Final answer:
Rabbits ingest night feces, known as cecotrophes, to a. obtain nutrients missed during the first digestion. The cecum in rabbits' digestive systems allows bacteria to further digest food and produce vital nutrients.
Step-by-step explanation:
The primary reason a rabbit ingests night feces, or cecotrophes, is to obtain nutrients missed during the first digestion. In the rabbit's digestive system, the small intestine and cecum are enlarged to allow more time to digest plant material. This results in a more thorough breakdown and absorption of nutrients. However, some nutrients are not fully absorbed during the first pass through the digestive system. The cecum acts as a fermentation chamber where bacteria further digest the food, producing vital nutrients like vitamins in the process.
Rabbits excrete these partially digested materials as soft feces called cecotrophes, which they then re-ingest to absorb the nutrients produced by the cecal bacteria. This behavior, known as coprophagy, is essential because most nutrient absorption occurs in the small intestine, and this second ingestion ensures that the rabbit gains the maximum nutritional value from its food.
Therefore, option (a) Obtain nutrients missed during the first digestion is the correct answer to the question as it relates to the rabbit's behavior of ingesting night feces.