Introduction Birds often switch diets, especially between plant and animal matte

Question

Introduction Birds often switch diets, especially between plant and animal matter (Martin et al. 1951). These switches take place on a continuum of temporal scales, from meal-to-meal differences in composition to seasonal shifts in diet brought about by changes in resource abundance. A central issue in studies of foraging ecology and digestive physiology is to what extent digestive features allow or constrain such shifts in diet (Karasov 1990). More generally, why does a given bird eat what it does and, conversely, why does it not eat the vast majority of plant and animal matter it encounters? Studies of behavior and ex ternal morphology have offered many insights into diet selec- tion (Stephens and Krebs 1986); we focus on the role of internal morphology and physiology.

Explanation / Answer

Ans.) In the mentioned data, activities of four digestive enzymes; amylase, trypsin, chymotrypsin and lipase is given in presence of three different food sources i.e. plant and insect. It is clear from the given data that there is a specific enzyme to digest the specific food. These enzymes are secreted in conditions when their suitable substrate (food material) is present in the alimentary canal.
As in case of amylase, it is evident that it is capable of digesting the plant food material like fruits and seeds. At first, it breaks down the polysaccharides into maltose and other disaccharides and then disaccharides are break down into monosaccharides.
Whereas trypsin and chymotrypsin are efficiently assimilate the animal food material (insect). These two enzymes work to absorb polypeptide and convert them into smaller polypeptides and then in amino acid. In addition, lipase equally able to digest both type of food items i.e. plant along with animal. Lipase generally acts to assimilate fats into monoglycerides.

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