Quantifying Mineral Intake and the Role of Minerals on Food Selection in Angola Black and White Colobus Monkeys (Colobus angolensis palliatus)

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Noah T. Dunham ◽  
Paul Otieno Opere
Keyword(s):  
Food Selection ◽  
Nutritional Ecology ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Colobus Angolensis ◽  
Black And White Colobus ◽  
Time Spent Feeding ◽  
Mineral Concentrations ◽  
Free Ranging

Minerals are vital for many metabolic processes, and mineral deficiencies can adversely impact health and fitness. Mineral concentrations of food items are commonly reported in primate nutritional ecology studies and have been identified as important factors in primate food selection; however, very few studies have quantified daily mineral intake of free-ranging primates. We examined the concentration of 9 minerals (Ca, P, Mg, K, Na, Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn) in foods consumed by <i>Colobus angolensis palliatus</i> inhabiting the Diani Forest of Kenya, and test whether individuals preferentially selected leaves in accordance with their mineral concentrations. We also examined the effects of sex, group, and season on daily mineral intake, quantifying both percentage-based and mass-based intakes. We then compared daily mineral intake values to published recommendations. Behavioral data and plant samples were collected from July 2014 to December 2015. We found that individuals preferred leaves with greater P content and lower Ca content. Daily mineral intake differed significantly between sexes and among groups and seasons. These results are interpretable via differences in time spent feeding and total energy intake. Intakes fell below percentage-based recommendations for P, Na, Fe, Cu, and Mn but met or exceeded mass-based recommendations for all minerals except Na. This discrepancy is likely explained by the conservative nature of percentage-based mineral recommendations and the difficulty of comparing and scaling mass-based mineral recommendations among primate species. Studies that quantify daily mineral intake are needed to better understand the role of minerals on dietary selection, more accurately identify potential mineral deficiencies, and provide more informed recommendations for captive primates.

Individual Recognition, Intragroup Cohesion and Intergroup Spacing: Evidence From Sound Playback To Forest Monkeys

Behaviour ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 60 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 28-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Waser
Keyword(s):  
Individual Recognition ◽  
The Other ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Loud Calls ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Individual Distinctiveness ◽  
Black And White Colobus ◽  
Intergroup Spacing

AbstractThe contexts and functions of several loud mangabey vocalizations, particularly the "whoopgobble", were investigated observationally and experimentally. Whoopgobbles are notable for their audibility and distinctiveness over long distances, their temporal pattern of delivery, and particularly their stereotypy and individual distinctiveness. On the other hand, contexts of and responses to these vocalizations are variable and sometimes nonobvious. In order to control context and more systematically investigate response, an experimental method involving playback of recorded vocalizations was developed. Although precautions against habituation were necessary, mangabey responses to playbacks were clearcut and repeatable. Answering vocalizations, changes in group movement, and changes in the dispersion of individuals within a group occurred only in response to mangabey vocalizations. Whoopgobble playbacks provoked a pattern of response, including most notably the rapid approach of one adult male (the "RA" male) from each group, which was specific to this call. Playback of whoopgobbles between 100 and 600m from mangabey groups indicated that this call does transmit information regarding the identity of the vocalizing individual and group over these distances. Test groups moved away from neighboring- and unknown-group calls, but towards those of their own males - particularly those of RA males. RA males, on the other hand, do not approach calls of other males from their own groups. Within a group, whoopgobbles may thus increase cohesion and influence the direction of movements. Characteristics of whoopgobble form and context are discussed with regard to hypothesized functions of these and other forest monkey loud calls. Responses by free-ranging mangabeys to playback of the whoopgobble confirm its role in maintaining distance between groups. Response was found to be independent of group size, despite the fact that whoopgobble rate is closely related to this variable and thus could transmit such information. Since responses were also found to be independent of location within the home range, intergroup spacing among mangabeys appears not be be "territorial", site defense does not occur. Nevertheless, the central areas in at least some mangabey groups' home ranges were never penetrated by neighbors. Playback tests with black-and-white colobus and blue monkeys, among which territorial spacing has been reported, indicate that responses to loud calls have some degree of site-specificity among these species. But the mangabey pattern of intergroup spacing appears to result from a combination of low group density, site attachment within groups, and site-independent avoidance between groups. These results emphasize that spacing "system" and "pattern" are not necessarily equivalent; a given set of spacing behaviors can result in different spacing patterns under different ecological conditions, while a given pattern may be obtained by any of several behavioral means. Evidence for site-independent spacing in other primate species is discussed.

