Department of Systematics and Ecology, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Cidade Universitária, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil.
J Chem Ecol. 2011 Feb;37(2):145-9. doi: 10.1007/s10886-011-9911-x. Epub 2011 Jan 27.
The typical diet of Callithrix marmosets is based on gums, although fungi are the dietary staple of a single group of Callithrix flaviceps studied in the Augusto Ruschi Biological Reserve, in southeastern Brazil. Here, we present the nutritional composition of two species of Mycocitrus fungi consumed by C. flaviceps, and discuss possible determinants of the preference of the marmosets for fungi over gums. The fungi were high in sugar/fiber and poor in proteins, and were similar in composition to the gums exploited by other marmosets and to the fungi consumed by Callimico goeldii. The reduced protein content of the fungi may be offset by the arthropod component of the diet of the Callithrix flaviceps study group. The low relative metabolic rate and enlarged cecum of Callithrix enable these marmosets to exploit foods with a high fiber content. In addition, the greater digestibility of chitin in comparison with plant fiber may make fungi a nutritionally more valuable resource to marmosets than gums. Marmosets, thus, may prefer to feed on fungi when an adequate supply of this resource is available in the environment.
普通卷尾猴的典型食物是树胶，但巴西东南部 Augusto Ruschi 生物保护区中的一组 Callithrix flaviceps 以真菌为主要食物。在此，我们介绍了两种被 C. flaviceps 消耗的 Mycocitrus 真菌的营养成分，并讨论了卷尾猴对真菌而非树胶的偏好的可能决定因素。这些真菌含糖/纤维量高，蛋白质含量低，与其他卷尾猴所利用的树胶以及 Callimico goeldii 消耗的真菌相似。真菌中的低蛋白含量可能会被研究组中 Callithrix flaviceps 的节肢动物成分所抵消。Callithrix 的低相对代谢率和扩大的盲肠使这些狨猴能够利用高纤维含量的食物。此外，与植物纤维相比，几丁质的消化率更高，这使得真菌对狨猴来说比树胶更有营养价值。因此，当环境中这种资源充足时，狨猴可能更愿意以真菌为食。
