Unlearned appetite controls: Watersnakes (Nerodia) take smaller meals when they have the choice
Studies of appetite in mammals emphasize that meal size is learned, but lactation and parental care constrain testing of naive individuals. Neonatal reptiles, in contrast, are self-sufficient foragers. The authors examined the effect of prey size on meal size in primivorous (at first feeding) northern watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon). When offered an excess of small prey […]
Dietary variety is associated with larger meals in female rhesus monkeys
Abstract The complex, interacting influences on eating behavior and energy expenditure prevent elucidation of the causal role of any single factor in the current obesity epidemic. However, greater variety in the food supply, particularly in the form of highly palatable, energy-dense foods, has likely made a contribution. This study was undertaken to test the hypothesis […]