seasonal energetic stress in a tropical forest primate proximate causes and evolutionary implications季节性精力充沛的压力热带森林灵长类动物近因和进化意义.pdfVIP

Seasonal Energetic Stress in a Tropical Forest Primate: Proximate Causes and Evolutionary Implications 1,2 1 3 Steffen Foerster *, Marina Cords , Steven L. Monfort 1 Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America, 2 Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya, 3 Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, Virginia, United States of America Abstract Animals facing seasonal variation in food availability experience selective pressures that favor behavioral adjustments such as migration, changes in activity, or shifts in diet. Eclectic omnivores such as many primates can process low-quality fallback food when preferred food is unavailable. Such dietary flexibility, however, may be insufficient to eliminate constraints on reproduction even for species that live in relatively permissive environments, such as moist tropical forests. Focusing on a forest-dwelling primate with a flexible diet (Cercopithecus mitis) we investigated whether females experience seasonal energetic stress and how it may relate to reproductive seasonality. We used fecal glucocorticoids (fGCs) as an indicator of energetic stress, controlling for the potentially confounding effects of social interactions and reproductive state. We modeled within-female fGC variation with General Linear Mixed Models, evaluating changes in feeding behavior and food availability as main effects. Regardless of reproductive state, fGCs increased when females shifted their diet towards fallback foods (mature leaves and other non-preferred items) and when they spent more time feeding, while fGCs decreased with feeding time on preferred items (insects, fruits, young leaves) and with the availability of you