Pitheciine Action Group
Picky, Picky: The Bases For Diet Choice in Pitheciins
Barnett, A.A., E.Z. Setz, L.P. Pinto, A. Di Fiore, J. Vié & E.
Fernandez-Duque
Pitheciins are highly selective feeders, often traveling long distances to
feed on particular fruits and/or displaying strong preferences for some
diet items, while incorporating others at natural encounter rates. Here,
for Pithecia, Chiropotes and Cacajao, we examine how ecological factors
such as patch size and habitat-wide resource availability influence
foraging behavior. In Chiropotes albinasus, food-patch size determines
feeding pattern, with intense and prolonged feeding occurring in dense
food patches and fast opportunistic bouts (mostly during travel)
occurring in small-dispersed patches. Pithecia appears to be more
opportunistic, with different populations showing distinct diet
programmes. The foraging strategy of Pithecia pithecia, for example,
varies seasonally, with extended feeding on small trees in times of fruit
scarcity with short yet productive feeding bouts in large trees during
times of abundance. In Cacajao melanocephalus ouakary, feeding patch
size interacts with seasonal food availability characteristic of flood plain
forest environments to influence diet choice, but fruit chemistry and
physical characteristics of fruits also play a role. Combining data from
representative on-going studies on each pitheciin genus, we consider
cause-and-effect behind dietary preferences, and analyze roles of
seasonal availability, patch size, canopy architecture, handling time, seed
defences, and nutritional rewards in influencing foraging strategies and
diet choice. We also call attention to regional variation in diet and
consider the factors underlying this variation.
Return to symposium programme
Barnett, A.A., E.Z. Setz, L.P. Pinto, A. Di Fiore, J. Vié & E.
Fernandez-Duque
Pitheciins are highly selective feeders, often traveling long distances to
feed on particular fruits and/or displaying strong preferences for some
diet items, while incorporating others at natural encounter rates. Here,
for Pithecia, Chiropotes and Cacajao, we examine how ecological factors
such as patch size and habitat-wide resource availability influence
foraging behavior. In Chiropotes albinasus, food-patch size determines
feeding pattern, with intense and prolonged feeding occurring in dense
food patches and fast opportunistic bouts (mostly during travel)
occurring in small-dispersed patches. Pithecia appears to be more
opportunistic, with different populations showing distinct diet
programmes. The foraging strategy of Pithecia pithecia, for example,
varies seasonally, with extended feeding on small trees in times of fruit
scarcity with short yet productive feeding bouts in large trees during
times of abundance. In Cacajao melanocephalus ouakary, feeding patch
size interacts with seasonal food availability characteristic of flood plain
forest environments to influence diet choice, but fruit chemistry and
physical characteristics of fruits also play a role. Combining data from
representative on-going studies on each pitheciin genus, we consider
cause-and-effect behind dietary preferences, and analyze roles of
seasonal availability, patch size, canopy architecture, handling time, seed
defences, and nutritional rewards in influencing foraging strategies and
diet choice. We also call attention to regional variation in diet and
consider the factors underlying this variation.
Return to symposium programme
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SYMPOSIUM
Pitheciins: Ecology & Conservation
XXI Congress of the International Primatological Society
Pitheciins: Ecology & Conservation
XXI Congress of the International Primatological Society
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