Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa; Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Am J Primatol. 2014 Jun;76(6):539-50. doi: 10.1002/ajp.22246. Epub 2014 Jan 30.
Macroscopic inspection of feces has been used to investigate primate diet. The limitations of this method to identify food-items to species level have long been recognized, but ascertaining aspects of diet (e.g., folivory) are achievable by quantifying food-items in feces. Quantification methods applied include rating food-items using a scale of abundance, estimating their percentage volume, and weighing food-items. However, verification as to whether or not composition data differ, depending on which quantification method is used during macroscopic inspection, has not been done. We analyzed feces collected from ten adult chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) of the Kanyawara community in Kibale National Park, Uganda. We compare dietary composition totals obtained from using different quantification methods and ascertain if sieve mesh size influences totals calculated. Finally, this study validates findings from direct observation of feeding by the same individuals from whom the fecal samples had been collected. Contrasting diet composition totals obtained by using different quantification methods and sieve mesh sizes can influence folivory and frugivory estimates. However, our findings were based on the assumption that fibrous matter contained pith and leaf fragments only, which remains to be verified. We advocate macroscopic inspection of feces can be a valuable tool to provide a generalized overview of dietary composition for primate populations. As most populations remain unhabituated, scrutinizing and validating indirect measures are important if they are to be applied to further understand inter- and intra-species dietary variation.
宏观检查粪便已被用于研究灵长类动物的饮食。长期以来，人们已经认识到这种方法在确定食物种类方面的局限性，但通过量化粪便中的食物来确定饮食方面（例如食叶性）是可行的。应用的量化方法包括使用丰富度量表对食物进行评分、估计其体积百分比和称重食物。然而，尚未确定在宏观检查过程中使用哪种量化方法时，组成数据是否会有所不同。我们分析了来自乌干达基巴莱国家公园卡尼亚瓦拉社区的 10 只成年黑猩猩（Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii）的粪便。我们比较了使用不同量化方法获得的饮食组成总数，并确定筛网尺寸是否会影响计算的总数。最后，这项研究验证了来自同一批个体的直接观察喂养的发现，这些个体的粪便样本已被收集。使用不同的量化方法和筛网尺寸获得的饮食组成总数的对比会影响食叶性和食果性的估计。然而，我们的发现是基于纤维物质仅包含髓心和叶片碎片的假设，这仍有待验证。我们提倡宏观检查粪便可以成为一种有价值的工具，可以为灵长类动物种群的饮食组成提供总体概述。由于大多数种群仍然不习惯，仔细研究和验证间接措施非常重要，如果要应用它们来进一步了解种间和种内饮食变化。
