INVESTIGADORES
KOWALEWSKI Miguel Martin
capítulos de libros
Título:
Evidence of alternative dietary syndromes and nutritional goals in the Genus Alouatta
Autor/es:
GARBER, PAUL A; RIGHINI, NICOLETTA; KOWALEWSKI, M MARTIN
Libro:
Howler Monkeys: Behavior, Ecology and Conservation
Editorial:
Springer Press
Referencias:
Lugar: New York; Año: 2015; p. 85 - 109
Resumen:
Howler monkeys exploit diffi cult-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 fl ower 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 interspecifi c differences in dietary patterns and nutritional ecology within the genus Alouatta and identifi ed 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-specifi c 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.