| Significance of color, calories, and climate to the visual ecology of catarrhines. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 15027092 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
Here we describe correlations among visual ecology and the physiochemical properties of fruits and leaves consumed by four species of catarrhine primate: Cercopithecus ascanius, Colobus guereza, Pan troglodytes, and Piliocolobus badius. Collectively, their diet was diverse, with each species relying on fruits and leaves to different extents. The mean chromaticity of both foods, as perceived by the green-red and yellow-blue signals that catarrhines decode, was distinct from background foliage. However, selection on the basis of color was evident only for leaves. Primates consumed leaves with higher green-red values than the leaves they avoided-sensory mechanism that correlated with key nutritional variables, such as increased protein and reduced toughness. Moreover, the monkeys ingested leaves near dusk, when reddish targets may be more salient. Similar patterns were never observed with respect to edible fruits, the chromaticities of which did not differ from unconsumed fruits or correlate with nutritional properties. We also found that primate biomass is higher in seasonal sites. We conclude that these findings are consistent with the notion that routine trichromatic vision evolved in a context where seasonal folivory was pivotal to survival. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Nathaniel J Dominy; Peter W Lucas |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: American journal of primatology Volume: 62 ISSN: 0275-2565 ISO Abbreviation: Am. J. Primatol. Publication Date: 2004 Mar |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2004-03-17 Completed Date: 2004-05-11 Revised Date: 2008-11-21 |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 8108949 Medline TA: Am J Primatol Country: United States |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 189-207 Citation Subset: IM |
Copyright Information:
|
Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. |
Affiliation:
|
Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA. njdominy@uchicago.edu |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena Animals Biomass Cercopithecidae / physiology* Climate Color Color Perception / physiology* Evolution* Food Preferences / physiology* Fruit / chemistry Pan troglodytes / physiology* Plant Leaves / chemistry Seasons Uganda |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Use of spatial, visual, and olfactory information during foraging in wild nocturnal and diurnal anth...
Next Document: Paleoenvironmental basis of cognitive evolution in great apes.