Stable isotope ratios indicate diet and habitat use in New World monkeys

Schoeninger, Margaret J.; Iwaniec, Urszula T.; Glander, Kenneth E.

doi:10.1002/(sici)1096-8644(199705)103:1<69::aid-ajpa5>3.0.co;2-8

Cited by 92 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…When adjusted for tissue type (δ 13 C keratin values were adjusted by +2‰ (15) for comparability with δ 13 C coll values), average chimpanzee δ 13 C values (−22.9 ± 0.5‰) reflect their regular consumption of fruit and are similar to those reported for the Ganta chimpanzee collection from neighboring Liberia (23). However, both males and females had δ 15 N values higher than 7‰, which indicates a level of dietary protein higher than could be obtained from fruit alone, suggests some level of insectivory or carnivory (17,18,23,24).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Previous research on unsexed (16,24) and sexed (23) chimpanzees, habituated sexed bonobos (12), and other primate species (17,18) indicated that significant sex differences in adult δ 13 C and δ 15 N are unlikely. We found no significant sex differences in δ 13 C in the Taï chimpanzees; however, our δ 15 N values support behavioral observations of significant meat eating among some adult males at Taï compared with adult females and juveniles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stable isotope ratios of nitrogen are used to estimate the trophic position of an organism (15), with an estimated stepwise tropic enrichment of ∼3‰ from herbivore to omnivore and omnivore to carnivore commonly used (15,16). Therefore, using the "you are what you eat" principle, stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen in body tissues provide a way to quantitatively distinguish between long-term dominant plant versus animal consumption, thus identifying the level of animal-derived protein in the diet (17,18).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Average monthly human scalp hair growth is 1 cm (20), but as yet, hair growth in chimpanzees and other nonhuman primates is not well characterized. However, this study, and previous nonhuman primate research by Schoeninger et al (17,18), Sponheimer et al (16), and Oelze et al (12) assumes that hair growth in Pan is similar to that in humans. This assumption is further validated by Rosen (21), who compared human scalp hair with a range of primate head hair and found no significant distinctions between them.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Stable isotope evidence of meat eating and hunting specialization in adult male chimpanzees

Fahy

Richards

Riedel

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Observations of hunting and meat eating in our closest living relatives, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), suggest that among primates, regular inclusion of meat in the diet is not a characteristic unique to Homo. Wild chimpanzees are known to consume vertebrate meat, but its actual dietary contribution is, depending on the study population, often either unknown or minimal. Constraints on continual direct observation throughout the entire hunting season mean that behavioral observations are limited in their ability to accurately quantify meat consumption. Here we present direct stable isotope evidence supporting behavioral observations of frequent meat eating among wild adult male chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire. Meat eating among some of the male chimpanzees is significant enough to result in a marked isotope signal detectable on a short-term basis in their hair keratin and long-term in their bone collagen. Although both adult males and females and juveniles derive their dietary protein largely from daily fruit and seasonal nut consumption, our data indicate that some adult males also derive a large amount of dietary protein from hunted meat. Our results reinforce behavioral observations of male-dominated hunting and meat eating in adult Taï chimpanzees, suggesting that sex differences in food acquisition and consumption may have persisted throughout hominin evolution, rather than being a recent development in the human lineage.dietary ecology | stable isotope analysis | human evolution C omparisons with extant primates and other mammals are essential to understanding the varied ecological niches occupied by early hominins. Data from chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) indicate that populations living in different forest habitats have different food repertoires (1-4). Variation in hunting behavior and meat consumption has been observed between populations, with chimpanzee communities acquiring and consuming meat with varying levels of importance, from those who hunt rarely and largely opportunistically for slow-moving small mammals (4) to more regular, systematic hunting of medium-sized prey (2, 3, 5). As all chimpanzee populations rely heavily on various plants, nuts, and invertebrates for their daily energy requirements, the disparity in vertebrate meat consumption across populations has led some researchers (6, 7) to suggest that meat is an occasionally consumed, nonessential dietary supplement.The chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) of the Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire, are known to be some of the most specialized chimpanzee hunters, consuming large quantities of meat annually, predominantly from Western red colobus (Procolobus badius) and, occasionally, Western black-and-white colobus (Colobus polykomos) monkeys (3,8). Hunting at Taï is cooperative among the male chimpanzees, and after capture, division of the resultant prey rewards participation in the hunt, rather than nepotism (2, 8). A significant adult male sex bias is also evident, with adult males reported to consum...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stable isotope evidence of meat eating and hunting specialization in adult male chimpanzees

