The gut microbiota is viewed as the “second genome” of animals, sharing intricate
relationships with their respective hosts. Because the gut microbial community and its …

The intestinal microbiota have now been shown to largely affect host health through various
functional roles in terms of nutrition, immunity, and other physiological systems. However …

The foraging ecology of mammalian herbivores is strongly shaped by plant secondary
compounds (PSC s) that defend plants against herbivory. Conventional wisdom holds that …

Tannins, a diverse group of water-soluble phenolics with high affinity to proteins, are widely
distributed in various parts of plants, and have negative effects in herbivores after ingestion …

Heavy metals are an important class of pollutants with both lethal and sublethal effects on
organisms. The latter are receiving increased attention, as these may have harmful …

Over millions of years, terrestrial plants have competed for limited resources, defended
themselves against herbivores, and resisted a myriad of environmental stresses. These …

An important goal in nutritional ecology is to understand what governs the diet selection of
free-living animals. Relevant information is however scarce because of the considerable …

Herbivores not only consume resources, but they are resources for other consumers.
Consequently, they have much potential to mediate effects that cascade up and down …

An ecosystem's complexity develops from the vast numbers of species interacting in
ecological communities. The nature of these interactions, in turn, depends on environmental …

Trophic rewilding seeks to rehabilitate degraded ecosystems by repopulating them with
large animals, thereby re-establishing strong top-down interactions. Yet there are very few …