Molluscivorous red knots rapidly adjust to a plant diet

Dietary flexibility is key to adjusting to environmental change. In Mauritania, the seemingly obligatory molluscivorous red knots Calidris canutus canutus were observed to eat seagrass rhizomes. To study the ability of knots to live on plant material, we performed a diet-change experiment on captive individuals. Two groups of five were fed protein-rich pellets for 13 weeks, then plant-based pellets for 6 weeks, then reversed back to protein-rich pellets for 4.5 weeks. During the first days following the shift to the plant diet, body mass declined with 14% before increasing and stabilizing to lower levels. Faecal colour changed from green (i.e., gall, suggesting starvation) to brown and was produced in larger quantities when the birds ate plant pellets. These experimental data prove that knots can indeed live on a plant-based diet, the observed changes suggesting that adjustments of the digestive system, i.e., gut morphology and microbiome, take only a few days.
, , , # Molluscivorous red knots rapidly adjust to a plant diet

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.wdbrv1645](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.wdbrv1645)

## Description of the data and file structure

The data contains measurements of body mass and faecal colour of red knots to investigate the effect of a diet change on health.

### Files and variables

#### File: DeWilde_Colour.csv

**Description:** Measurements of body mass and faecal colour of captive red knots following a switch to a plant diet.

##### Variables

* birdID: Ring code to identify individual birds
* year: Sampling year
* month: Sampling month
* day: Sampling day
* food: Indicating the plant diet received during the measurements
* cage: Aviary room identifier
* mass: Body mass (gram)
* massdiff: Difference in mass since last measurement (gram)
* R: Red colour measured in stool sample
* G: Green colour measured in stool sample
* B: Blue colour measured in stool sample
* HEX: HEX-code generated from R, G and B

#### File: DeWilde_bodym...,

饮食灵活性是适应环境变化的核心要素。在毛里塔尼亚，研究人员观测到原本被认为专性食软体动物的红腹滨鹬指名亚种（Calidris canutus canutus）会取食海草的根状茎。为探究红腹滨鹬以植物性食物存活的能力，我们对圈养个体开展了饮食转换实验。将10只实验个体分为两组，每组5只，先饲喂高蛋白颗粒饲料13周，随后更换为植物基颗粒饲料饲喂6周，最后再转回高蛋白颗粒饲料饲喂4.5周。在转换至植物性饮食后的最初几日，个体体重下降了14%，随后逐渐回升并稳定在较低水平。粪便颜色从绿色（即胆汁色，提示饥饿状态）变为棕色，且在鸟类取食植物基颗粒饲料时粪便排放量显著增加。本实验数据证实，红腹滨鹬确实可以依赖植物性饮食生存，观测到的体重与粪便变化表明，其消化系统（即肠道形态与微生物组）的调整仅需数日时间。
# 专食软体动物的红腹滨鹬可快速适应植物性饮食

数据集DOI：[10.5061/dryad.wdbrv1645](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.wdbrv1645)

## 数据与文件结构说明
本数据集包含红腹滨鹬的体重与粪便颜色测量数据，用于探究饮食转换对其健康的影响。

### 文件与变量

#### 文件：DeWilde_Colour.csv
**描述：** 圈养红腹滨鹬转换至植物性饮食后的体重与粪便颜色测量数据。

##### 变量
* birdID：用于识别个体鸟类的环志编码
* year：采样年份
* month：采样月份
* day：采样日期
* food：指示测量期间饲喂的植物性饮食类型
* cage：鸟舍房间编号
* mass：体重（单位：克）
* massdiff：相较于上一次测量的体重变化量（单位：克）
* R：粪便样本的红色通道测量值
* G：粪便样本的绿色通道测量值
* B：粪便样本的蓝色通道测量值
* HEX：由R、G、B值生成的十六进制颜色码

#### 文件：DeWilde_bodym...,