Tim Clark and Chad Lewis
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Tim Clark and Chad Lewis |
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TIM CLARK & CHAD LEWIS
Wildlife Biology
Mentor: Terry Derting
Title of Presentation: Food Selection of the White-Footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) Based on Energy and Protein Content
Presented at: MSU Sigma Xi Annual Research Symposium and Poster Competition, 1998 (winner of the Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award)
Annual Kentucky Academy of Science Meeting, 1998 (2nd place award for oral presentation in Zoology)
The research was supported by: Department of Biological Sciences, MSU ABSTRACT We studied the effects of energy and protein content in food selection by Peromyscus leucopus. Three hypotheses were stated as follows: (1) P. leucopus select foods with high energy content regardless of protein content, (2) P. leucopus select foods with high protein content regardless of the energy content, and (3) P. leucopus select foods that have high contents of both energy and protein. We conducted tests of food selection in the laboratory and field. In the laboratory, P. leucopus were offered a choice between high-energy and low-energy foods with the protein level held constant, and a choice between high-protein and low-protein foods with the energy level held constant. All foods were tested for palatability. The field study was set up to offer a simultaneous encounter of all four food types. Only our first hypothesis was supported. In the laboratory and field tests P. leucopus foraged optimally by selecting high-energy foods and avoiding highprotein foods that were metabolically expensive to digest. We predict that food selection in P. leucopus is affected by a metabolically-profitable cut-off point that relates directly to the percentage of protein in a food. Once the cost of digestion exceeds the metabolic profitability of a food, it will be avoided. We predict that P leucopus can quickly detect differing protein and energy levels in food, resulting in a specific food selection based on metabolic profitability and nutrient needs.
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