10 - Primate Ecology Flashcards

1
Q

Ecology

A
  • Interactions between organisms and their environment
  • Physical environment (habitat)
  • Biological environment (other organisms)
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2
Q

Four components that total energy required depends on

A
  • Basal metabolism
  • Active metabolism
  • Growth and growth rate
  • Reproductive effort
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3
Q

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

A
  • rate at which an animal expends energy at rest, for basic body maintenance
  • e.g. maintaining body temp
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4
Q

Active metabolic rate

A
  • The energy required above and beyond baseline for daily activities
  • e.g. locomotion, digestion
  • depends on size of animal, how far/fast its travelling
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5
Q

Active metabolic rate for a baboon sized primate

A

~2x BMR

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6
Q

Growth Rate

A
  • Building new tissue requires energy beyond BMR and AMR
  • Juveniles/infants have higher energy requirements than predicted for their size
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7
Q

Reproductive effort

A
  • For females, additional cost of reproduction
  • Late pregnancy: +25% calories
  • Lactation +50% calories
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8
Q

Nutritional Requirements

A
  • Diet must satisfy energy requirements & specific nutrients they cannot synthesize themselves
  • Protein/amino acids for growth, reproduction, regulation of bodily functions
  • Fats, oils, & carbs provide energy
  • Trace vitamins & minerals
  • Diet must also minimise dangerous toxins
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9
Q

Secondary compounds

A
  • Plant defenses
  • Alkaloids (disrupt normal cell processes)
  • Tannins (reduce digestibility of plants)
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10
Q

Where are secondary compound concentrations highest

A
  • Mature leaves
  • Seeds
  • Lower in fruits
  • Flowers
  • New leaves
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11
Q

Primate foods

A
  • Fruit (frugivory)
  • Leaves (folivory)
  • Insects (insectivory)
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12
Q

Leaves (folivory)

A
  • Young (more easily digested proteins and sugars)
  • Mature (high cellulose content, requires specific adaptations)
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13
Q

Insects (insectivory)

A

Social insects vs solitary

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14
Q

Strepsirrhines diet

A

Insects (protein) and gum/fruit (carbs)

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15
Q

Monkeys/apes diet

A

Insects /leaves (protein) and fruit (carbs)

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16
Q

Gut of fruit eaters

A

long small intestine, broad incisors

17
Q

gut of leaf eaters

A

enlarged large intestine, small incisors

18
Q

Gut of gum eaters

A

Long cecumm stout incisors

19
Q

Gut of insect eaters

A

Short and simple gut, sharp cusps

20
Q

size order of primates

A

Insectivores –> frugivores –> folivores

21
Q

BMR and body size relationship

A
  • BMR scales with body size
  • Smaller animals require small but high quality foods that can be processed quickly (e.g. insects)
  • Larger animals are not constrained by quality (more quantity) as can process more slowly (larger guts)
22
Q

Temporal availability

A
  • In tropics depends on day length and rainfall
  • During scarcity, may switch to lower quality diet (unripe fruit, mature leaves) and/or reduce energy expenditures
23
Q

Keystone resources

A
  • Fall back foods during scarce seasons
  • e.g. figs
24
Q

Spatial distribution

A
  • Food varies in density (most abundant is leaves, then fruit, then insects)
  • Primates need to travel to find food
  • Distance traveled will depend on density of food they want
25
Q

Range

A

The geographical area in which a group (not a species) can be found

26
Q

Home range

A

Total area used by a group

27
Q

Day range

A

Area used by an individual on a daily basis

28
Q

folivore vs frugivore day and hime range

A
  • Day range: Folivore larger
  • Home range: Frugivore larger
29
Q

Costs of territoriality

A
  • Constant vigilance
  • Advertising presence
  • Engage in defense
30
Q

Benefits of territoriality

A

Prevent outsiders from exploiting limited resources

31
Q

Two functions of territoriality

A
  • Resource defense
  • Mate defense
32
Q

How to avoid predators

A
  • Alarm calls
  • Swarm
  • Associate with other primate species
  • LIVE/FORAGE IN GROUPS!
33
Q

Three Ds of sociality and predation

A
  • Detection (more eyes on lookout)
  • Deterrence (swarming)
  • Dilution (better him than me)
34
Q

Sociality benefits

A
  • Resource control (intergroup competition)
  • Predator avoidance
  • Mates
35
Q

Sociality costs

A
  • Intragroup competition
  • Disease
  • Incest