Enticing Animals to Eat “Unpalatable” Plants
November 9, 2022
In this 90-minute seminar we will discuss how understanding processes that underlie foraging behavior can be used to entice animals to eat “unpalatable” plants. Palates link animals with landscapes through three interrelated processes: 1) cultures that connect animals over generations with the foodscapes they inhabit; 2) metabolically mediated flavor-feedback relationships that alter liking for foods as a function of needs; and 3) access to diverse mixtures of plants that animals learn to use. We will use real-life examples to show how understanding these processes can lead to practices that enable animals to eat “unpalatable” plants.
Our guest presenter is Dr. Fred Provenza, professor emeritus of Behavioral Ecology in the Department of Wildland Resources at Utah State University and author of "Nourishment: What Animals Can Teach Us about Rediscovering Our Nutritional Wisdom;" "Foraging Behavior: Managing to Survive in a World of Change;" and "The Art & Science of Shepherding: Tapping the Wisdom of French Herders."