Nutritional correlates of the “lean season”: Effects of seasonality and frugivory on the nutritional ecology of diademed sifakas

Mitchell T. Irwin · Jean‐Luc Raharison · David Raubenheimer · Colin A. Chapman · Jessica M. Rothman

61 citations0/0 files storedAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology

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Primate Behavior and Ecology Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Plant and animal studies

Abstract

Primate field studies often identify "lean seasons," when preferred foods are scarce, and lower-quality, abundant foods (fallback foods) are consumed. Here, we quantify the nutritional implications of these terms for two diademed sifaka groups (Propithecus diadema) in Madagascar, using detailed feeding observations and chemical analyses of foods. In particular, we sought to understand 1) how macronutrient and energy intakes vary seasonally, including whether these intakes respond in similar or divergent ways; 2) how the amount of food ingested varies seasonally (including whether changes in amount eaten may compensate for altered food quality); and 3) correlations between these variables and the degree of frugivory. In the lean season, sifakas shifted to non-fruit foods (leaves and flowers), which tended to be high in protein while low in other macronutrients and energy, but the average composition of the most used foods in each season was similar. They also showed dramatic decreases in feeding time, food ingested, and consequently, daily intake of macronutrients and energy. The degree of frugivory in the daily diet was a strong positive predictor of feeding time, amount ingested and all macronutrient and energy intakes, though season had an independent effect. These results suggest that factors restricting how much food can be eaten (e.g., handling time, availability, or intrinsic characteristics like fiber and plant secondary metabolites) can be more important than the nutritional composition of foods themselves in determining nutritional outcomes-a finding with relevance for understanding seasonal changes in behavior, life history strategies, competitive regimes, and conservation planning.

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References

1997The evolution of female social relationships in nonhuman primates 1999Lemur traits and Madagascar ecology: Coping with an island environment 2007Evolutionary Consequences of Fallback Foods 1998Dietary Response of Chimpanzees and Cercopithecines to Seasonal Variation in Fruit Abundance. II. Macronutrients 2011Stepwise evolution of stable sociality in primates 1998Dietary Response of Chimpanzees and Cercopithecines to Seasonal Variation in Fruit Abundance. I. Antifeedants 2004Hardness of cercopithecine foods: Implications for the critical function of enamel thickness in exploiting fallback foods 2006Feeding ecology in apes and other primates : ecological, physical, and behavioral aspects

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2015The Nutritional Geometry of Resource Scarcity: Effects of Lean Seasons and Habitat Disturbance on Nutrient Intakes and Balancing in Wild Sifakas 2014Dietary variation and food hardness in sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys): Implications for fallback foods and dental adaptation 2018Seasonal variation in diet and nutrition of the northern‐most population of Rhinopithecus roxellana 2015Dietary Flexibility and Feeding Strategies of Eulemur: A Comparison with Propithecus

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