Food Habits- Categorization

Question 1

Polyphage

Answer 1

generalist

eat a variety of different foods/species

Question 2

monophage

Answer 2

specialists
eat only ONE food/species
not common as its hard to survive of just one thing

Question 3

Predators

Answer 3

catch live prey

Question 4

scavengers

Answer 4

find dead prey (carrion)

Question 5

Planktivores

Answer 5

prey on plankton

Question 6

spongivores

Answer 6

prey on sponges

sponges are very well defended

• toxic to most vertebrates
• heavily populates with silica spikes

turtles well evolved to eat them

Question 7

Crustacivores

Answer 7

prey on crustaceans (shrimp, crab, lobster, krill, etc)

Question 8

Insectivores

Answer 8

prey on insects

- but many insects are seasonal

Question 9

Myrmecophages

Answer 9

prey on ants or termites

Question 10

Chitin

Answer 10

long polysaccharide (comparable to cellulose)
flexible and tough in natural form
combined with CaCO3 in shells of crustaceans (stronger, less flexible)

Question 11

Molluscivores

Answer 11

prey on mollusks (snails, slugs, squid etc)

Question 12

Piscivores

Answer 12

prey on fish

Question 13

Sanquivores

Answer 13

eat the blood of prey

Question 14

Omnivores

Answer 14

eat a wide variety of foods

• opportunistic feeders of seasonal foods
• will store foods if necessary
• will scavenge carrion is necessary

Question 15

Herbivores

Answer 15

to obtain the necessary nutrients, energy, herbivores may have to

• eat all /many parts of a plant (not just leaves/ stems)
• eat all/ many plant groups

Question 16

Grazers

Answer 16

Eat ground level vegetation (grasses, forbes)

Question 17

Browsers

Answer 17

eat vegetation above the ground (leaves, buds, fruits)

Question 18

Intermediate

Answer 18

graze from the ground level and browse above

Question 19

Grasses

Answer 19

thicker cell walls
low growth
more homogenous
easier to obtain

Question 20

Browses

Answer 20

thinner cell walls 
higher growth 
more heterogenous 
more prone to seasonal variation 
more difficult to obtain (more chemical, physical protection)

Question 21

Folivores

Answer 21

eat leaves- more sugary than other parts of plants

Question 22

Mycophages

Answer 22

eat fungi (fungivores)

Question 23

Linchenophages

Answer 23

eat lichens

Question 24

frugivores

Answer 24

eat fruits (succulent or dry, all contain seeds)
succulent fruit: high in sugar, but low in Ca and CP  (also seasonal) 

hard to a large or growing succulent fruit eating frugivore

dry fruit- high in fat and CP (seasonal but storable)
granivores: just eat dried fruit and seeds of fruit

Question 25

Nectarivores and Pollenphages

Answer 25

eat nectar or pollen
pollen high in protein
nectar- high in sugars but low CP and Ca
- nectivorous diets often supplemented with insects
honey possum is one of the few obligate nectarivore/pollenphage