The role of phytochemistry in dietary choices of Tana River red colobus monkeys(Procolobus badius rufomitratus)

The effects of plant nutritional chemistry on food selection of Mexican black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra): The role of lipids

“…However our data also revealed that assumptions regarding the nutrient content of individual foods consumed by primates are sometimes incorrect. For example, although it is often assumed that immature and mature leaves ingested by primates differ in fiber, available protein, and secondary metabolites [Chapman & Chapman, 2002;Milton, 1979;Mowry et al, 1996;Tombak et al, 2012], mature and young leaves consumed by howler monkeys in the present study did not differ in their nutritional components. Given …”

“…Based on patterns of food choice in several taxa of leaf-eating primates [Milton, 1979;Mowry et al, 1996;Rogers et al, 1990], black howler monkeys are expected to exhibit a preference for food items characterized by a high content of available protein and a high protein-to-fiber ratio. Therefore, selectivity indices (a measure of food preference based on ingestion of foods from plants in different phenophases in the diet and their seasonal availability in the environment) for the most commonly consumed items (>80% of the diet) are expected to show a significant positive correlation with protein content and the protein-to fiber ratio.…”

“…The preference for leaves with higher protein-to-fiber ratios (e.g., 0.73 vs. 0.45 of eaten and uneaten leaves by Colobus guereza in Kenya [Fashing et al, 2007]) appears to be related to the fact that fiber, and especially some of its components such as cellulose and hemicellulose, are difficult to degrade and digest [Barboza et al, 2009] and thus there is a limit to the amount of fibrous plant material that can be processed. In addition, maintaining a large bulk of digesta in the gut may reduce the efficiency of microbial activity, limiting protein absorption [Milton, 1979[Milton, , 1998], and favoring a ratio of protein-to-fiber consumption that is generally above 0.5 [Mowry et al, 1996]. However, recent data from Simmen et al [2014] indicate that the protein-to-fiber ratio does not explain leaf choice in sifakas; and in many other primate species, leaves with a protein-to-fiber ratio of 0.2-0.4 are commonly consumed [Behie & Pavelka, 2012a;Dasilva, 1994;Mowry et al, 1996].…”

“…In addition, maintaining a large bulk of digesta in the gut may reduce the efficiency of microbial activity, limiting protein absorption [Milton, 1979[Milton, , 1998], and favoring a ratio of protein-to-fiber consumption that is generally above 0.5 [Mowry et al, 1996]. However, recent data from Simmen et al [2014] indicate that the protein-to-fiber ratio does not explain leaf choice in sifakas; and in many other primate species, leaves with a protein-to-fiber ratio of 0.2-0.4 are commonly consumed [Behie & Pavelka, 2012a;Dasilva, 1994;Mowry et al, 1996].…”

Nutrient composition of selected plant species consumed by semi free-ranging lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus)and ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta)on St. Catherines Island, Georgia, U.S.A.

“…Young and mature leaves of the leguminous Tamarindus indica (tamarind tree), important in the diet of lemurs and other African primates, are high in nitrogen (crude protein) as well as fiber [Mowry et al, 1996]. Indeed, fruits and leaves consumed by lemurs on SCI were higher in crude protein content than equivalent foods eaten by macaques, and buds eaten in spring months contained the highest protein level of all food categories sampled.…”