Summary
Dietary data have been used to address numerous theoretical issues, yet we have little understanding of dietary flexibility in primates. Previous comparative research has either explicitly or implicitly assumed that the closer the phylogenetic proximity between two taxa, or the spatial proximity between two populations of the same taxon, the more similar their diets will be. We examine such assumptions by making dietary comparisons among arboreal Cercopithecus species at the intergroup, interdemic, interpopulational, and interspecific levels. Our analyses reveal considerable variation and sometimes the magnitude of the variation of particular contrasts is unexpected. We conclude that dietary flexibility blurs our traditional trophic assessment of primate species. Thus, a study of the diet of a single group, in a specific habitat, at one point in time may not be representative of the species as a whole. This flexibility suggests that a profitable avenue of future research is quantifying the degree of flexibility that different primate lineages have in their digestive strategies.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Anapol, F., and Lee, S, 1994. Morphological adaptation to diet in anthropoid primates. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 94:239–261.
Beeson, M., Tame, A., Keeming, E., and Lea, S. E. G. 1996. Food habits of guenons (Cercopithiecus spp.) in Afromontane forest. Afr. J. Ecol. 34:202–210.
Brugière, D., Gautier, J.-P., Moungazi, A., and Gautier-Hion, A. (in press). Primate diet and biomass in relation to vegetation composition and fruiting phenology in a rain forest in Gabon. Int. J. Primatol.
Butynski, T. M. 1990. Comparative ecology of blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis) in high and low density subpopulations. Ecol. Monogr. 60:1–26.
Chapman, C. A. 1987. Flexibility in diets of three species of Costa Rican Primates. Folia Primatol. 49:90–105.
Chapman, C. A. 1995. Primate seed dispersal: Coevolution and conservation implications. Evol. Anthro. 4:74–82.
Chapman, C. A., Balcomb, S. R., Gillespie, T., Skorupa, J. P., and Struhsaker, T. T. 2000. Long-term effects of logging on African primate communities: A 28 year comparison from Kibale National Park, Uganda. Conserv. Biol. 14:207–217.
Chapman, C. A., and Chapman, L. J. 1990. Dietary variability in primate populations. Primates. 31:121–128.
Chapman, C. A., and Chapman, L. J. 1999. Implications of small scale variation in ecological conditions for the diet and density of red colobus monkeys. Primates. 40:215–232.
Chapman, C. A., and Chapman, L. J. in press. Plant-animal coevolution: Is it thwarted by spatial and temporal variation in animal foraging. In: D. Levey, W. R. Silva, and M. Galetti (eds.), Frugivory and Seed Dispersal: Biodiversity and Conservation Perspectives, CABI Publishers, New York.
Chapman, C. A., Chapman, L. J., and Gillespie, T. R. (in press). Scale issues in the study of primate foraging: red colobus of Kibale National Park. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.
Chapman, C. A., Chapman, L. J., Wrangham, R., Isabirye-Basuta, G., and Ben-David, K. 1997. Spatial and temporal variability in the structure of a tropical forest. Afr. J. Ecol. 35:287–302.
Chapman, C. A., and Lambert, J. E. 2000. Habitat alteration and the conservation of African primates: a case study of Kibale National Park, Uganda. Am. J. Primatol. 50:169–186.
Chapman, C. A., Wrangham, R. W., Chapman, L. J., Kennard, D. K., and Zanne, A. E. 1999. Fruit and flower phenology at two sites in Kibale National Park, Uganda. J. Trop. Ecol. 15:189–211.
Chivers, D. J., and Hladik, C. M. 1980. Morphology of the gastrointestinal tract in primates: Comparison with other mammals in relation to diet. J. Morphol. 116:337–386.
Clutton-Brock, T. H., and Harvey, P. H. 1977. Primate ecology and social organization. J. Zool. (London) 183:1–39.
