From frugivore to folivore: Altitudinal variations in the diet and feeding ecology of the Bioko Island drill (<i>Mandrillus leucophaeus poensis</i>)

Owens, Jacob R.; Honarvar, Shaya; Nessel, Mark P; Hearn, Gail W.

doi:10.1002/ajp.22479

Cited by 16 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…These results differ from previous findings, where mandrills increase their herb consumption when fruits are scarce (Hoshino 1985;Tutin et al 1997), and may imply within-species variation in feeding strategy, as observed in drills on Bioko Island (Owens et al 2015). Herbs and woody tissue are both low-quality foods, which are common alternative foods for largesized monkeys (Hemingway and Bynum 2005).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 94%

“…The effects of seasonal inundation and steepness on the capture rates were unclear. These habitat parameters may not affect mandrill habitat use: in central Gabon, mandrills are observed in forests close to streams frequently (Lahm 1986), and drills range in montane forests with steep altitudinal gradients (Owens et al 2015;Wild et al 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…invertebrates; vertebrates (hairs and feathers); and other (including soil, stones, and dead leaves). Unlike several previous studies of Mandrillus species, where intact seeds were discarded and/or fruit fibre and seeds were both categorised as 'fruits' (Hoshino 1985;Owens et al 2015), we categorised intact and crushed seeds into 'fruit fibre' and 'seeds', respectively, because fruit fibre and seeds are considerably different in terms of phenology and nutrition intake. Since fruit skin and pulp rarely occurred in faeces, and the occurrence of intact seeds means that mandrills receive nutrition from fruit skin and/or pulp not from seeds, excluding intact seeds would substantially underestimate the dietary contribution of fruit fibre.…”

Section: Faecal Sample Collection and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonal Change in Diet and Habitat Use in Wild Mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx)

et al. 2017

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Primates show various behavioural responses to resource seasonality, including changes in diet and habitat use. These responses may be particularly important for species living in large groups, due to strong competition for resources. We investigated seasonality in diet and habitat use in wild mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx), which form some of the largest primate groups, in Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, Gabon. We used a fallen fruit census to measure fruit availability and camera-trapping to measure visit frequency by mandrill groups on 11 line transects from January 2012 to November 2013, and collected mandrill faeces for 25 months in 2009-2013 to assess their diets. Fruit availability varied seasonally, with a peak in December-February, and a scarce period in March-August. Relative volumes of fruit skin, pulp and intact seeds in faecal remains varied with fruit availability, whereas faeces contained as a large proportion of crushed seeds in the fruit scarce season as in the fruit-peak season. The relative volumes of woody tissue (e.g., bark and roots) and the number of food types increased in the fruit-scarce season compared to in the fruit-peak season. Camera-trapping revealed seasonality in habitat use. In fruit-rich seasons, mandrill visits were highly biased towards transects where fruit species that appeared in the majority of faeces in a group were abundant. In contrast, in fruit-scarce seasons, visit frequencies were distributed more uniformly and the relationship with fruit availability was unclear. Our results suggest that mandrill groups in the study area respond to seasonal fruit scarcity by consuming seeds and woody tissue and by ranging more widely than in fruit-rich seasons. These flexible dietary and ranging behaviours may contribute to the maintenance of extremely large groups in mandrills.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 94%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Faecal Sample Collection and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonal Change in Diet and Habitat Use in Wild Mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx)

et al. 2017

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“…More specialized woolly lemurs, however, show decreased densities at the more disturbed site (97). Several fairly large-bodied primate folivores appear to have highly flexible diets and incorporate a high proportion of fruit when available (90,98,99). Notably, frugo-folivores show greater variation in habitat size and patchiness, indicating potential greater tolerance for habitat disturbance, than either frugivores or folivores (100).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular adaptation to folivory and the conservation implications for Madagascar’s lemurs

