Work

Influence of fruit availability on macronutrient and energy intake by female chimpanzees

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: Daily energy intake of adult female mammals is influenced by environmental conditions and physiological requirements, including reproduction. We examined the effects of fruit availability on macronutrient and metabolisable energy (ME) intake by adult female chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii ) of the Kanyawara community in Kibale National Park, Uganda, from January 2014 through June 2015. Drupe fruits were abundant for 4 months, whereas the other 14 months were dominated by fig fruits. The mean daily intake of food (dry matter) and ME did not differ between drupe‐months and fig‐months. However, foraging costs were higher during fig‐months, as indicated by a 20% increase in feeding time. Furthermore, during drupe‐months female chimpanzees ingested more water‐soluble carbohydrates and lipids, and less available protein and neutral detergent fibre. Although ME intake did not differ consistently between drupe‐months and fig‐months, they consumed more on days when ripe fruit dominated the diet than when leaves and pithy stems dominated the diet. Our data suggest that differences in diet quality between drupes and figs can have important effects on frugivore foraging and that they influence net energy gain more by their effects on macronutrient composition or foraging cost than by their direct impact on energy intake.

Source: African Journal of Ecology

DOI: 10.1111/aje.12636

Authors: Moreen Uwimbabazi, Jessica M. Rothman, Gilbert I. Basuta, Zarin P. Machanda, Nancy L. Conklin‐Brittain, Richard W. Wrangham