What breaks down the tough cellulose found in the water vole's staple summer diet?
Answer
The specialized gut flora within their digestive system
The water vole's diet, particularly the abundant grasses and sedges consumed in summer, is characterized by a high content of tough cellulose that is difficult for most simple digestive tracts to process efficiently. The animal compensates for this challenge not through external preparation, but through its internal biology. The breakdown of this complex fiber relies specifically on the specialized microbial communities, or gut flora, housed within the vole's digestive system. These symbiotic organisms possess the necessary enzymatic capabilities to break down the cellulose, allowing the vole to extract the necessary energy from its fibrous, vegetative diet.
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