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Evidence of Alternative Dietary Syndromes and Nutritional Goals in the Genus Alouatta

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Howler Monkeys

Part of the book series: Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects ((DIPR))

Abstract

Howler monkeys exploit difficult-to-digest and potentially toxic food items such as mature leaves and unripe fruits; persist across an extreme range of habitat types, including highly disturbed forests; and have the most widespread geographical distribution of any genus of New World primate. Given evidence of dietary variability in the amount of monthly fruit, leaf, and flower consumption, howler monkeys provide an instructive model for examining relationships among foraging strategies, activity budgets, and patterns of habitat utilization. In this chapter we examined evidence for interspecific differences in dietary patterns and nutritional ecology within the genus Alouatta and identified three dietary “syndromes” that are generally consistent with howler monkey phylogeny and biogeography. Specifically, we show that Mesoamerican howler monkeys and A. seniculus are characterized by a balanced leaf and fruit diet, Amazonian species by a fruit enriched diet, and Atlantic Forest and southern howler monkeys by a leaf-enriched diet. Finally, to be able to identify species-specific dietary strategies and syndromes across the primate Order, we recommend an approach that includes collecting data on feeding rates and the nutritional composition of the diet.

Resumen

Los monos aulladores consumen alimentos difíciles de digerir y que potencialmente contienen compuestos secundarios tóxicos como hojas maduras y frutos inmaduros; habitan en tipos de ambientes muy variados, incluyendo áreas altamente fragmentadas, y tienen la distribución geográfica más amplia de cualquier otro género de primates neotropicales. Debido a las conspicuas fluctuaciones mensuales en las cantidades de frutos, hojas y flores consumidos, los monos aulladores constituyen un modelo útil para examinar las relaciones entre estrategias de forrajeo, patrones de actividad y de utilización de hábitat en otros primates, incluyendo a los folívoros. En este capítulo examinamos la evidencia de diferencias interespecíficas en los patrones alimentarios y nutricionales dentro del género Alouatta, e identificamos tres “síndromes” alimentarios consistentes con los patrones filogenéticos y biogeográficos. En particular, mostramos que los monos aulladores de Mesoamérica y A. seniculus se caracterizan por tener una dieta balanceada de hojas y frutos, las especies del Amazonas por una dieta en la que predominan los frutos, y aquellas de la Foresta Atlántica y del Sur por una dieta en la que predominan las hojas. Finalmente, subrayamos la importancia de colectar datos sobre las tasas de ingestión de los alimentos y sobre la composición nutricional de la dieta para poder identificar estrategias y síndromes alimentarios especie-específicos en los primates.

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Abbreviations

°C:

Celsius degrees

Df:

Degrees of freedom

DQ:

Dietary quality index

F :

ANOVA’s F statistic

HSD:

Honest Significant Difference

kg:

Kilograms

kJ:

Kilojoules

MA:

Million years ago

MBM:

Metabolic Body Mass

mtDNA:

Mitochondrial DNA

P :

Significance value

S:

South

SE:

Standard Error

TNC:

Total non-structural carbohydrates

unpubl. Data:

Unpublished data

W:

West

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Acknowledgments

We thank Liliana Cortés-Ortiz and two anonymous reviewers for thoughtful discussions on the subject and valuable comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. NR would like to thank Jessica M. Rothman for helpful advice and permission to conduct nutritional analyses in her Nutritional Ecology Lab (Hunter College—CUNY). NR also is very grateful to Rodolfo Martinez-Mota for his support, comments, and suggestions, and to Vanina Fernandez and Katherine Amato for insights and discussion. Logistical support by Alejandro Estrada (UNAM, Mexico) and permission to carry out fieldwork by Antonio Sanchez (INIFAP, Mexico) were highly appreciated. NSF-DDIG, University of Illinois, Sigma Xi, and International Primatological Society provided funding to NR for her dissertation research. MK thanks Mariana Raño for preparing vegetarian meals that resembled, in part, the howler monkey’s diet. PAG wishes to thank Chrissie, Sara, and Jenni for their love, support, and their tolerance in putting up with an old male primate.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA

    Paul A. Garber & Nicoletta Righini

  2. Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA

    Paul A. Garber

  3. Estación Biológica Corrientes, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Martín M. Kowalewski

Authors
  1. Paul A. Garber
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  2. Nicoletta Righini
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  3. Martín M. Kowalewski
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Correspondence to Paul A. Garber .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Estación Biológica Corrientes, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Martín M. Kowalewski

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA

    Paul A. Garber

  3. Museum of Zoology, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

    Liliana Cortés-Ortiz

  4. Centro de Antropología, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas, Caracas, Venezuela

    Bernardo Urbani

  5. Department of Zoology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Dionisios Youlatos

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Garber, P.A., Righini, N., Kowalewski, M.M. (2015). Evidence of Alternative Dietary Syndromes and Nutritional Goals in the Genus Alouatta . In: Kowalewski, M., Garber, P., Cortés-Ortiz, L., Urbani, B., Youlatos, D. (eds) Howler Monkeys. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1960-4_4

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