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Feeding Selectivity by Mantled Howler Monkeys (Alouatta palliata) in Relation to Leaf Secondary Chemistry in Hymenaea courbaril

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Abstract

This study is a quantitative examination of primate feeding selectivity in relation to secondary chemistry within a single plant species, Hymenaea courbaril. It provides the first evidence that sesquiterpenes may act as feeding deterrents in mantled howler monkeys. A free-ranging group of mantled howler monkeys at the study site of Sector Santa Rosa, Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica were observed for the 2-month period of H. courbaril leaf flush in 1999. Tree characteristic data and leaf specimens were collected from 22 focal trees. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry were used to estimate relative percentages of sesquiterpenes in leaf specimens. The monkeys fed only on the youngest leaves and only from particular trees. Whereas leaf stage selectivity was likely governed by tannin content and structural carbohydrates in younger and older leaf stages, respectively, differential tree use may be related to variability in sesquiterpene content. There is evidence that α-copaene may have played a role in interindividual tree use, and that cyperene may also be implicated. However, there is no reported evidence of antiherbivore activity for cyperene.

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Acknowledgement

BJW thanks the administration and staff of Sector Santa Rosa for their assistance and permission to conduct fieldwork. Assistance with plant specimen analyses was provided by Paul Kostyniak, Jean Langenheim, Claudia Paul, and Annagret Meiners. Ken Glander and Linda Fedigan provided advice, guidance, and animal tagging. Special thanks to the following field assistants: Bertha Fearon, Graeme Hunt, Alex Perez, and Tanya Smith. Carol Berman provided guidance in the preparation of Welker’s dissertation of which this study is a part. Financial support was received from NSF, Sigma Xi, Graduate Student Association of SUNY Buffalo, the Trimble Corp., and various grants from SUNY Geneseo.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, State University of New York, Geneseo, NY, USA

    B. J. Welker

  2. Institut für Organische Chemie, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    W. König

  3. Paul Hartman AG, Paul-Hartman-Str. 12, Heidenheim, 89522, Germany

    M. Pietsch

  4. Department of Biology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA

    R. P. Adams

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  1. B. J. Welker
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  2. W. König
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  3. M. Pietsch
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  4. R. P. Adams
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Correspondence to B. J. Welker.

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W. König, deceased.

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Welker, B.J., König, W., Pietsch, M. et al. Feeding Selectivity by Mantled Howler Monkeys (Alouatta palliata) in Relation to Leaf Secondary Chemistry in Hymenaea courbaril . J Chem Ecol 33, 1186–1196 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-007-9292-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-007-9292-3

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