Conklin-Brittain, N. L., Wrangham, R. W., and Hunt, K. D. 1998. Dietary responses of chimpanzees and cercopithecines to seasonal variation in fruit abundance. II. Macronutrients. Int. J. Primatol, 19:971–998.
Cords, M. 1986. Interspecific and intraspecific variation in the diet of two forest guenons, Cercopithecus ascanius and Cercopithecus mitis. J. Anim. Ecol. 55:811–827.
Cords, M. 1987. Mixed-species association of Cercopithecus monkeys in the Kakamega Forest, Kenya. Univ. Calif. Pub. Zool. 117:1–109.
Cords, M. 1990. Mixed-species association of East African guenons: general patterns or specific examples? Am. J. Primatol. 21:101–114.
Davies, A. G. 1994. Colobine populations. In: A. G. Davies, and J. F. Oates (eds.), Colobine Monkeys: Their Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, pp. 285–310. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Davies, A. G., Bennett, E. L., and Waterman, P. G. 1988. Food selection by two south-east Asian colobine monkeys (Presbytis rubicunda and Presbytis melalophos) in relation to plant chemistry. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 34:33–56.
Davies, A. G., Oates, J. F., and Dasilva, G. A. 1999. Patterns of frugivory in three West African colobine monkeys. Int. J. Primatol. 20:327–357.
Dunbar, R. I. M. 1998. The social brain hypothesis. Evol. Anthropol. 6:178–190.
Fairgrieve, C. 1995. The Comparative Ecology of Blue Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni) in Logged and Unlogged Forest, Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda: The Effect of Logging on Habitat and Population Density, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Fashing, P. J., and Cords, M. 2000. Diurnal primate densities and biomass in the Kakamega Forest: An evaluation of census methods and comparison among other forests. Am. J. Primatol. 50:139–152.
Fischer, K., and Chapman, C. A. 1993. Frugivores and fruit syndromes: Differences in patterns at the genus and species levels. Oikos 66:472–482.
Gathua, M. 2000. Intraspecific Variation in Foraging Patterns of Redtail Monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius) in the Kakamega Forest, Kenya. Ph.D. Thesis, Columbia University, New York.
Gautier-Hion, A. 1980. Seasonal variation of diet related to species and sex in a community of Cercopithecus monkeys. J. Anim. Ecol. 49:237–269.
Gautier-Hion, A. 1988. The diet and dietary habits of forest guenons. In: A. Gautier-Hion, F. Bourlière, J.-P. Gautier, and J. Kingdon (eds.), A primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons, pp. 257–283. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Gautier-Hion, A., Emmons, L. H., and Dubost, G. 1980. A comparison of the diets of three major groups of primary consumers of Gabon (Primates, Squirrels, and Ruminants). Oecologia 45:182–189.
Gautier-Hion, A., Duplantier, J. M., Quris, R., Feer, C., Sourd, C., Decoux, J. P., Dubost, G., Emmons, L., Erard, C., Hetckestweiler, P., Moungazi, A., Roussilhon, C., and Thiollay, J. M. 1985. Fruit characters as a basis of fruit choice and seed dispersal in a tropical forest vertebrate community. Oecologia 65:324–337.
Gautier-Hion, A., and Michaloud, G. 1989. Are figs always keystone resources for tropical frugivorous vertebrates? A test in Gabon. Ecology 70:1826–1833.
Gautier-Hion, A., Gautier, J.-P., and Maisels, F. 1993. Seed dispersal versus seed predation: An inter-site comparison of two related African monkeys. Vegetatio 107/108:237–244.
Gautier-Hion, A., and Maisels, F. 1994. Mutualism between a leguminous tree and large African monkeys as pollinators. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 34:203–210.
Gautier-Hion, A., Gautier, J.-P., and Moungazi, A. 1997. Do black colobus in mixed-species groups benefit from increased foraging efficiency? C. R. Acad. Sci., Paris 320:67–71.
Grant, J., Chapman, C. A., and Richardson, K. 1992. Defended versus undefended home range size of mammals. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 31:149–161.
