10 - Primate Ecology Flashcards
Ecology
- Interactions between organisms and their environment
- Physical environment (habitat)
- Biological environment (other organisms)
Four components that total energy required depends on
- Basal metabolism
- Active metabolism
- Growth and growth rate
- Reproductive effort
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
- rate at which an animal expends energy at rest, for basic body maintenance
- e.g. maintaining body temp
Active metabolic rate
- The energy required above and beyond baseline for daily activities
- e.g. locomotion, digestion
- depends on size of animal, how far/fast its travelling
Active metabolic rate for a baboon sized primate
~2x BMR
Growth Rate
- Building new tissue requires energy beyond BMR and AMR
- Juveniles/infants have higher energy requirements than predicted for their size
Reproductive effort
- For females, additional cost of reproduction
- Late pregnancy: +25% calories
- Lactation +50% calories
Nutritional Requirements
- 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
Secondary compounds
- Plant defenses
- Alkaloids (disrupt normal cell processes)
- Tannins (reduce digestibility of plants)
Where are secondary compound concentrations highest
- Mature leaves
- Seeds
- Lower in fruits
- Flowers
- New leaves
Primate foods
- Fruit (frugivory)
- Leaves (folivory)
- Insects (insectivory)
Leaves (folivory)
- Young (more easily digested proteins and sugars)
- Mature (high cellulose content, requires specific adaptations)
Insects (insectivory)
Social insects vs solitary
Strepsirrhines diet
Insects (protein) and gum/fruit (carbs)
Monkeys/apes diet
Insects /leaves (protein) and fruit (carbs)
Gut of fruit eaters
long small intestine, broad incisors
gut of leaf eaters
enlarged large intestine, small incisors
Gut of gum eaters
Long cecumm stout incisors
Gut of insect eaters
Short and simple gut, sharp cusps
size order of primates
Insectivores –> frugivores –> folivores
BMR and body size relationship
- 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)
Temporal availability
- 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
Keystone resources
- Fall back foods during scarce seasons
- e.g. figs
Spatial distribution
- 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
