eli5: Why are herbivorous animals usually fatter/bigger than carnivorous animals?
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Carnivore diets are not very efficient. Basically, nutrients -> plants -> herbivores-> carnivores, and a lot is wasted at each step. The larger you get the more you need to eat. Elephants can get to their size because there is enough vegetation to support them. But there really aren’t any modern ecosystems that have enough prey for a carnivore to get that size.
Herbivores eat alot of calorie poor food that takes time to digest. Plants. Carnivores eat calorie rich food that digests quickly by comparison. Herbivores need to have much higher gut volume to collect the energy they need from their food. Look at the difference in girth from a chimp (omnivore ) to a gorilla (herbivore) for a good comparison of similar species.
Not all herbivores are big but being big is one strategy that protects some animals from danger. Most predators have to move a lot to find prey and that takes even more energy if they’re bigger. A cow doesn’t have to chase their food so it doesn’t hurt them to be big and heavy, it just makes them safer.
Carnivore diets are not very efficient. Basically, nutrients -> plants -> herbivores-> carnivores, and a lot is wasted at each step. The larger you get the more you need to eat. Elephants can get to their size because there is enough vegetation to support them. But there really aren’t any modern ecosystems that have enough prey for a carnivore to get that size.
Not all herbivores are big but being big is one strategy that protects some animals from danger. Most predators have to move a lot to find prey and that takes even more energy if they’re bigger. A cow doesn’t have to chase their food so it doesn’t hurt them to be big and heavy, it just makes them safer.
Carnivore diets are not very efficient. Basically, nutrients -> plants -> herbivores-> carnivores, and a lot is wasted at each step. The larger you get the more you need to eat. Elephants can get to their size because there is enough vegetation to support them. But there really aren’t any modern ecosystems that have enough prey for a carnivore to get that size.
It‘s actually not an overall trend. Each species has some strategy that allows it to survive, and going big as a herbivore is just one. You‘re probably thinking of vertibrates or mammals. For those following reasons may apply:
– Their digestive system. Plants are made up of carbohydrates, some like sugars are easy to digest, others are hard to digest (we call those fibers). Herbivores like cows are specialized in eating fubers and their digestive system needs to be large to do this. Meat and fat on the other hand are easy to digest, only need a small digestive system
– Protection. Think of rhinos. They are herbivores and their size and extremely thick skin protect them from most predators.
– Food sources. A large herbivor can access food that smaller one‘s cant.
But vertibrates are just a tiny part of the animal kingdom. Flies, maggots, bees, bugs, worms, slugs, etc. are often herbivores. And they can be really small compred to their predators. Take earthworms for example: one of their major predators are birds, which are far larger.
It‘s actually not an overall trend. Each species has some strategy that allows it to survive, and going big as a herbivore is just one. You‘re probably thinking of vertibrates or mammals. For those following reasons may apply:
– Their digestive system. Plants are made up of carbohydrates, some like sugars are easy to digest, others are hard to digest (we call those fibers). Herbivores like cows are specialized in eating fubers and their digestive system needs to be large to do this. Meat and fat on the other hand are easy to digest, only need a small digestive system
– Protection. Think of rhinos. They are herbivores and their size and extremely thick skin protect them from most predators.
– Food sources. A large herbivor can access food that smaller one‘s cant.
But vertibrates are just a tiny part of the animal kingdom. Flies, maggots, bees, bugs, worms, slugs, etc. are often herbivores. And they can be really small compred to their predators. Take earthworms for example: one of their major predators are birds, which are far larger.
All energy comes from the sun. Plants turn it into something they can use and get the most energy from the sun. Herbivores eat plants, but don’t get all of the suns energy from eating them. Carnivores get even less “sun energy” cause it has been rinsed and repeated too many times.
Hence HUGE trees, reasonably large herbivores, and smaller carnivores.
It‘s actually not an overall trend. Each species has some strategy that allows it to survive, and going big as a herbivore is just one. You‘re probably thinking of vertibrates or mammals. For those following reasons may apply:
– Their digestive system. Plants are made up of carbohydrates, some like sugars are easy to digest, others are hard to digest (we call those fibers). Herbivores like cows are specialized in eating fubers and their digestive system needs to be large to do this. Meat and fat on the other hand are easy to digest, only need a small digestive system
– Protection. Think of rhinos. They are herbivores and their size and extremely thick skin protect them from most predators.
– Food sources. A large herbivor can access food that smaller one‘s cant.
But vertibrates are just a tiny part of the animal kingdom. Flies, maggots, bees, bugs, worms, slugs, etc. are often herbivores. And they can be really small compred to their predators. Take earthworms for example: one of their major predators are birds, which are far larger.
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