Dietary abrasiveness is associated with variability of microwear and dental surface texture in rabbits

Dental microwear and 3D surface texture analyses are useful in reconstructing herbivore diets, with scratches usually interpreted as indicators of grass dominated diets and pits as indicators of browse. We conducted feeding experiments with four groups of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) each fed a d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2013-02, Vol.8 (2), p.e56167-e56167
Main Authors: Schulz, Ellen, Piotrowski, Vanessa, Clauss, Marcus, Mau, Marcus, Merceron, Gildas, Kaiser, Thomas M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abrasion
Abrasion resistance
Abrasiveness
Analysis
Animals
Attrition
Biology
Biomechanics
Castings
Dental Enamel - physiopathology
Diet
Enamel
Evolution
Feeding Behavior
Food
Grasses
Indicators
Molar - anatomy & histology
Molar - physiology
Molars
Museums
Oats
Pits
Rabbits
Silica
Silicon dioxide
Silicon Dioxide - chemistry
Surface layers
Surface Properties
Teeth
Texture
Tooth Abrasion
Variability
Zoology
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Summary:Dental microwear and 3D surface texture analyses are useful in reconstructing herbivore diets, with scratches usually interpreted as indicators of grass dominated diets and pits as indicators of browse. We conducted feeding experiments with four groups of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) each fed a different uniform, pelleted diet (lucerne, lucerne & oats, grass & oats, grass). The lowest silica content was measured in the lucerne and the highest in the grass diet. After 25 weeks of exposure to the diets, dental castings were made of the rabbit's lower molars. Occlusal surfaces were then investigated using dental microwear and 3D areal surface texture analysis. In terms of traditional microwear, we found our hypothesis supported, as the grass group showed a high proportion of (long) "scratches" and the lucerne group a high proportion of "pits". Regardless of the uniform diets, variability of microwear and surface textures was higher when silica content was low. A high variability in microwear and texture analysis thus need not represent dietary diversity, but can also be related to a uniform, low-abrasion diet. The uniformity or variability of microwear/texture analysis results thus might represent varying degrees of abrasion and attrition rather than a variety of diet items per se.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0056167