The macronutrient composition of wild and cultivated plant foods of West African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) inhabiting an anthropogenic landscape

Abstract

Agricultural expansion encroaches on tropical forests and primates in such landscapes frequently incorporate crops into their diet. Understanding the nutritional drivers behind crop‐foraging can help inform conservation efforts to improve human‐primate coexistence. This study builds on existing knowledge of primate diets in anthropogenic landscapes by estimating the macronutrient content of 24 wild and 11 cultivated foods (90.5% of food intake) consumed by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) at Bossou, Guinea, West Africa. We also compared the macronutrient composition of Bossou crops to published macronutrient measures of crops from Bulindi, Uganda, East Africa. The composition of wild fruits, leaves, and pith were consistent with previous reports for primate diets. Cultivated fruits were higher in carbohydrates and lower in insoluble fiber than wild fruits, while wild fruits were higher in protein. Macronutrient content of cultivated pith fell within the ranges of consumed wild pith. Oil palm food parts were relatively rich in carbohydrates, protein, lipids, and/or fermentable fiber, adding support for the nutritional importance of the oil palm for West African chimpanzees. We found no differences in the composition of cultivated fruits between Bossou and Bulindi, suggesting that macronutrient content alone does not explain differences in crop selection. Our results build on the current understanding of chimpanzee feeding ecology within forest‐agricultural mosaics and provide additional support for the assumption that crops offer primates energetic benefits over wild foods.

All-You-Can-Eat: Influence of Proximity to Maize Gardens on the Wild Diet and the Forest Activities of the Sebitoli Chimpanzee Community in Kibale National Park

“…The metabolizable energy of maize seems lower or equivalent to that of wild fruits from our study area (maize: 277–447 kcal/100 g, [ 108 , 109 ]; wild fruits: 423–510 kcal/100 g). However, each maize cob is heavier than fig fruits (cob: 130–179 gDM [ 110 ]; dry fig: 0.22–7.14 gDM, Supplementary Materials, Table S5 ), and their concentration in gardens should reduce chimpanzee foraging efforts (less harvesting time, no climbing, and no wadging).…”

Landscaping the Behavioural Ecology of Primate Stone Tool Use

“…We considered trees with a DBH ≥ 5 cm (Hockings et al, 2009), lianas and shrubs with a DBH ≥ 2 cm (Gerwing et al, 2006), and THV of any dimensions. However, while THV is a frequently consumed food item by the chimpanzees of Bossou (Humle, 2011a), it differs from other wild plant foods in that it has a lower calorific value (Bryson-Morrison et al, 2020) and often an individual plant can only be sourced once, after which it is permanently depleted. To distinguish these types of food sources (perennial versus ephemeral), THV was documented as a separate variable.…”

Wild Chimpanzee Welfare: A Focus on Nutrition, Foraging and Health to Inform Great Ape Welfare in the Wild and in Captivity

“…The food items wild chimpanzees primarily eat fall into three distinct categories: fruits, vegetation (non-fruit plant matter) and animal matter. Fruits, dense with sugar, fiber, Vitamin C, calcium, and water are prevalent in all chimpanzee habitats and are well known to be preferred foods in the wild [ 6 , 25 , 29 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. Vegetation including leaves, flowers, stems, bark, and pith can also provide fiber, protein, water, and other various minerals [ 36 , 38 ].…”