Sponheimer M, Loudon J E, Codron D, Howells M E, Pruetz J D, Codron J, de Ruiter D J, Lee-Thorp J A
Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado at Boulder, 80309, USA.
J Hum Evol. 2006 Aug;51(2):128-33. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2006.02.002. Epub 2006 Mar 6.
Several stable carbon isotopic studies have shown that South African australopiths consumed significant quantities of C(4) resources (tropical grasses, sedges, or animals that eat those foods), but relatively little is known about the consumption of such resources by chimpanzees. Here, we present stable carbon isotopic data for 36 chimpanzee hair samples from Fongoli, one of the driest and most open areas inhabited by chimpanzees. These data suggest that the Fongoli chimpanzees consume little in the way of C(4) vegetation or animals that eat such vegetation, even though these resources are locally abundant and preferred fruits are more widely scattered than at most chimpanzee study sites. The homogeneity of the Fongoli results is especially striking and recalls the narrow isotopic distribution of stenotopic savanna mammals. This is in stark contrast to what has been observed for australopiths, which had highly variable diets and consumed about 35% C(4) vegetation on average. Carbon isotope data for modern and fossil Papio depict a dietarily variable genus with a tendency to consume C(4) vegetation. This trophic flexibility, or willingness to consume C(4) savanna resources, may make Papio a more profitable ecological analog for australopiths than chimpanzees.
多项稳定碳同位素研究表明，南非南方古猿消耗了大量的C4资源（热带草本植物、莎草或食用这些食物的动物），但对于黑猩猩对这类资源的消耗情况，我们了解得相对较少。在此，我们展示了来自方戈利的36份黑猩猩毛发样本的稳定碳同位素数据，方戈利是黑猩猩栖息的最干旱、最开阔的地区之一。这些数据表明，尽管这些资源在当地很丰富，且与大多数黑猩猩研究地点相比，方戈利的黑猩猩更喜欢的水果分布更为分散，但方戈利的黑猩猩很少食用C4植被或食用此类植被的动物。方戈利的研究结果具有显著的同质性，让人想起狭食性稀树草原哺乳动物狭窄的同位素分布。这与南方古猿的情况形成了鲜明对比，南方古猿的饮食高度多样化，平均消耗约35%的C4植被。现代和化石狒狒的碳同位素数据显示，这是一个饮食多样化的属，有消耗C4植被的倾向。这种营养灵活性，或者说食用C4稀树草原资源的意愿，可能使狒狒成为比黑猩猩更适合作为南方古猿生态类比的对象。
