Nutrient content of Northern bobwhite arthropod prey collected in Western OK

Insectivores gain macronutrients and elements from consuming arthropod prey, but must also deal with indigestible components (i.e., exoskeleton) of prey. For example, avian chicks (e.g. northern bobwhites; Colinus virginianus) have limited gut space, and ingesting prey with relatively higher proportions of indigestible components may impact assimilation efficiency, growth, and survival. The ability of insectivores to choose higher quality prey would depend on prey taxa varying consistently in nutritional content. We tested if there were consistent differences among taxonomic orders of arthropod prey in their macronutrient (protein and lipid), elemental (C and N), and exoskeleton content. We used northern bobwhite chicks as our focal insectivore and focused on their potential prey as a case study. We also tested the influence of indigestible exoskeleton on the measurement of macronutrient content and the ability of elemental content to predict macronutrients. We found large and consisten...食虫动物通过取食节肢动物(arthropod)猎物获取宏量营养素(macronutrients)与各类元素，但同时也需应对猎物中难以消化的组分（即外骨骼(exoskeleton)）。例如，雏鸟（如北美鹌鹑（Colinus virginianus））的肠道空间有限，若摄入难以消化组分占比相对较高的猎物，可能会影响其同化效率(assimilation efficiency)、生长发育与存活率。食虫动物选择更高质量猎物的能力，取决于猎物类群在营养组成上是否存在稳定差异。我们针对节肢动物猎物的各分类目(taxonomic orders)，检验其宏量营养素（蛋白质与脂质）、元素（碳(C)与氮(N)）及外骨骼(exoskeleton)含量是否存在稳定差异。我们以北美鹌鹑雏鸟作为目标食虫动物，并以其潜在猎物为案例开展研究。我们同时检验了难以消化的外骨骼(exoskeleton)对宏量营养素(macronutrients)含量测定的影响，以及元素含量对宏量营养素(macronutrients)含量的预测能力。我们发现了显著且稳定的……