Measuring the Toughness of Primate Foods and its Ecological Value

Lucas, Peter W.; Copes, Lynn; Constantino, Paul J.; Vogel, Erin R.; Chalk, Janine; Talebi, Maurício; Landis, Mariana; Wagner, Mark

doi:10.1007/s10764-011-9540-9

Cited by 46 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…The former hypothesis could be tested using in vitro digestion assays with natural foods in different stages of particle size reduction (cf., Bjorndal et al, ). The latter hypothesis has been confirmed repeatedly in physical analyses of primate feedstuffs (Lucas et al, ), and leads to the hypothesis that frugivores are less constrained, in their longevity, by dental functionality than folivores. Some support for this proposal could come from other observations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Applying wet sieving fecal particle size measurement to frugivores: A case study of the eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)

Weary

Wrangham

Clauss

2017

American J Phys Anthropol

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Objectives Fecal particle size (FPS) as quantified by wet sieving analysis is a measure of chewing efficiency relevant for the understanding of physiological adaptations and constraints in herbivores. FPS has not been investigated systematically in frugivores, and important methodological problems remain. In particular, food items that are not chewed may skew estimates of FPS. We address such methodological issues and also assess the influence of diet type and age on FPS in wild chimpanzees. Materials and Methods 130 fecal samples of 38 individual chimpanzees (aged from 1.3 to ~55 years) from the Kanyawara community of Kibale National Park (Uganda) were collected during three fruit seasons and analysed using standardized wet sieves (pores from 16 mm to 0.025 mm). The effects of using different sieve series and excluding large seeds were investigated. We also assessed the relationship between FPS and sex, age and fruit season. Results The treatment of seeds during the sieving process had a large influence on the results. FPS was not influenced by chimpanzee sex or age, but was smaller during a fig season (0.88 ±0.31 mm) than during two drupe-fruit seasons (1.68 ±0.37 mm) (0.025–4 mm sieves, excluding seeds). Discussion The absence of an age effect on FPS suggests that dental senescence might be less critical in chimpanzees, or in frugivores in general, than in folivorous herbivores. To increase the value of FPS studies for understanding frugivore and hominoid dietary evolution we propose modifications to prior herbivore protocols.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Applying wet sieving fecal particle size measurement to frugivores: A case study of the eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)

Weary

Wrangham

Clauss

2017

American J Phys Anthropol

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“…All tests were conducted in the field using a portable universal mechanical tester kit fitted with 10 N, 100 N, and 1,000 N load cells (Darvell et al, ; Lucas et al, ), with properties calculated using custom software (LabVIEW, National Instruments, version 7.0). For the majority of food tissues, scissors or wedge tests were used to determine toughness, and three‐point bending or compression tests were used to determine elastic modulus (Lucas et al, ). We used behavioral data recorded from focal animals to inform how discarded and edible food tissues were tested.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age‐related variation in the mechanical properties of foods processed by Sapajus libidinosus

Chalk

Wright

Lucas

et al. 2015

American J Phys Anthropol

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Although it has been suggested that juveniles avoid mechanically protected foods, age-related differences in feeding competence are not solely due to variation in food toughness or stiffness. Other factors related to food type (e.g., learning complex behavioral sequences, achieving manual dexterity, obtaining physical strength to lift stone tools, or recognizing subtle cues about food state) combined with food mechanical properties better explain variation in juvenile feeding competency.

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“…The work done in the second pass was deducted from that done in the actual test. Dividing this quantity by the area of cut gave an estimate of R (Lucas, 2004a;Lucas et al, 2011;Ennos, 2012).…”

Section: Seed Pod and Seed Flesh Toughnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding and oral processing behaviors of two colobine monkeys in Tai Forest, Ivory Coast

McGraw

Casteren

Kane

et al. 2016

Journal of Human Evolution

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We collected frequency data on oral processing behaviors during feeding in habituated groups of Western red colobus, Piliocolobus badius, and Western black and white, Colobus polykomos, ranging in the Ivory Coast's Tai National Park. During the sampling period, the diet of red colobus consisted of approximately 75% leaves compared to approximately 47% leaves and buds in black and white colobus. Black and white colobus chewed more frequently per ingestive event than did red colobus. Black and white colobus also employed their anterior teeth much more frequently than did red colobus, a difference attributed to the frequent consumption by C. polykomos of Pentaclethra macrophylla seeds and pods. A material analysis of these food items reveals that both the seed coating and seed flesh are quite soft; however, the pod housing the seeds is very tough. We argue that the pod's toughness, geometry, and fiber orientation collectively result in a food that is very difficult to process, resulting in long handling times and frequent, aggressive use of the incisors. We compare these data with those collected on another Tai primate-the sooty mangabey, Cercocebus atys-and demonstrate that during feeding, both colobine species use their incisors less than the mangabey, but that the cercopithecine chews less than either colobine. Combining data on oral processing behaviors with those on the material properties of items being ingested should lead to more informed interpretations of dentognathic morphology.

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Measuring the Toughness of Primate Foods and its Ecological Value

Cited by 46 publications

References 70 publications

Applying wet sieving fecal particle size measurement to frugivores: A case study of the eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)

Applying wet sieving fecal particle size measurement to frugivores: A case study of the eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)

Age‐related variation in the mechanical properties of foods processed by Sapajus libidinosus

Feeding and oral processing behaviors of two colobine monkeys in Tai Forest, Ivory Coast

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