Gross, J. E., Wang, Z., and Wunder, B. A. 1985. Effects of food quality and energy needs: Changes in gut morphology and capacity of Microtus ochrogaster. J. Mammal. 66:661–667.
Ham, R. M. 1994. Behaviour and Ecology of Grey-cheeked Mangabeys (Cercocebus albigena) in the Lopé Reserve, Gabon. Ph.D. Thesis, Stirling University, Stirling, Scotland.
Hamilton, A. C. 1974. Distribution patterns of forest trees in Uganda and their historical significance. Vegetatio 29:21–35.
Hamilton, A. C. 1988. Guenon evolution and forest history. In: A. Gautier-Hion, F. Bourlière, J.-P. Gautier, and J. Kingdon (eds.), A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons, pp. 13–34. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Hamilton, A. C. 2001. Hotspots in African forests as Quaternary refugia. In: W. Weber, L. J. T. White, A. Vedder, and L. Naughton-Treves (eds.), African Rain Forest Ecology and Conservation, pp. 57–67. Yale University Press, New Haven.
Hamilton, A. C., Taylor, D., and Vogel, J. 1986. Early forest clearance and environmental degradation in south-west Uganda. Nature 320:164–167.
Harrison, M. J. S. 1986. Feeding ecology of black colobus, Colobus satanas, in Gabon. In: L. Else, and P. C. Lee (eds.), Primate Ecology and Conservation, pp. 31–37. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Harvey, P. H., Martin, R. D., and Clutton-Brock, T. H. 1987. Life history in comparative perspective. In: B. B. Smuts, D. L. Cheney, R. M. Seyfarth, R. W. Wrangham, and T. T. Struhsaker (eds.), Primate Societies, pp. 181–196. Chicago University Press, Chicago.
Herrera, C. M. 1985. Determinants of plant-animal coevolution: The case of mutualistic dispersal of seeds by vertebrates. Oikos 44:132–141.
Herrera, C. M. 1998. Long-term dynamics of Mediterranean frugivorous birds and fleshy fruits: a 12-year study. Ecol. Monogr. 68:511–538.
Hill, W. C. O. 1964. The maintenance of langurs (Colobinae) in captivity: Experiences and some suggestions. Folia Primatol. 2:222–231.
Hladik, A. 1982. Dynamique d’une forêt équatoriale africaine: mesures en temps réel et comparaison du potentiel de croissance des différentes espèces. Acta Oecol., Oecol. Gene 3:373–392.
Holmes, R. T., and Pitelka, F. A. 1968. Food overlap among coexisting sandpipers on northern Alaskan tundra. Syst. Zool. 17:305–318.
Howe, H. F. and Smallwood, J. 1982. Ecology of seed dispersal. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 12:201–228.
Isbell, L. A. 1991. Contest and scramble competition: patterns of female aggression and ranging behaviour among primates. Behav. Ecol. 2:143–155.
Johns A. D., and Skorupa, J. P. 1987. Responses of rain-forest primates to habitat disturbance: A review. Int. J. Primatol. 8:157–191.
Kaplin, B. A., and Moermond, T. C. 1998. Variation in seed handling of two species of forest monkeys in Rwanda. Am. J. Primatol. 45:56–71.
Karasow, W. H., and Diamond, J. M. 1988. Interplay between physiology and ecology in digestion. BioScience 38:602–611.
Kay, R. F. 1977. Molar structure and diet in extant Cercopithecidae. In: K. Joysey, and P. Butter (eds), Development, Function and Evolution of Teeth, pp. 309–339. Academic Press, London.
Lambert, J. E. 1998. Primate digestion: Interactions among anatomy, physiology, and feeding ecology. Evol. Anthro. 7:8–20.
Lambert, J. E., and Garber, P. A. 1998. Evolutionary and ecological implications of primate seed dispersal. Am. J. Primatol. 45:9–28.
