Self-medication and homeostatic behaviour in herbivores: learning about the benefits of nature’s pharmacy

Traditional production systems have viewed animals as homogeneous ‘machines’ whose nutritional and medicinal needs must be provided in a prescribed manner. This view arose from the lack of belief in the wisdom of the body to meet its physiological needs. Is it possible for herbivores to select diets...

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Main Authors: J.J. Villalba, F.D. Provenza
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2007-01-01
Series:Animal
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751731107000134
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spelling doaj-e90d9f39871148aaacf1f9fb0d9f7e3e2021-06-05T06:04:15ZengElsevierAnimal1751-73112007-01-011913601370Self-medication and homeostatic behaviour in herbivores: learning about the benefits of nature’s pharmacyJ.J. Villalba0F.D. Provenza1Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USADepartment of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USATraditional production systems have viewed animals as homogeneous ‘machines’ whose nutritional and medicinal needs must be provided in a prescribed manner. This view arose from the lack of belief in the wisdom of the body to meet its physiological needs. Is it possible for herbivores to select diets that meet their needs for nutrients and to write their own prescriptions? Our research suggests it is. Herbivores adapt to the variability of the external environment and to their changing internal needs not only by generating homeostatic physiological responses, but also by operating in the external environment. Under this view, food selection is interpreted as the quest for substances in the external environment that provide homeostatic utility to the internal environment. Most natural landscapes are diverse mixes of plant species that are literally nutrition centres and pharmacies with vast arrays of primary (nutrient) and secondary (pharmaceutical) compounds vital in the nutrition and health of plants and herbivores. Plant-derived alkaloids, terpenes, sesquiterpene lactones and phenolics can benefit herbivores by, for instance, combating internal parasites, controlling populations of fungi and bacteria, and enhancing nutrition. Regrettably, the simplification of agricultural systems to accommodate inexpensive, rapid livestock production, coupled with a view of secondary compounds as toxins, has resulted in selecting for a biochemical balance in forages favouring primary (mainly energy) and nearly eliminating secondary compounds. There is a global need to create a more sustainable agriculture, with less dependence on external finite resources, such as fossil fuels and their environmentally detrimental derivatives. Self-medication has the potential to facilitate the design of sustainable grazing systems to improve the quality of land as well as the health and welfare of animals. Understanding foraging as the dynamic quest to achieve homeostasis will lead to implementing management programs where herbivores have access not only to diverse and nutritious foods but also to arrays of medicinal plants.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751731107000134behavioural homeostasisforaging behaviourlearningparasite controlself-medication
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author J.J. Villalba
F.D. Provenza
spellingShingle J.J. Villalba
F.D. Provenza
Self-medication and homeostatic behaviour in herbivores: learning about the benefits of nature’s pharmacy
Animal
behavioural homeostasis
foraging behaviour
learning
parasite control
self-medication
author_facet J.J. Villalba
F.D. Provenza
author_sort J.J. Villalba
title Self-medication and homeostatic behaviour in herbivores: learning about the benefits of nature’s pharmacy
title_short Self-medication and homeostatic behaviour in herbivores: learning about the benefits of nature’s pharmacy
title_full Self-medication and homeostatic behaviour in herbivores: learning about the benefits of nature’s pharmacy
title_fullStr Self-medication and homeostatic behaviour in herbivores: learning about the benefits of nature’s pharmacy
title_full_unstemmed Self-medication and homeostatic behaviour in herbivores: learning about the benefits of nature’s pharmacy
title_sort self-medication and homeostatic behaviour in herbivores: learning about the benefits of nature’s pharmacy
publisher Elsevier
series Animal
issn 1751-7311
publishDate 2007-01-01
description Traditional production systems have viewed animals as homogeneous ‘machines’ whose nutritional and medicinal needs must be provided in a prescribed manner. This view arose from the lack of belief in the wisdom of the body to meet its physiological needs. Is it possible for herbivores to select diets that meet their needs for nutrients and to write their own prescriptions? Our research suggests it is. Herbivores adapt to the variability of the external environment and to their changing internal needs not only by generating homeostatic physiological responses, but also by operating in the external environment. Under this view, food selection is interpreted as the quest for substances in the external environment that provide homeostatic utility to the internal environment. Most natural landscapes are diverse mixes of plant species that are literally nutrition centres and pharmacies with vast arrays of primary (nutrient) and secondary (pharmaceutical) compounds vital in the nutrition and health of plants and herbivores. Plant-derived alkaloids, terpenes, sesquiterpene lactones and phenolics can benefit herbivores by, for instance, combating internal parasites, controlling populations of fungi and bacteria, and enhancing nutrition. Regrettably, the simplification of agricultural systems to accommodate inexpensive, rapid livestock production, coupled with a view of secondary compounds as toxins, has resulted in selecting for a biochemical balance in forages favouring primary (mainly energy) and nearly eliminating secondary compounds. There is a global need to create a more sustainable agriculture, with less dependence on external finite resources, such as fossil fuels and their environmentally detrimental derivatives. Self-medication has the potential to facilitate the design of sustainable grazing systems to improve the quality of land as well as the health and welfare of animals. Understanding foraging as the dynamic quest to achieve homeostasis will lead to implementing management programs where herbivores have access not only to diverse and nutritious foods but also to arrays of medicinal plants.
topic behavioural homeostasis
foraging behaviour
learning
parasite control
self-medication
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751731107000134
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