Foraging for Survival: Yearling Baboons in Africa. Stuart A. Altmann (original) (raw)
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P RIMATES MUST EAT to survive; the acquisition of food resources is thus among one of the most signifi cant selective pressures affecting their biology. The necessity of fi nding food to meet nutritional requirements must be balanced with avoiding predation and securing mates, and thereby infl uences primate physiology, ecology, activity, movement, and social relationships. All animals, including primates, should typically avoid expending energy through unnecessary travel, and should eat the most nutritious foods available to them. In a classic study of baboons (Papio cynocephalus), Altmann found that the closer an individual's foraging approached the optimal amounts of protein and energy (Pyke 1984), the higher its fi tness . Because of the importance of food as a selective pressure for so many aspects of primate biology, it is not surprising that primate feeding ecology has received considerable attention in the literature over the past 25 years Cant & Temerin 1984;).
Chapter 7 Food as a Selective Force in Primates
P RIMATES MUST EAT to survive; the acquisition of food resources is thus among one of the most signifi cant selective pressures affecting their biology. The necessity of fi nding food to meet nutritional requirements must be balanced with avoiding predation and securing mates, and thereby infl uences primate physiology, ecology, activity, movement, and social relationships. All animals, including primates, should typically avoid expending energy through unnecessary travel, and should eat the most nutritious foods available to them. In a classic study of baboons (Papio cynocephalus), Altmann found that the closer an individual's foraging approached the optimal amounts of protein and energy (Pyke 1984), the higher its fi tness . Because of the importance of food as a selective pressure for so many aspects of primate biology, it is not surprising that primate feeding ecology has received considerable attention in the literature over the past 25 years Cant & Temerin 1984;).
Evidence for the consumption of arboreal, diurnal primates by bonobos (Pan paniscus)
American Journal of Primatology, 2009
We present evidence for the consumption of a diurnal, arboreal, group living primate by bonobos. The digit of an immature black mangabey (Lophocebus aterrimus) was found in the fresh feces of a bonobo (Pan paniscus) at the Lui Kotale study site, Democratic Republic of Congo. In close proximity to the fecal sample containing the remains of the digit, we also found a large part of the pelt of a black mangabey. Evidence suggests that the Lui Kotale bonobos consume more meat than other bonobo populations and have greater variation in the mammalian species exploited than previously thought [Hohmann & Fruth, Folia primatologica 79:103-110]. The current finding supports Stanford's argument [Current Anthropology 39:399-420] that some differences in the diet and behavior between chimpanzees (P. troglodytes) and bonobos are an artefact of the limited number of bonobo study populations. If bonobos did obtain the monkey by active hunting, this would challenge current evolutionary models relating the intra-specific aggression and violence seen in chimpanzees and humans to hunting and meat consumption [Wrangham, Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 42:1-30].
Symposium on Primate Ecomorphology: introduction
Journal of Anatomy
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2012
First and foremost, I would like to thank my primary advisor, Mariah Hopkins, for her support, encouragement, and patience throughout the assembly of this report. I would also like to thank my co-advisor, Rebecca Lewis, for her valuable advice and enthusiastic interest in the 'folivore paradox.' I truly appreciate the help and expertise provided by the faculty, staff, and graduate students here in the Department of Anthropology, as well as the love and unconditional support provided by my friends and family.
Recent advances in primate nutritional ecology
Nutritional ecology seeks to explain, in an ecological and evolutionary context, how individuals choose, acquire, and process food to satisfy their nutritional requirements. Historically, studies of primate feeding ecology have focused on characterizing diets in terms of the botanical composition of the plants consumed. Further, dietary studies have demonstrated how patch and food choice in relation to time spent foraging and feeding are influenced by the spatial and temporal distribution of resources and by social factors such as feeding competition, dominance, or partner preferences. From a nutritional perspective, several theories including energy and protein-to-fiber maximization, nutrient mixing, and toxin avoidance, have been proposed to explain the food choices of non-human primates. However, more recently, analytical frameworks such as nutritional geometry have been incorporated into primatology to explore, using a multivariate approach, the synergistic effects of multiple nutrients, secondary metabolites, and energy requirements on primate food choice. Dietary strategies associated with nutrient balancing highlight the tradeoffs that primates face in bypassing or selecting particular feeding sites and food items. In this Special Issue, the authors bring together a set of studies focusing on the nutritional ecology of a diverse set of primate taxa characterized by marked differences in dietary emphasis. The authors present, compare, and discuss the diversity of strategies used by primates in diet selection, and how species differences in ecology, physiology, anatomy, and phylogeny can affect patterns of nutrient choice and nutrient balancing. The use of a nutritionally explicit analytical framework is fundamental to identify the nutritional requirements of different individuals of a given species, and through its application, direct conservation efforts can be applied to regenerate and protect specific foods and food patches that offer the opportunity of a nutritionally balanced diet.
Defining fallback foods and assessing their importance in primate ecology and evolution
American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2009
Physical anthropologists use the term “fallback foods” to denote resources of relatively poor nutritional quality that become particularly important dietary components during periods when preferred foods are scarce. Fallback foods are becoming increasingly invoked as key selective forces that determine masticatory and digestive anatomy, influence grouping and ranging behavior, and underlie fundamental evolutionary processes such as speciation, extinction, and adaptation. In this article, we provide an overview of the concept of fallback foods by discussing definitions of the term and categorizations of types of fallback foods, and by examining the importance of fallback foods for primate ecology and evolution. We begin by comparing two recently published conceptual frameworks for considering the evolutionary significance of fallback foods and propose a way in which these approaches might be integrated. We then consider a series of questions about the importance of fallback foods for primates, including the extent to which fallback foods should be considered a distinct class of food resources, separate from preferred or commonly eaten foods; the link between life history strategy and fallback foods; if fallback foods always limit primate carrying capacity; and whether particular plant growth forms might play especially important roles as fallback resources for primates. We conclude with a brief consideration of links between fallback foods and primate conservation. Am J Phys Anthropol 140:603–614, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.