A Basic Study of Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla Feces as Learning Materials to Understand Digestion

Abstract

This study investigated herbivore feces as teaching materials for “digestion” in the second phase of science study in middle school. Herbivorous mammals can decompose neutral detergent fibers in food by allowing microorganisms with cellulase or similar enzymes to coexist in an area of the digestive tract. In Artiodactyla, microorganisms are symbiotic in the forestomach, located in front of the small intestine, whose main function is absorption. In Perissodactyla, microorganisms coexist in the large intestine, which is located after the small intestine. Artiodactyla feces are generally small, and the undigested plant pieces in their feces were smaller than those in Perissodactyla feces. This indicates that the digestive capacity of Artiodactyla is higher than that of Perissodactyla. By comparing the size of plant pieces in feces, children can easily understand the high digestive ability of ruminant Artiodactyla as a physical change, thus deepening their learning and understanding of digestion.