The nutritional value of feeding on crops: Diets of vervet monkeys in a humanized landscape

Self Cite

An important goal in foraging ecology is to determine how biotic and abiotic variables impact the foraging decisions of wild animals and how they move throughout their multidimensional landscape. However, the interaction of food quality and feeding competition on foraging decisions is largely unknown. Here we examine the importance of food quality in a patch on the foraging decisions of wild vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) at Lake Nabugabo, Uganda using a multidestination platform array. The overall nutritional composition of the vervet diet was assessed and found to be low in sodium and lipids, thus we conducted a series of experimental manipulations in which the array was varied in salt and oil content.Although vervets prioritized platforms containing key nutrients (i.e., sodium and lipids) overall, we found that solitary vervets prioritized nutrient-dense platforms more strongly than competing vervets. This finding was opposite to those in a similar experiment that manipulated food site quantity, suggesting that large, salient rewards may be worth competing over but slight differences in nutritional density may be only chosen when there are no potentially negative social consequences (i.e., aggression received). We also found that vervets chose platforms baited with oil-only, and oil combined with salt, but not salt-only, suggesting that energy was an important factor in food choice. Our findings demonstrate that when wild vervets detect differences in feeding patches that reflect nutritional composition, they factor these differences into their navigational and foraging decisions. In addition, our findings suggest that these nutritional differences may be considered alongside social variables, ultimately leading to the complex strategies we observed in this study. K E Y W O R D S decision-making, multidestination routes, navigation, nutrient balancing, nutritional ecology, optimal foraging theory 2 of 11 | KUMPAN ET AL. SUPPORTING INFORMATION Additional supporting information may be found online in the Supporting Information section. How to cite this article: Kumpan LT, Rothman JM, Chapman CA, Teichroeb JA. Playing it safe? Solitary vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) choose high-quality foods more than those in competition. Am J Primatol. 2019;81:e23002.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Playing it safe? Solitary vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) choose high‐quality foods more than those in competition

Kumpan

Rothman

Chapman

et al. 2019

Self Cite

“…We reported on the nutritional characteristics of both wild and cultivated foods, building on our current understanding of chimpanzee feeding ecology and diet within forest-agricultural mosaics. Nevertheless, knowledge of the nutritional compositions of consumed foods alone do not provide details of how primates balance and prioritize their nutrient intake (Cancelliere et al, 2018;Felton, Felton, Lindenmayer, & Foley, 2009;Garber, Righini, & Kowalewski, 2015;Righini, Garber, & Rothman, 2015). Such information is also important if we are to understand fully the strategies primates employ to meet their nutrient and energetic needs from the surrounding environment .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies examining primate feeding ecology within human‐impacted environments have revealed diverse crop‐foraging strategies depending on various factors such as availability, proximity and type of cultivated resources, habitat quality and wild food availability, and perceived risks associated with crop‐foraging (Bryson‐Morrison, Tzanopoulos, Matsuzawa, & Humle, 2017; Hockings, Anderson, & Matsuzawa, 2009; McKinney, 2011; McLennan, 2013; Naughton‐Treves, Treves, Chapman, & Wrangham, 1998; Reynolds, 2005; Strum, 2010). Where crops are fully incorporated into the diets, primates often display changes to activity budget and ranging patterns, spending less time foraging and traveling and more time resting (e.g., Altmann & Muruthi, 1988; Cancelliere, Chapman, Twinomugisha, & Rothman, 2018; Saj, Sicotte, & Paterson, 1999; Strum, 2010; Warren, Higham, MacLarnon, & Ross, 2011). Crop consumption by primates has also been associated with a more effective immune response to parasite infections (e.g., Chapman, Speirs, Gillespie, Holland, & Austad, 2006) and, where crop‐foraging by wildlife is tolerated, a reduction in physiological stress (e.g., Lodge, Ross, Ortmann, & MacLarnon, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, crops were found to be low in other macronutrients, particularly protein and lipids, compared with wild foods (McLennan & Ganzhorn, 2017). Furthermore, wild and cultivated foods consumed by vervet monkeys ( Cercopithecus aethiops ) at Lake Nabugabo, Uganda were found to differ in the relative proportions of macronutrients they contained, with cultivars containing higher proportions of carbohydrates and proteins relative to lipids compared to wild foods (Cancelliere et al, 2018). These results suggest that crops are indeed high‐quality foods in that they provide a rich source of energy from easily digestible carbohydrates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…into the diets, primates often display changes to activity budget and ranging patterns, spending less time foraging and traveling and more time resting (e.g., Altmann & Muruthi, 1988;Cancelliere, Chapman, Twinomugisha, & Rothman, 2018;Saj, Sicotte, & Paterson, 1999;Strum, 2010;Warren, Higham, MacLarnon, & Ross, 2011). Crop consumption by primates has also been associated with a more effective immune response to parasite infections (e.g., Chapman, Speirs, Gillespie, Holland, & Austad, 2006) and, where crop-foraging by wildlife is tolerated, a reduction in physiological stress (e.g., Lodge, Ross, Ortmann, & MacLarnon, 2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Bryson-Morrison

Beer

Soumah

et al. 2020

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.

Use of cultivated foods and matrix habitat by Bale monkeys in forest fragments: Assessing local human attitudes and perceptions

Mekonnen

Fashing

Bekele

et al. 2019

Primates inhabiting human-modified landscapes often exploit matrix habitat to supplement their diet with cultivated foods, at times resulting in economic losses and conflict with local people. Understanding human-nonhuman primate interactions and the attitudes and perceptions of local people towards crop feeding species are crucial to designing effective species-based management plans. Over a 12-month period, we used scan sampling to study the consumption of cultivated foods and matrix use patterns by two habituated groups of Bale monkeys (Chlorocebus djamdjamensis), Ethiopian-endemic bamboo specialists, in two forest fragments (Kokosa and Afursa) set amidst human settlements and farmland in the southern Ethiopian Highlands. Further, we conducted interviews with local people to document their attitudes and perceptions towards Bale monkeys at the two sites. We found that Bale monkeys at Kokosa, a more degraded habitat by most measures, consumed significantly more cultivated foods than their counterparts at Afursa. Moreover, Bale monkeys at Kokosa spent significantly more time in the matrix than in the forest habitat, while monkeys at Afursa spent significantly less time in the matrix than in the forest habitat. Not surprisingly, local people displayed a more negative attitude towards monkeys inhabiting Kokosa than those inhabiting Afursa.The differences in Bale monkey cultivated food consumption and matrix use patterns-as well as in local people's attitudes and perceptions towards Bale monkeys-between Kokosa and Afursa are probably associated with differences in habitat structure, degree of habitat alteration, and land-use practices between the sites. We conclude that to ensure long-term coexistence between Bale monkeys and local people in humanmodified landscapes, it is vital to incorporate nearby matrix habitats into management plans and to work closely with local communities to develop effective nonlethal crop protection strategies, thereby reducing the likelihood of negative interactions between Bale monkeys and humans. K E Y W O R D S behavioral flexibility, Chlorocebus djamdjamensis, crop feeding, Ethiopian Highlands, ethnoprimatology, habitat fragmentation ---