Effects of Reproductive Status on Energy Intake, Ingestion Rates, and Dietary Composition of Female Cebus capucinus at Santa Rosa, Costa Rica

Abstract

The limiting factor for fitness in female primates is the acquisition of high-quality food, i.e., food that is high in energy and nutrients, such as protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Reproductive status can influence female feeding patterns, e.g., lactating females in some primate species consume greater quantities of food and specific nutrients than do nonlactating females. We examined the energy intake, ingestion rate, and composition of the diet in female white-faced capuchins in 3 reproductive states: lactating, gestating, and cycling. We observed 12 reproductively active females for 7 mo and compared their energy intake, ingestion rates, and intake rates of nutrients: protein, fat, sugar, and fiber. Lactating females took in significantly more energy per hour while feeding than pregnant and cycling females did. Lactating females also ingested significantly more food items per hour, but they did not spend more time eating than other females did, and they did not differ in the composition of their diet as measured by insect consumption and proportion of protein. Pregnant and cycling females did not differ from each other in any of the measures. We predicted that as the infants aged and began to move independently to forage and play, their mothers' energy intake rates would decrease in concert with decreased energy demands by the infant. We found a statistically significant relationship between these 2 factors, with infant age explaining 75.4% of variation in mothers' energy intake, supporting previous studies that found lactation to be the most energetically expensive reproductive state.

Quantifying seasonal fallback on invertebrates, pith, and bromeliad leaves by white‐faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus) in a tropical dry forest

“…Group sizes can range from 8 to over 30 individuals (Fedigan and Jack, 2001). Like other members of the genus, capuchins in Sector Santa Rosa are omnivorous, with seasonal fluctuations in the contributions of different foods to their diet during any particular month: fruit (50-80%), other plant products (0-8%), invertebrates (15-45%), and vertebrates (0-2%) (Chapman and Fedigan, 1990;Fragaszy et al 2004;McCabe and Fedigan, 2007;Melin et al, 2012;Hogan, 2015). Fruit in the diet of Santa Rosa capuchins exhibit all of the preferred food aspects described in the work by Marshall et al (2009).…”

“…expected to be high quality nutrient sources due to their generally high protein and fat content (Milton, 2003;McCabe and Fedigan, 2007;Deblauwe and Janssens, 2008;Ramos-Elorduy, 2009). However, invertebrates differ considerably in harvesting costs, modes of acquisition, digestibility, and nutritional benefits; therefore they should not be lumped into a unified category (Ramos-Elorduy et al, 1997;O'Malley and Power, 2014).…”

The development of sex differences in ring-tailed lemur feeding ecology

“…The low year-round dietary overlap and sex differences in dietary diversity that develop early in life and continue through adulthood indicate that some level of resource partitioning is present outside of reproductive activity. Like other primate females (Gautier-Hion 1980;Ganzhorn 1989a;Rose 1994;Vasey 2002;McCabe and Fedigan 2007;Yamashita 2008;Ganzhorn et al 2009), lactating ring-tailed lemurs shifted their dietary emphasis and fed more on young leaves and ripe fruit than did males and nonreproductive females. Female ring-tailed lemurs gestate during the period of lowest food availability, lactate during increasing food abundance, and wean their infants in the period of maximum food availability (Sauther 1991).…”

“…Pregnant and lactating females often need higher nutrient and energy intake to compensate for the increased metabolic costs associated with reproduction (Trivers 1972;Tilden and Oftedal 1997). These females feed longer and have diets more highly enriched in protein or energy than males (Sauther 1994;Michels 1998;Bean 1999;Nakagawa 2000;McCabe and Fedigan 2007), regardless of their social status.…”

Variação temporal na coesão grupal de macacos-prego (Sapajus nigritus) na Mata Atlântica

“…O número de fêmeas depende, principalmente, do acesso a alimentos de alta qualidade, pois, em comparação aos machos, elas possuem maior gasto energético, proveniente do período reprodutivo (gestação, lactação e cuidado parental) (por ex. McCabe & Fedigan, 2007). A quantidade de recursos a que as fêmeas podem ter acesso está diretamente ligada à competição por alimento, que é influenciada pelo nível de coesão e dispersão do grupo (Item 1.1.).…”