Laboratory studies have demonstrated that, given plenty of food, many animals can achieve a species‐specific macronutrient intake target by selecting nutritionally balanced foods or combining complementary foods. Wild‐living, broad‐scope omnivorous species often face great heterogeneity in the composition of available resources. Hence they may be precluded, either locally or seasonally, from meeting their nutritional preferences. With the aim of shedding light on the nutritional niche breadth of a wild‐living omnivore, the European badger Meles meles, we reviewed available scat‐based studies on badger diet and applied right‐angled mixture triangles to examine the relationships between macronutrient availability and composition of diets. Moreover, to assess the potential of scat analysis to investigate nutritional balancing, we analysed badger diet in two habitats of NW Italy, focusing on identifying the total weight of each food item ‘as ingested’ as accurately as possible. The average macronutrient content of the European badger's diet comprised 40–45% protein‐energy, 30–35% lipid‐energy, and 20–25% carbohydrate‐energy. Macronutrient intake was not constant throughout the year, suggesting that, in some seasons, badgers may be unable to reach their macronutrient target, and that diet balancing is achieved over longer periods. The macronutrient selection strategy of badgers suggests that their feeding habits are close to those of obligate carnivorous mammals, although badgers were found to be more tolerant towards carbohydrates than obligate carnivores. Macronutrient ratios as assessed by scat analysis matched well with those obtained by reviewing available data, confirming that meta‐analyses of diet studies can provide useful information on the macronutrient requirements of elusive wild mammals.

中文翻译：

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“杂食獾困境”：将营养与野生哺乳动物的饮食生态位相结合

实验室研究表明，如果食物充足，许多动物可以通过选择营养均衡的食物或结合辅食来实现特定物种的大量营养素摄入目标。野生的、范围广泛的杂食性物种在可用资源的组成上往往面临很大的异质性。因此，他们可能无法满足他们的营养偏好，无论是当地的还是季节性的。为了阐明野生杂食动物欧洲獾 Meles meles 的营养生态位广度，我们回顾了现有的基于粪便的獾饮食研究，并应用直角混合三角形来检查常量营养素的可用性和组成之间的关系的饮食。此外，为了评估粪便分析研究营养平衡的潜力，我们分析了意大利西北部两个栖息地的獾饮食，重点是尽可能准确地确定“摄入”的每种食物的总重量。欧洲獾饮食的平均常量营养素含量包括 40-45% 的蛋白质-能量、30-35% 的脂质-能量和 20-25% 的碳水化合物-能量。全年的常量营养素摄入量并不是恒定的，这表明在某些季节，獾可能无法达到其常量营养素目标，并且需要在更长的时间内实现饮食平衡。獾的大量营养素选择策略表明，它们的摄食习惯与专性食肉哺乳动物的摄食习性接近，尽管发现獾比专性食肉动物更能耐受碳水化合物。通过 scat 分析评估的常量营养素比率与通过审查可用数据获得的比率非常匹配，