Socioecological correlates of energy balance using urinary C-peptide measurements in wild female mountain gorillas.
نویسندگان
چکیده
Maintaining a balanced energy budget is important for survival and reproduction, but measuring energy balance in wild animals has been fraught with difficulties. Female mountain gorillas are interesting subjects to examine environmental correlates of energy balance because their diet is primarily herbaceous vegetation, their food supply shows little seasonal variation and is abundant, yet they live in cooler, high-altitude habitats that may bring about energetic challenges. Social and reproductive parameters may also influence energy balance. Urinary C-peptide (UCP) has emerged as a valuable non-invasive biomarker of energy balance in primates. Here we use this method to investigate factors influencing energy balance in mountain gorillas of the Virunga Volcanoes, Rwanda. We examined a range of socioecological variables on energy balance in adult females in three groups monitored by the Karisoke Research Center over nine months. Three variables had significant effects on UCP levels: habitat (highest levels in the bamboo zone), season (highest levels in November during peak of the bamboo shoot availability) and day time (gradually increasing from early morning to early afternoon). There was no significant effect of reproductive state and dominance rank. Our study indicates that even in species that inhabit an area with a seemingly steady food supply, ecological variability can have pronounced effects on female energy balance.
منابع مشابه
Monitoring ovarian cycle activity via progestagens in urine and feces of female mountain gorillas: A comparison of EIA and LC-MS measurements.
Understanding the reproductive biology of endangered mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) is essential for optimizing conservation strategies, determining any demographic impact of socioecological changes, and providing information for comparative studies of primates. Non-invasive techniques have been used to assess the reproductive function of many primates and the importance of valid...
متن کاملEarly brain growth cessation in wild Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei).
Understanding the life history correlates of ontogenetic differences in hominoid brain growth requires information from multiple species. At present, however, data on how brain size changes over the course of development are only available from chimpanzees and modern humans. In this study, we examined brain growth in wild Virunga mountain gorillas using data derived from necropsy reports (N = 3...
متن کاملPossible tool use in a mountain gorilla.
Here we report a description of putative tool use in wild mountain gorillas. At the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund's Karisoke Research Center in Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda), an adult female was observed using a bamboo culm as a ladder for her offspring. This is one of only a few documented cases of possible tool use in wild gorillas, although tool use behavior is commonly observed in captive gor...
متن کاملA novel food processing technique by a wild mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei).
Innovation, the invention of new behavior, has been observed in wild primates only infrequently. The processing of thistle (Cardus nyassanus) has previously been described as being one of the most complex food processing techniques used by mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). We report a case of innovation in thistle leaf processing by a subadult female mountain gorilla in Bwindi Impe...
متن کاملBornean orangutans on the brink of protein bankruptcy.
Protein is a limiting resource that is essential to the growth, maintenance and reproduction of tropical frugivores, yet few studies have examined how wild animals maintain protein balance. During chronic periods of fruit scarcity, Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) often catabolize their own fat reserves despite unusually low metabolic requirements. Such energy deficits suggest a marginal exi...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
- Physiology & behavior
دوره 127 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2014