Another one bites the dust: faecal silica levels in large herbivores correlate with high-crowned teeth — Proceedings B

Another one bites the dust: faecal silica levels in large herbivores correlate with high-crowned teeth — Proceedings B: "Hypsodonty is usually linked to diet abrasiveness, either from siliceous phytoliths (monocotyledons) or from grit (dusty environments). In this study, faecal silica content was quantified as acid detergent insoluble ash and used as proxy for silica ingested by large African herbivores of different digestive types, feeding strategies and hypsodonty levels. Separate sample sets were used for the dry (n = 15 species) and wet (n = 13 species) season. Average faecal silica contents were 17–46 g kg⁻¹ dry matter (DM) for browsing and 52–163 g kg⁻¹ DM for grazing herbivores. "