REU: Collaborative Research: Avian Digestive Physiology: A Comparative and Integrative Approach

消化不同种类食物的能力对动物选择的食物种类、它们的进食方式和时间以及它们的生长和繁殖速度都有巨大的影响。然而，消化研究对生态和行为的影响实际上被忽视了。消化生理学的应用一直受到在细胞和生化水平上对消化和吸收的详细研究与在整个生物体水平上对食物同化的测量之间的巨大差距的阻碍。动物消化系统和化学反应之间的类比提供了一座桥梁，将细胞和整个有机体一级的消化过程的测量连接到一个综合和预测的框架中。将使用基于化学工程原理的数学模型来生成和测试以花蜜和果肉为食的鸟类的消化过程的成果。我们的模型还提供了对具有不同生理特征的鸟类的取食偏好的预测，从而提供了消化过程和生态相关的食物选择过程之间的直接联系。动物的消化特性并不是固定不变的；在一个范围内，它们取决于对不同饮食的适应。不同的饮食对饮食习惯不同的鸟类的消化过程的影响，改变饮食如何影响碳水化合物、脂肪和蛋白质的消化和吸收能力，以及饮食变化如何在细胞、器官和整个机体水平上影响这些消化过程，将被调查。我们将使用化学反应理论来整合我们的结果。除了在消化生理、生态和行为之间提供桥梁，我们的研究还将提供关于圈养鸟类的消化能力和局限性的信息，以及改善动物园濒危物种和具有经济价值的动物的饲养实践的信息。

The ability to digest different kinds of foods has an enormous influence on the kinds of foods chosen by animals, on how and when they feed, and on the rates at which they grow and reproduce. The influence of digestive studies on ecology and behavior, however, has been practically ignored. The application of digestive physiology has been hampered by a wide gap between detailed studies of digestion and absorption at the cellular and biochemical levels, and the measurement of food assimilation at the whole organism level. The analogy between the digestive systems of animals and chemical reactors provides a bridge that links measurements of digestive processes at the cellular and whole organism level into a integrative and predictive framework. Mathematical models based on chemical engineering principles will be used to generate and test productions about the digestive processes of birds feeding on nectar and fruit pulp. Our models also provide predictions about the feeding preferences of birds with different physiological traits, and thus provide a direct liaison between digestive processes and the ecologically relevant process of food selection. The digestive traits of animals are not fixed; within a span, they depend on acclimation to different diets. The influence of different diets on the digestive processes of birds with contrasting dietary habits, how changing a diet influences the ability to digest and absorb carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins, and how dietary changes influence these digestive processes at the cellular, organ, and whole organism levels, will be investigated. Chemical reactor theory will be used to integrate our results. In addition to providing a bridge between digestive physiology and ecology and behavior, our research will provide information on the digestive capabilities and limitations of birds in captivity, and in improving husbandry practices for both endangered species in zoological parks and animals with economic value.