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Article: Pollen digestion by new world bats: effects of processing time and feeding habits.
- Article from:
- Ecology
- Article date:
- December 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Ecological Society of America. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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INTRODUCTION
Pollen grains are included in the diet of several vertebrate and invertebrate flower visitors (Howell 1974a, Turner 1984, Peng et al. 1986, Richardson et al. 1986, Wooller et al. 1988, Law 1992a, b, Grant 1996). Although pollen can be an important source of proteins, vitamins, and minerals, its exine coat is highly resistant to degradation by digestive enzymes (Stanley and Linskens 1974). Several studies have estimated the efficiency and rate at which vertebrate digestive systems process pollen grains under experimental and natural conditions (Turner 1984, Richardson et al. 1986, Wooller et al. 1988, Brice et al. 1989). Extraction efficiencies of ...