Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
J Hum Evol. 2010 Jan;58(1):43-55. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.08.001. Epub 2009 Sep 30.
An extensive suite of isotopic data (delta(13)C, delta(15)N, and delta(18)O) from enamel apatite and bone collagen of adult male and female wild chimpanzees establishes baseline values for Pan troglodytes verus in a primary rainforest setting. The Ganta chimpanzee sample derives from a restricted region in northern Liberia. Diet is examined using stable light isotopes at three life stages-infant, young juvenile, and adult-and developmental differences are investigated within and between individual males and females. The isotopic data are very homogeneous with few exceptions. Juvenile females show consistent enrichment in (13)C relative to infants, while juvenile males do not. These data suggest that age at weaning may be more variable for male offspring who survive to adulthood than for female offspring. Alternatively, or additionally, the weaning diet of males and females may differ, with greater consumption of technologically extracted insects and/or nuts by young females. Metabolic differences, including growth and hormone-mediated responses, may also contribute to the observed variation. The Ganta chimpanzee data offer an independent and objective line of evidence to primatologists interested in the dietary strategies of the great apes and to paleoanthropologists seeking comparative models for reconstructing early hominin subsistence patterns. Despite the high diversity of dietary items consumed by chimpanzees, isotopic signatures of chimpanzees from a primary rainforest setting exhibit narrow ranges of variation similar to chimpanzees in more open habitats.
大量的同位素数据（δ¹³C、δ¹⁵N 和 δ¹⁸O）来自成年雄性和雌性野生黑猩猩的牙釉质磷灰石和骨胶原，为原始雨林环境中的 Pan troglodytes verus 建立了基线值。甘塔黑猩猩样本来自利比里亚北部的一个受限制的地区。通过稳定的轻同位素在三个生命阶段（婴儿、幼年和成年）来研究饮食，并在个体男性和女性内部和之间研究发育差异。除了少数例外，同位素数据非常均匀。与婴儿相比，幼年雌性的（13）C 富集一致，而幼年雄性则没有。这些数据表明，对于成年后幸存的雄性后代来说，断奶年龄可能比雌性后代更具可变性。或者，雌性和雄性的断奶饮食可能不同，年轻雌性可能更多地食用技术提取的昆虫和/或坚果。代谢差异，包括生长和激素介导的反应，也可能导致观察到的变异。甘塔黑猩猩的数据为对大型类人猿饮食策略感兴趣的灵长类动物学家和寻求重建早期人类生存模式的古人类学家提供了独立和客观的证据。尽管黑猩猩食用的食物种类繁多，但来自原始雨林环境的黑猩猩的同位素特征显示出与更开阔栖息地的黑猩猩相似的狭窄变化范围。