Fahy

Richards

Riedel

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Therefore, the δ 13 C of herbivores feeding here reflect proportions of C 3 to C 4 /CAM biomass consumed. Stable nitrogen isotopes ( 15 N/ 14 N, or δ 15 N) are influenced by a more complex combination of environmental parameters, but used in conjunction with δ 13 C offer additional insights into trophic position, diet, dietary quality, and ecophysiology (Ambrose 1991;Robbins et al 2005;Schoeninger et al 1997;Sealy et al 1987;Sponheimer et al 2003a). An added benefit of isotopic tools is that one documents diet over different time scales.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

What Insights Can Baboon Feeding Ecology Provide for Early Hominin Niche Differentiation?

et al. 2008

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Several authors have proposed that papionin baboons provide appropriate analogs for early hominin niche differentiation. Savanna-dwelling baboons and australopiths both radiated around the same time after Neogene expansion of C 4 grasslands, likely experiencing similar environmental changes and faced with solving similar ecological problems. We explore the insights baboons may provide into dietary ecology of savanna-occupying hominins. We compare dietary information from stable isotope data for feces, hair, and tooth dentine collagen of modern chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) with dietary data for Plio-Pleistocene papionins and hominins from South African savannas. Results confirm that, like the australopiths, baboons consume substantial amounts of C 4 food sources. However, the magnitude of inter-and intraindividual variation in baboon diets across different seasons and habitats is less than that from specimens of Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus analyzed to date. Hominins also consumed greater amounts of C 4 resources. Thus, though the data demonstrate that the radiation of both primate groups was closely linked with the spread of C 4 grasslands, hominins were even more extreme ecological generalists than baboons were. The absence of a fixed-diet in papionins implies that it was unlikely that the more ecologically flexible hominins evolved specializations for any one food type, an interpretation consistent with recent carbon isotope, dental microwear, and ecomorphological studies. We propose that researchers place less emphasis on resolving the foods that were most important for hominin differentiation; instead, future research should focus on questions related to ecological generalism.

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Subsistence strategies of two ?savanna? chimpanzee populations: The stable isotope evidence

1999

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Twenty‐two chimpanzee hair samples collected from night nests at two different “savanna” sites were analyzed for carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios represented as δ13C and δ15N values. The first at Ugalla, Tanzania is a miombo woodland with grass groundcover and small patches of forest. The second at Ishasha, Democratic Republic of the Congo is a habitat composed of riverine gallery forest, semideciduous thicket forest, wooded grassland, and grassland. Based on comparative data from other primates, Ugalla hair δ13C values suggest that the chimpanzees are feeding primarily in the woodland rather than in forest patches or on grassland foods (grasses or grammivorous fauna). Similar comparisons indicate that the Ishasha chimpanzees are feeding within the forests and not in more open areas. In addition, the Ugalla chimpanzees had δ15N values that indicate extensive ingestion of leguminous flowers, seeds, and/or leaves. The Ishasha samples show a range encompassing three trophic levels. Two samples with the most positive values may indicate a nursing signal or vertebrate‐feeding. Three individuals with intermediate values are similar to those in omnivorous nonhuman primate species. The four individuals with the lowest values are very similar to those in herbivorous monkeys. Stable isotope ratios permit time‐averaged and habitat‐specific dietary comparisons among sites, even without habituation or detailed foraging observations. Am. J. Primatol. 49:297–314, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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Stable isotope ratios indicate diet and habitat use in New World monkeys

Cited by 92 publications

References 59 publications

Stable isotope evidence of meat eating and hunting specialization in adult male chimpanzees

Stable isotope evidence of meat eating and hunting specialization in adult male chimpanzees

What Insights Can Baboon Feeding Ecology Provide for Early Hominin Niche Differentiation?

Subsistence strategies of two ?savanna? chimpanzee populations: The stable isotope evidence

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