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DIETARY VARIABILITY IN A GROUP OF MIXED-SPECIES CERCOPITHECUS MONKEYS (CERCOPITHECUS MITIS, C. ASCANIUS AND C. MITIS X C. ASCANIUS) IN MKENKE VALLEY, GOMBE NATIONAL PARK, TANZANIA

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Date Issued:
2019
Summary:
This research represents the first multi-year investigation of the feeding ecology of Gombe’s Cercopithecus populations. The main goal of this study was to identify dietary overlap and distinctiveness among the phenotypes in our study group, a mixed species group of guenons comprised of C. ascanius, C. mitis, and C. ascanius x C. mitis hybrids. Field assistants collected feeding data using ad libitum observations as well as instantaneous scan sampling at 30-minute intervals from July 2014 to December 2018. A total of 63 plant species were identified in our group’s diet. Results indicate that a significant difference exists between the diets of each phenotype. The results also found an unusually high percentage of invertebrate eating (54%) in our group. These findings suggest that invertebrates are an important food resource for the Gombe study group and may help facilitate coexistence in an environment where there are many sympatric primate species.
Title: DIETARY VARIABILITY IN A GROUP OF MIXED-SPECIES CERCOPITHECUS MONKEYS (CERCOPITHECUS MITIS, C. ASCANIUS AND C. MITIS X C. ASCANIUS) IN MKENKE VALLEY, GOMBE NATIONAL PARK, TANZANIA.
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Name(s): Crawford, Sarah, author
Detwiler, Kate M., Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Department of Anthropology
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2019
Date Issued: 2019
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 67 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: This research represents the first multi-year investigation of the feeding ecology of Gombe’s Cercopithecus populations. The main goal of this study was to identify dietary overlap and distinctiveness among the phenotypes in our study group, a mixed species group of guenons comprised of C. ascanius, C. mitis, and C. ascanius x C. mitis hybrids. Field assistants collected feeding data using ad libitum observations as well as instantaneous scan sampling at 30-minute intervals from July 2014 to December 2018. A total of 63 plant species were identified in our group’s diet. Results indicate that a significant difference exists between the diets of each phenotype. The results also found an unusually high percentage of invertebrate eating (54%) in our group. These findings suggest that invertebrates are an important food resource for the Gombe study group and may help facilitate coexistence in an environment where there are many sympatric primate species.
Identifier: FA00013295 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Cercopithecus
Gombe National Park (Tanzania)
Phenotype
Sympatry (Biology)
Animals--Food
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013295
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.