Diet and Use of Fallback Foods by Rwenzori Black-and-White Colobus (Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii) in Rwanda: Implications for Supergroup Formation

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-457
Author(s):  
Alex Miller ◽  
Debra Judge ◽  
Grace Uwingeneye ◽  
Dieudonne Ndayishimiye ◽  
Cyril C. Grueter
Keyword(s):  
Fallback Foods ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Colobus Angolensis ◽  
Black And White Colobus

Feeding competition inferred from patch depletion in a supergroup of Rwenzori black-and-white colobus monkeys (Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii) in Rwanda

Behaviour ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 157 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 731-760
Author(s):  
Alex Miller ◽  
Debra S. Judge ◽  
Grace Uwingeneye ◽  
Dieudonne Ndayishimiye ◽  
Beth A. Kaplin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scramble Competition ◽  
Feeding Competition ◽  
Intake Rate ◽  
Contest Competition ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Mature Leaves ◽  
Colobus Monkeys ◽  
Colobus Angolensis ◽  
Black And White Colobus ◽  
Patch Depletion

Abstract Competition for food is often a cost associated with living in a group, and can occur in an indirect (scramble) or direct (contest) form. We investigated feeding competition in a supergroup of Rwenzori black-and-white colobus monkeys (Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii) in Rwanda, with the aim of establishing whether freedom from scramble competition allows these monkeys to form supergroups. We used the patch depletion method, measuring intake rate coupled with movement rate, to assess if food patches become depleted over the occupancy period. Resource depletion was evident when the colobus fed on young leaves, but not when feeding on mature leaves. Scramble competition was inferred from a negative correlation between group size and change in intake rate over patch occupancy. Between-group contest competition was inferred from displacement from patches. Although feeding competition exists for select resources, limited competition for mature leaves may enable Rwenzori colobus to live in a supergroup of hundreds of individuals in this montane forest.

scholarly journals Logging Activity Adversely Impacts Primate Diversity and Density in the Kwabre Rainforest of Ghana

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Danquah ◽  
Elvis Hackman Tetteh
Keyword(s):  
Forest Degradation ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Encounter Rates ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Black And White Colobus ◽  
Primate Diversity ◽  
The Impact

Knowledge on the impacts of logging activity on inhabitant primate species in Kwabre Rainforest, Ghana, is vital for the development of a comprehensive conservation and management plan. With this background, primate density and diversity were recorded along line transects in logged and unlogged areas (strata) to assess the impact of logging activity on these parameters. Six distinct primate species were confirmed including Roloway monkey (Cercopithecus roloway, listed as endangered in the IUCN List of Threatened Species), white-naped mangabey (Cercocebus lunulatus, vulnerable), and Geoffroy’s black-and-white colobus (Colobus vellerosus, vulnerable). There was a significant difference (Mann-WhitneyUtest:U=36.0,p<0.01) in primate encounter rates between the logged and unlogged strata with higher species diversity in unlogged stratum (H=2.91) compared to the logged stratum (H=1.44). Regression analysis indicated a significant effect (r2=0.945,p<0.01) of logging on primate encounter rates. Our results suggest that logging activity can alter composition of primate communities. One option to forestall further forest degradation and its adverse effects on primates would be to grant the Kwabre Rainforest protected area status under Ghanaian law and manage it under an integrated conservation plan that includes neighbouring Ankasa Conservation Area in Ghana and Tanoé Forest in Cote d’Ivoire.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document