Foraging strategies

Abstract

The majority of the world's living primates inhabit lowland tropical rainforests, a diverse and often challenging habitat type to navigate. The large collection of field‐based research has demonstrated the incredible behavioral and dietary flexibility among primate species when coping with food resources that vary both spatially and temporally. Finding prey items, whether they are insects or plant parts, is challenging, and thus primates have evolved a variety of adaptations to acquire sufficient energy for survival. This entry discusses the cognitive and sensory mechanisms used by primates to find food, why they may include certain items in the diet while ignoring others, and social factors that may influence diet selection.