with teeth in the lower jaw is present. The evolution of dental occlusion led to a drastic increase in plant food processing and provides evidence about feeding strategies based on tooth wear patterns. Examination of phylogenetic frameworks of tooth and jaw morphologes has revealed that dental occlusion developed independently in several lineages tetrapod herbivores. This suggests that evolution and spread occurred simultaneously within various lineages. Herbivores form an important link in

2537-430: The incorporation of silica into cell walls is analogous to that of the role of lignin in that it is a compression-resistant structural component of cell walls; so that plants with their cell walls impregnated with silica are thereby afforded a measure of protection against herbivory. Chemical defenses are secondary metabolites produced by the plant that deter herbivory. There are a wide variety of these in nature and

2596-406: The interaction of herbivory and plant defense is negative, with one individual reducing the fitness of the other, some is beneficial. This beneficial herbivory takes the form of mutualisms in which both partners benefit in some way from the interaction. Seed dispersal by herbivores and pollination are two forms of mutualistic herbivory in which the herbivore receives a food resource and the plant

2655-407: The metabolic rate (q 0 ) of an animal is the mass of the animal (M) raised to the 3/4 power: q 0 =M Therefore, the mass of the animal increases at a faster rate than the metabolic rate. Herbivores employ numerous types of feeding strategies. Many herbivores do not fall into one specific feeding strategy, but employ several strategies and eat a variety of plant parts. Optimal foraging theory

2714-411: The past 10 years, obesity rates have increased by almost 10%. Conversely, if a person is underweight due to illness or malnutrition , they may change their diet to promote weight gain. Intentional changes in weight, though often beneficial, can be potentially harmful to the body if they occur too rapidly. Unintentional rapid weight change can be caused by the body's reaction to some medications, or may be

2773-402: The patch quality. Interactions between plants and herbivores can play a prevalent role in ecosystem dynamics such community structure and functional processes. Plant diversity and distribution is often driven by herbivory, and it is likely that trade-offs between plant competitiveness and defensiveness , and between colonization and mortality allow for coexistence between species in

2832-570: The plant, or induced, produced or translocated by the plant following damage or stress. Physical, or mechanical, defenses are barriers or structures designed to deter herbivores or reduce intake rates, lowering overall herbivory. Thorns such as those found on roses or acacia trees are one example, as are the spines on a cactus. Smaller hairs known as trichomes may cover leaves or stems and are especially effective against invertebrate herbivores. In addition, some plants have waxes or resins that alter their texture, making them difficult to eat. Also

2891-538: The presence of herbivores. However, the effects of herbivory on plant diversity and richness is variable. For example, increased abundance of herbivores such as deer decrease plant diversity and species richness , while other large mammalian herbivores like bison control dominant species which allows other species to flourish. Plant-herbivore interactions can also operate so that plant communities mediate herbivore communities. Plant communities that are more diverse typically sustain greater herbivore richness by providing

2950-403: The production of large amounts of saliva to reduce effectiveness of defenses. Herbivores may also utilize symbionts to evade plant defenses. For example, some aphids use bacteria in their gut to provide essential amino acids lacking in their sap diet. Plant modification occurs when herbivores manipulate their plant prey to increase feeding. For example, some caterpillars roll leaves to reduce

3009-490: The section on Plant Defenses. Eating a second prey type helps herbivores' populations stabilize. Alternating between two or more plant types provides population stability for the herbivore, while the populations of the plants oscillate. This plays an important role for generalist herbivores that eat a variety of plants. Keystone herbivores keep vegetation populations in check and allow for a greater diversity of both herbivores and plants. When an invasive herbivore or plant enters

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3068-553: The size of herbivores having an effect on the amount of energy intake that is needed, larger herbivores need to forage on higher quality or more plants to gain the optimal amount of nutrients and energy compared to smaller herbivores. Environmental degradation from white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) in the US alone has the potential to both change vegetative communities through over-browsing and cost forest restoration projects upwards of $ 750 million annually. Another example of

3127-453: The system, the balance is thrown off and the diversity can collapse to a monotaxon system. The back and forth relationship of plant defense and herbivore offense drives coevolution between plants and herbivores, resulting in a "coevolutionary arms race". The escape and radiation mechanisms for coevolution, presents the idea that adaptations in herbivores and their host plants, has been the driving force behind speciation . While much of

3186-485: The theme. The understanding of herbivory in geological time comes from three sources: fossilized plants, which may preserve evidence of defence (such as spines), or herbivory-related damage; the observation of plant debris in fossilised animal faeces ; and the construction of herbivore mouthparts. Although herbivory was long thought to be a Mesozoic phenomenon, fossils have shown that plants were being consumed by arthropods within less than 20 million years after

3245-421: The theory of predator –prey interactions, the relationship between herbivores and plants is cyclic. When prey (plants) are numerous their predators (herbivores) increase in numbers, reducing the prey population, which in turn causes predator number to decline. The prey population eventually recovers, starting a new cycle. This suggests that the population of the herbivore fluctuates around the carrying capacity of

3304-505: The zoo, either from vending machines or a kiosk . Food often fed to animals includes grass and crackers and also in selected feeding areas hay is a common food. Such feeding is an exception to the usual rule about not feeding animals . Some petting zoos are also mobile and will travel to a home for a children's party or event. Many areas have a qualified mobile petting zoo. One of the first mobile petting zoos in Australia (begun in 1992),

3363-423: Was Kindifarm. As a result of its popularity, many Australians use the term kindy farms to describe petting zoos. In Australia, mobile petting zoos are allowed in schools, child care centres and even shopping centres. For many children, a mobile petting zoo is their first opportunity to see and touch an animal. American mobile petting zoos have gained popularity in the southern states. Touching animals can result in

3422-429: Was a gap of 50 to 100 million years between the time each organ evolved and the time organisms evolved to feed upon them; this may be due to the low levels of oxygen during this period, which may have suppressed evolution. Further than their arthropod status, the identity of these early herbivores is uncertain. Hole feeding and skeletonization are recorded in the early Permian , with surface fluid feeding evolving by

3481-431: Was composed of herbivorous dinosaurs. Carnivory was a natural transition from insectivory for medium and large tetrapods, requiring minimal adaptation. In contrast, a complex set of adaptations was necessary for feeding on highly fibrous plant materials. Arthropods evolved herbivory in four phases, changing their approach to it in response to changing plant communities. Tetrapod herbivores made their first appearance in

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