School of Archaeology and Anthropology, College of Arts and Social Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
Am J Primatol. 2012 Nov;74(11):1054-63. doi: 10.1002/ajp.22059. Epub 2012 Jul 31.
As plants may contain low levels of some minerals including sodium, copper, and phosphorous, herbivores may become deficient in these nutrients. In 2001, Hurricane Iris hit the Monkey River Forest in Belize causing substantial damage to the food supply of the black howler monkey population (Alouatta pigra) living there. This included an 18-month absence in fruit production and a complete loss of figs that are high in calcium. In this article, we describe the post-hurricane diet of this monkey population and compare the mineral content of food items to each other and to recommendations for non-human primates [NRC 2003]. We also investigate food selection in relation to potentially limiting minerals. Behavioral data from four groups of howlers (2002-2006) and samples of all ingested food items were collected and a sample of 99 plant from 18 food species was analyzed for mineral content. Unexpectedly, the post-hurricane diet contained more mature leaves than new leaves despite the availability of new leaves. Leaves contained higher amounts of minerals than reproductive parts and with the exception of Cecropia peltata stems, plant parts were low in sodium. Cecropia peltata is a pioneer species that grows following habitat disturbance thus the ingestion of these stems may be a potential mechanism to avoid sodium deficiency in this damaged forest. Calcium and zinc were found above recommended values in most food items; however, both positively predicted food selection, which may reflect a difference between their abundance and their bioavailability. However, as mature leaves contained more calcium than other plant parts, their high post-hurricane consumption may also be a response to the absence of figs and the need to find an alternate calcium source. This study highlights how habitat disturbance may affect mineral abundance and the dietary choices of primates.
由于植物可能含有低水平的一些矿物质，包括钠、铜和磷，草食动物可能会缺乏这些营养物质。2001 年，飓风“艾里斯”袭击了伯利兹的猴子河森林，对生活在那里的黑吼猴（Alouatta pigra）种群的食物供应造成了巨大破坏。这包括 18 个月没有水果生产，以及完全失去了富含钙的无花果。在本文中，我们描述了这种猴子种群在飓风后的饮食，并将食物中矿物质的含量相互比较，并与非人类灵长类动物的建议进行比较[NRC 2003]。我们还研究了与潜在限制矿物质有关的食物选择。从四个猴群（2002-2006 年）收集了行为数据和所有摄入的食物样本，并对 18 种食物中的 99 种植物样本进行了矿物质含量分析。出乎意料的是，尽管有新叶可用，但飓风后的饮食中含有更多的成熟叶而不是新叶。叶片中的矿物质含量高于生殖部位，除了 Cecropia peltata 茎外，植物部位的钠含量较低。Cecropia peltata 是一种先锋物种，在栖息地受到干扰后生长，因此摄入这些茎可能是避免在这片受损森林中缺钠的潜在机制。在大多数食物中，钙和锌的含量都高于推荐值；然而，两者都积极预测了食物选择，这可能反映了它们的丰度和生物利用度之间的差异。然而，由于成熟叶片中的钙含量高于其他植物部位，因此它们在飓风后的高摄入量也可能是对无花果的缺乏和寻找替代钙源的需要的反应。本研究强调了栖息地干扰如何影响矿物质丰度和灵长类动物的饮食选择。