Guevara

Greene

Blanco

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Folivory evolved independently at least three times over the last 40 million years among Madagascar's lemurs. Many extant lemuriform folivores exist in sympatry in Madagascar's remaining forests. These species avoid feeding competition by adopting different dietary strategies within folivory, reflected in behavioral, morphological, and microbiota diversity across species. These conditions make lemurs an ideal study system for understanding adaptation to leaf-eating. Most folivorous lemurs are also highly endangered. The significance of folivory for conservation outlook is complex. Though generalist folivores may be relatively well equipped to survive habitat disturbance, specialist folivores occupying narrow dietary niches may be less resilient. Characterizing the genetic bases of adaptation to folivory across species and lineages can provide insights into their differential physiology and potential to resist habitat change. We recently reported accelerated genetic change in RNASE1, a gene encoding an enzyme (RNase 1) involved in molecular adaptation in mammalian folivores, including various monkeys and sifakas (genus Propithecus; family Indriidae). Here, we sought to assess whether other lemurs, including phylogenetically and ecologically diverse folivores, might show parallel adaptive change in RNASE1 that could underlie a capacity for efficient folivory. We characterized RNASE1 in 21 lemur species representing all five families and members of the three extant folivorous lineages: 1) bamboo lemurs (family Lemuridae), 2) sportive lemurs (family Lepilemuridae), and 3) indriids (family Indriidae). We found pervasive sequence change in RNASE1 across all indriids, a dN/dS value > 3 in this clade, and evidence for shared change in isoelectric point, indicating altered enzymatic function. Sportive and bamboo lemurs, in contrast, showed more modest sequence change. The greater change in indriids may reflect a shared strategy emphasizing complex gut morphology and microbiota to facilitate folivory. This case study illustrates how genetic analysis may reveal differences in functional traits that could influence species' ecology and, in turn, their resilience to habitat change. Moreover, our results support the contention that not all primate folivores are built the same and highlight the need to avoid generalizations about dietary guild in considering conservation outlook, particularly in lemurs where such diversity in folivory has probably led to extensive specialization via niche partitioning.

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“…Every month we monitored the availability of plant resources at both sites. Using randomly chosen transects, we quantified the number of trees and lianas bearing fruits (Sutherland, 2006 andOwens et al, 2015). In the 14-ha fragment, we used four 250 m × 10 m transects (monthly area sampled: 1 ha), while in the 522-ha fragment, we used two pre-existing 750 m × 10 m transects (monthly area sampled = 1.5 ha).…”

Section: Food Availability Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food availability, plant diversity, and vegetation structure drive behavioral and ecological variation in Endangered Coimbra‐Filho's titi monkeys

Souza‐Alves

Chagas

Santana

et al. 2021

American J Primatol

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There is wide variability in primate behavior and ecology. Understanding how frugivorous primates behave under different habitat fragmentation levels is key for effective conservation and management of species and their habitats. We evaluated the seasonality in activity budget, diet, and ranging behavior of two groups of Endangered Coimbra-Filho's titi monkeys (Callicebus coimbrai). One group inhabited a 14-ha forest fragment, whereas the other lived in a 522-ha fragment. We measured the monthly density of trees and lianas available as food sources over 8 months. We also collected behavioral and group location data every 5 min, from dawn to dusk, using the scan sampling method. The two forest fragments differed seasonally in the number of fruiting food-resource available. In the 14-ha fragment, we found that the time spent by titi monkeys feeding, foraging, resting, and traveling differed seasonally. In the 522-ha fragment, titi monkeys exhibited seasonal differences in time spent sleeping, socializing, foraging, and revisiting food sources. In both titi monkey groups, diets varied seasonally. Our findings indicate that Coimbra-Filho's titi monkeys can exhibit behavioral flexibility in their activity budgets, diets, and movement patterns. Such flexibility is important for this species to survive in fragmented habitats and may be linked to three key factors: speciesspecific resource availability, plant species diversity, and the vegetation structure of each forest fragment.

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From frugivore to folivore: Altitudinal variations in the diet and feeding ecology of the Bioko Island drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus poensis)

Cited by 16 publications

References 79 publications

Seasonal Change in Diet and Habitat Use in Wild Mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx)

Seasonal Change in Diet and Habitat Use in Wild Mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx)

Molecular adaptation to folivory and the conservation implications for Madagascar’s lemurs

Food availability, plant diversity, and vegetation structure drive behavioral and ecological variation in Endangered Coimbra‐Filho's titi monkeys

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