Field Kit to Characterize Physical, Chemical and Spatial Aspects of Potential Primate Foods

Lucas, Peter W.; Beta, Trust; Darvell, B.W.; Dominy, Nathaniel J.; Essackjee, Hafejee C.; Lee, P.K.D.; Osorio, Daniel; Ramsden, Lawrence; Yamashita, Nayuta; Yuen, T.D.B.

doi:10.1159/000049914

Cited by 136 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Map of trees under study: red, Uvariopsis congensis (Annonaceae); green, Chrysophyllum gorungosanum (Sapotaceae); and brown, Balanites wilsoniana (Balanitaceae). This figure, from Lucas et al (2001), is used with permission.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

GPS and GIS Methods in an African Rain Forest: Applications to Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Dominy¹,

Duncan²

2002

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

GPS and GIS Methods in an African Rain Forest: Applications to Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Dominy¹,

Duncan²

2002

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“…A jelly-like pulp or a floury pulp which probably soaks with saliva in the mouth may 'lubricate' seeds and thus may allow for larger seeds to be swallowed than when Knogge/Heymann the pulp is fibrous. Ideally, we should have an objective measure for pulp consistency rather than a qualitative classification, but this is currently not available [Lucas et al, 2001]. The dimensions of dispersed seeds found in this study are not strictly comparable to those provided by Garber [1986] and Garber and Kitron [1997], since our values are based on means for each species, while Garber's values are based on means over a much smaller sample of different species with different numbers of seeds per species contributing to the mean.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed Dispersal by Sympatric Tamarins, Saguinus mystax and Saguinus fuscicollis: Diversity and Characteristics of Plant Species

Knogge¹,

Heymann²

2003

IJFP

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In a comparative study of Saguinus mystax and Saguinus fuscicollis, we examined the spectrum of plant species whose seeds are dispersed by these two tamarin species. We characterize these plants in terms of life form, fruit colour, pulp consistency and seed dimensions. The tamarins disperse a much broader spectrum of plant species than previously reported (88 of the total of 155 species exploited for fruit). While the distribution over plant life form, fruit colour and pulp consistency is identical between dispersed plant species and the overall spectrum of consumed plant species, clear differences exist in all seed parameters (length, width, height, volume, mass) except specific weight between dispersed and non-dispersed plant species for both tamarin species. Plant and fruit characteristics and seed parameters of dispersed plant species do not differ between S. mystax and S. fuscicollis, suggesting that their ecological and evolutionary interaction with plants is very similar or identical.

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“…5 mm high. The Young's modulus, E, of a tissue was determined from tests on short cylinders in compression (Lucas et al 2001;Lucas 2004). The fracture toughness, R, was determined with a 15°-angle wedge driven into a rectilinear-shaped (n = 2 species; unpublished data)…”

Section: Mechanical Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanical Properties of Plant Underground Storage Organs and Implications for Dietary Models of Early Hominins

et al. 2008

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Constantino P, and Lucas PW. The mechanical properties of plant underground storage organs and implications for the adaptive radiation and resource partitioning of early hominins. Evolutionary Biology 35(3): 159-175. Abstract The diet of early human ancestors has received renewed theoretical interest since the discovery of elevated d RESEARCH ARTICLE13 C values in the enamel of Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus. As a result, the hominin diet is hypothesized to have included C 4 grass or the tissues of animals which themselves consumed C 4 grass. On mechanical grounds, such a diet is incompatible with the dental morphology and dental microwear of early hominins. Most inferences, particularly for Paranthropus, favor a diet of hard or mechanically resistant foods. This discrepancy has invigorated the longstanding hypothesis that hominins consumed plant underground storage organs (USOs). Plant USOs are attractive candidate foods because many bulbous grasses and cormous sedges use C 4 photosynthesis. Yet mechanical data for USOs-or any putative hominin food-are scarcely known. To fill this empirical void we measured the mechanical properties of USOs from 98 plant species from across sub-Saharan Africa. We found that rhizomes were the most resistant to deformation and fracture, followed by tubers, corms, and bulbs. An important result of this study is that corms exhibited low toughness values (mean = 265.0 J m -2 ) and relatively high Young's modulus values (mean = 4.9 MPa). This combination of properties fits many descriptions of the hominin diet as consisting of hard-brittle objects. When compared to corms, bulbs are tougher (mean = 325.0 J m -2 ) and less stiff (mean = 2.5 MPa). Again, this combination of traits resembles dietary inferences, especially for Australopithecus, which is predicted to have consumed soft-tough foods. Lastly, we observed the roasting behavior of Hadza hunter-gatherers and measured the effects of roasting on the toughness on undomesticated tubers. Our results support assumptions that roasting lessens the work of mastication, and, by inference, the cost of digestion. Together these findings provide the first mechanical basis for discussing the adaptive advantages of roasting tubers and the plausibility of USOs in the diet of early hominins.

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Field Kit to Characterize Physical, Chemical and Spatial Aspects of Potential Primate Foods

Abstract: An outline is given for a field kit aiming to substantially increase the in situ knowledge gleaned from feeding studies of primates. Measurements are made of colouration (spectrum of non-specular reflection) and many mechanical, chemical and spatial properties of primate foods.

Cited by 136 publications

References 40 publications

GPS and GIS Methods in an African Rain Forest: Applications to Tropical Ecology and Conservation

GPS and GIS Methods in an African Rain Forest: Applications to Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Seed Dispersal by Sympatric Tamarins, Saguinus mystax and Saguinus fuscicollis: Diversity and Characteristics of Plant Species

Mechanical Properties of Plant Underground Storage Organs and Implications for Dietary Models of Early Hominins

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