Lasserre, F., and Gautier-Hion, A. 1995. Impacts environnementaux d’une exploitation sélective en forêt tropicale: l’okoumé en Forêt des Abeilles. Le cas de la société Leroy-Gabon. Rapport.
Lawes, M. J. 1991. Diet of samango monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis erthrarchus) in the Cape Vidal dune forest, South Africa. J. Zool. (London) 224:149–173.
Lawes, M. J., Henzi, S. P., and Perrin, M. R. 1990. Diet and feeding behaviour of samango monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis labiatus) in Ngoye Forest, South Africa. Folia Primatol. 54:57–69.
Leakey, M. 1988. Fossil evidence for the evolution of the guenons. In: A. Gautier-Hion, F. Bourlière, and J.-P. Gautier (eds.), A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons, pp. 7–12. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Lee, W. B., and Houston, D. C. 1993. The effect of diet quality on gut anatomy in British voles. J. Comp. Physio. 163:337–339.
Livingstone D. A. (in press). An historical view of African inland waters. In: T. L. Crisman, L. J. Chapman, C. A. Chapman, and L. S. Kaufman, (eds.), Conservation, Ecology, and Management of African Freshwaters. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Maisels, F., and Gautier-Hion, A. 1994. Why are Caesalpinioideae so important for monkeys in hydromorphic rainforests of the Zaire Basin? In: J. I. Sprent, and D. McKey (eds.), Advances in Legume Systematics 5: The Nitrogen Factor, pp. 189–204. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Maisels, F., Gautier-Hion, A., and Gautier, J.-P. 1994. Diets of two sympatric colobus monkeys in Zaire: More evidence on seed eating in forests on poor soils. Int. J. Primatol. 15:681–701.
Maley, J. 2001. The impact of arid phases on the African rain forest through geological history. In: W. Weber, L. J. T. White, A. Vedder, and L. Naughton-Treves (eds.), African Rain Forest Ecology and Conservation, pp. 68–87. Yale University Press, New Haven.
McKey, D. B. 1978. Soils, vegetation, and seed-eating by black colobus monkeys. In: G. G. Montgomery (ed.), The Ecology of Arboreal Folivores, pp. 423–437. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.
Milton, K. 1998. Physiological ecology of howlers (Alouatta): Energetic and digestive considerations and comparison with colobinae. Int. J. Primatol. 19:513–548.
Milton, K., and May, M. L. 1976. Body weight, diet, and home range area in primates. Nature 259:459–462.
Napier, J. R. 1970. Paleoecology and catarrhine evolution. In: J. R. Napier, and P. H. Napier (eds.), Old World Monkey: Evolution, Systematics, and Behavior, pp. 53–95. Academic Press, New York.
Nunn, C., and Barton, R. 2001. Comparative methods for studying primate adaptation and allometry. Evol. Anthropol. 10:81–98.
Quris, R. 1976. Données comparatives sur la socio-écologie de huit espéces de cercopithecidae vivant dans use même zone de forest primative périodiquement inondée (Nord-est du Gabon). Terre Vie 30:193–209.
Ross, C. 1992. Basal metabolic rate, body weight and diet in primates: an evaluation of the evidence. Folia Primatol. 58:7–23.
Rudran R. 1978a. Socioecology of the blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni) of the Kibale Forest, Uganda. Smith. Contrib. Zool. 249:1–88.
Rudran, R. 1978b. Intergroup dietary comparisons and folivorous tendencies of two groups of blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanniii). In: G. G. Montgomery (ed.), The Ecology of Arboreal Folivores, pp. 483–503. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.
Schlichte, H. J. 1978. The ecology of two groups of blue monkeys, Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni, in an isolated habitat of poor vegetation. In: G. G. Montgomery (ed.), The Ecology of Arboreal Folivores, pp. 505–517. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.
