It has been demonstrated in several taxa that generalists grow better when they ingest a mixed diet than when they are restricted to just one or two items, but there are few cases that provide definitive evidence for how this benefit is achieved. Two hypotheses are addressed concerning the possible benefits of feeding on a variety of foods: (l) mixing foods increases the quality of the overall diet by improving the nutrient balance and (2) mixing improves the diet due to dilution of any one plant secondary compound. The generalist grasshopper Schistocerca americana was used in a series of experiments to distinguish between the two hypotheses.Experiments using artificial foods with complementary nutrients demonstrated that ~ieta'!' mixing iJ?pr~ves. growth while the amount ingested is decreased. Nutritionally ~denttcal foods ":tth dtffenng plant secondary compounds led to different growth rates, but msects able to mtx generally grew at intermediate rates. Experiments with domestic or wild plan~ mixtures gave results generally closer to the pattern found with complementary nutnents than the pattern found with differing poisons, but both hypotheses are supported to some extent.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.