Why eat flowers? Symphonia globulifera flowers provide a fatty resource for red-tailed monkeys

Abstract Flowers are ubiquitous in primate environments, yet their nutritional advantages underexamined. Symphonia globulifera is a widely distributed tree exploited by variety of animals Africa and the Americas. We collected S. flower samples consumed red-tailed monkeys ( Cercopithecus ascanius ) compared them nutritionally to from other plant species Kibale National Park, Uganda. were assayed for three fiber fractions (NDF, ADF, lignin), fat, crude protein, acid detergent insoluble nitrogen (ADIN), ash, soluble sugars. estimated available total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC), metabolizable energy (ME). calculated mean standard deviation all nutrient categories applied geometry illustrate balance among energetic gains fiber, TNC across species. Our results suggest that flowers provide an unusually high fat resource (14.82% ± 1.41%) relative (1.38% 5.79%) foods same habitat.