Sheppard, D. J. 2000. Ecology of the Budongo Forest Redtail: Patterns of Habitat use and Population. Density in Primary and Regenerating Forest Sites. M.Sc. thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Sterck, E. H. M., Watts, D. P., and van Schaik, C. P. 1997. The evolution of female social relationships in nonhuman primates. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 41:291–309.
Struhsaker, T. T. 1975. The Red Colobus Monkey. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Struhsaker, T. T. 1978. Food habits of five monkey species in the Kibale Forest, Uganda. In: D. J. Chivers, and J. Herbert (eds.), Recent Advances in Primatology Vol 1. Behavior, pp. 225–248. Academic Press, New York.
Struhsaker, T. T. 1997. Ecology of an African Rain Forest: Logging in Kibale and the Conflict between Conservation and Exploitation. The University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Struhsaker, T. T. 1999. Primate communities in Africa: the consequences of long-term evolution or the artifact of recent hunting? In: J. G. Fleagle, C. Janson, and K. E. Reed (eds.), Primate Communities, pp. 289–294. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Struhsaker, T. T., and Leland, L. 1979. Socioecology of five sympatric monkey species in the Kibale Forest, Uganda. In: J. Rosenblatt, R. A. Hinde, C. Beer, and M. C. Busnel (eds.), Advances in the Study of Behavior, pp. 158–228. Vol. 9, Academic Press, New York.
Tutin, C. E. G. 1999. Fragmented living: Behavioural ecology of primates in a forest fragment in the Lopé Reserve Gabon. Primates 40:249–265.
Tutin, C. E. G., White, L.J.T., Williamson, E. A., Fernandez, M., and McPherson, G. 1994. List of plant species identified in the northern part of the Lopé Reserve, Gabon. Tropics 3:249–276.
Tutin, C. E. G., Ham, R. M., White, L. J. T., and Harrison, M. J. S. 1997. The primate community of the Lopé Reserve, Gabon: Diets, responses to fruit scarcity, and effects on biomass. Am. J. Primatol. 42:1–24.
Tutin, C. E. G., and White, L. J. T. 1998. Primates, phenology and frugivory: Present, past and future patterns in the Lopé Reserve, Gabon. In: D. M. Newbery, H. H. T. Prins, and N. Brown (eds.), Dynamics of Tropical Communities, pp. 309–338. Blackwell Science, Oxford.
Tutin, C. E. G., and White, L. J. T. 1999. The recent evolutionary past of primate communities: Likely environmental impacts during the past three millennia. In: J. G. Fleagle, C. Janson, and K. E. Reed (eds.), Primate Communities, pp. 220–236. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Waser, P. M. 1987. Interactions among primate species. In: B. B. Smuts, D. L. Cheney, R. M. Seyfarth, R. W. Wrangham, and T. T. Struhsaker (eds.), Primate Societies, pp. 210–226. Chicago University Press, Chicago.
White, L. J. T. 1994a. Biomass of rain forest mammals in the Lopé Reserve, Gabon. J. Anim. Ecol. 63:499–512.
White, L. J. T. 1994b. Patterns of fruit-fall phenology in the Lopé Reserve, Gabon. J. Trop. Ecol. 10:289–312.
White, L. J. T., Rogers, M. E., Tutin, C. E. G., Williamson, E. A., and Fernandez, M. 1995. Herbaceous vegetation in different forest types in the Lopé Reserve, Gabon: Implications for keystone food availability. Afr. J. Ecol. 33:124–141.
Wrangham, R. W., Conklin-Brittain, N. L., and Hunt, K. D. 1998. Dietary response of chimpanzees and cercopithecines to seasonal variation in fruit abundance: I. Antifeedants. Int. J. Primatol. 19:949–969.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chapman, C.A. et al. (2004). Variation in the Diets of Cercopithecus Species: Differences within Forests, among Forests, and across Species. In: Glenn, M.E., Cords, M. (eds) The Guenons: Diversity and Adaptation in African Monkeys. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48417-X_22
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48417-X_22
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-306-47346-3
Online ISBN: 978-0-306-48417-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive