Food Choices by Mammalian Herbivores and the Role of Defense Compounds: Example Beaver

Abstract

Herbivores such as deer, bovids, rodents, or marsupials encounter a great diversity of plant secondary metabolites (PSMs). These PSMs greatly affect the food choices these animals make. In turn, herbivores affect plants by stimulating induced defenses as a consequence of browsing. For food choice experiments in the wild we need animals that can be found predictably in certain places at certain times. The beaver (Castor canadensis or C. fiber) is such a species. Beavers stay year-round near their lodges and readily accept food provisions.