Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Variation on Frugivory: The Diet of Venezuelan White-Faced Sakis

  • Published:
International Journal of Primatology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

White-faced sakis (Pithecia pithecia) are Neotropical seed predators that ingest a mixed diet of fruit, leaves, and insects. We report timed feeding data for a 12-mo period on a group of 8 white-faced sakis occupying an island—a portion of their original home range—in Lago Guri, Venezuela. We collected fruit and leaf samples, dried them in the field, and analyzed them to measure nutrient content—free simple sugars (FSS), crude protein (CP), lipids, and total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC)—and the presence of antifeedants: total tannins, condensed tannins and dietary fiber. We weighted nutrients and antifeedants by timed feeding samples to estimate actual intake. Then we compared intake among months and seasons. Compared with other frugivores, the average monthly intake of lipids was extremely high (16.1% by dry matter estimate(DM)), attributed to ingestion of young seeds and other plant parts that were relatively high in lipids, e.g., seed arils. Intake of FSS and CP were relatively low: 3.4% DM and 6.5% DM, respectively. The average intake of total cell wall or neutral detergent fiber (NDF = 38.4% DM) was only slightly lower than the range reported for colobines. Average intake of tannins was within the range reported for cercopithecines: condensed tannins of 3.3% Quebracho units standard (QU). We suggest that white-faced sakis accept a trade-off for food items that are fibrous or astringent if they are also rich in lipids. White-faced sakis expand the typical definition of primate fruit-eater in their high lipid-relatively high NDF-low FSS diet.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Reference

  • Altmann, S. A. (1998). Foraging for Survival: Yearling Baboons in Africa, University of Chicago PressChicago, IL, 609pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Altmann, S. A., Post, D. G., and Klein, D. F. (1987). Nutrients and toxins of plants in Amboseli, Kenya. Afr. J. Ecol. 25: 279-293.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alvarez, E., Balbás, L., Massa, I., and Pacheco, J. (1986). Aspectos ecológicos del Embalse Guri. Interciencia 11: 325-333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anapol, F., and Lee, S. (1994). Morphological adaptation to diet in platyrrhine primates. Am. J. Phys. Anth. 94: 239-262.

    Google Scholar 

  • AOAC (1984). In Whilliams, S. (ed.), Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Arlington, VA.

  • Aymard, G., and Gouzález, V. (2003). A new species of Acosmium (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae, Sophovlae). Harvard Papers in Botany 7: 399-402.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aymard, G., Norconk, M., and Kinzey, W. (1997). Composición florística de comunidades vegetales en islas en el Embalse de Guri, Rio Caroní, Estado Bolívar, Venezuela. BioLlania Edición Especiál. 6: 195-233.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baranga, D. (1983). Changes in chemical composition of food parts in the diet of Colobus monkeys. Ecology 64: 668-673.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bate-Smith, E. (1975). Phytochemistry of proanthocyanidins. Phytochemistry 14: 1107-1113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell, E. A. (1978). Toxins in seeds. In Harborne, J. B. (ed.), Biochemical Aspects of Plant and Animal Coevolution, Academic Press, London, pp. 143-161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bremer, B., and Eriksson, O. (1992). Evolution of fruit characters and dispersal modes in the tropical family Rubiaceae. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 47: 79-95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchanan, D. B., Mittermeier, R. A., and van Roosmalen, M. G. M. (1981). The saki monkeys (genus Pithecia). In Coimbra-Filho, A. F., and Mittermeier, R. A. (eds.), Ecology and Behavior of Neotropical Primates, Vol. 1s, Academia Brasileira de Ciências, Rio de Janeiro, pp. 391-417.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calvert, J. J. (1985). Food selection by western gorillas (G.g.gorilla) in relation to food chemistry. Oecologia 65: 236-246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conklin-Brittain, N. L., Wrangham, R. W., and Hunt, K. D. (1998). Dietary response of chimpanzees and cercopithecines to seasonal variation in fruit abundance. II. Macronutrients. Int. J. Primatol. 19: 971-998.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conklin-Brittain, N. L., Dierenfeld, E. S., Wrangham, R. W., Norconk, M., and Silver, S. C. (1999). Chemical protein analysis: A comparison of Keldahl crude protein and total ninhydrin protein from wild, tropical vegetation. J. Chem. Ecol. 25: 2601-2622.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies, A. G., Bennett, E. L., and Waterman, P. G. (1988). Food selection by two south-east Asian colobine monkeys (Presbytis rubiunda and Presbytis melalophos) in relation to plant chemistry. Biol J. Linn. Soc. 34: 33-56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dubois, M., Gilles, K. A., Hamilton, J. K., Rebers, P. A., and Smith F. (1956). Colorimetric method for determination of sugar and related substances. Anal. Chem. 28: 350-356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleagle, J. G. (1998). Primate Adaptation and Evolution, 2nd edn, Academic Press, New York, 596pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gautier-Hion, A., Duplantier, J.-M., Quris, R., Feer, F., Sourd, C., Decoux, J.-P., Dubost, G., Emmons, L., Erard, C., Hecketweiler, P., Moungazi, A., Roussilhon, C., Thiollay, J.-M. (1985). Fruit characters as a basis of fruit choice and seed dispersal in a tropical forest vertebrate community. Oecologia (Berlin) 65: 324-337.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gentry, A. H. (1993). A field guide to the families and genera of woody plants of Northwest South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru) with supplementary notes on herbacious taxa, The University of Chicago Press, 895pp.

  • Goering, H. K., and van Soest, P. J. (1970). Forage fiber analysis. Agricultural Handbook No. 379, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

  • Hagerman, A. E. (1987). Radial diffusion method of determining tannin in plant extracts. J. Chem. Ecol. 13: 437-449.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hershkovitz, P. (1987). The taxonomy of South American sakis, genus Pithecia (Cebidae, Platyrrhini): A preliminary report and critical review with the description of a new species and a new subspecies. Am. J. Primatol. 12: 387-468.

    Google Scholar 

  • Homburg, I. (1997). ökologie und sozialverhalten einer gruppe von weissgesicht-sakis (Pithecia pithecia pithecia Linnaeus 1766) im Estado Bolívar, Venezuela, Unpublished Dissertation, Universität Bielefeld, Germany.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huber, O. (1986). La vegetación de la cuenca del Rio Caroní. Interciencia 11: 301-310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Janson, C. (1983). Adaptation of fruit morphology to dispersal agents in a neotropical forest. Science 219: 187-189.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jolly, A. (1985). The Evolution of Primate Behavior, 2nd edn, Macmillian Publishing Company, New York, 526pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordano, P. (1992). Fruits and frugivory. In Fenner, M. (ed.), Seeds: The Ecology of Regeneration in Plant Communities. C.A.B. International, pp. 105-155.

  • Kay, R. F. (1988). Diet. In Tattersall, I., Delson, I., and Van Couvering, J., Encyclopedia of Human Evolution and Prehistory. Garland Publishing, New York, pp. 155-179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinzey, W. G., and Norconk, M. A. (1990). Hardness as a basis of fruit choice in two sympatric primates. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 81: 5-15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinzey, W. G., and Norconk, M. A. (1993). Physical and chemical properties of fruit and seeds eaten by Pithecia and Chiropotes in Surinam and Venezuela. Int. J. Primatol. 14: 207-227.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knott, C. D. (1999). Reproductive, Physiological and Behavioral Responses of Orangutans in Borneo to Fluctuations in Food Availability. PhD Thesis, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambert, J. E. (1998). Primate digestion: Interactions among anatomy, physiology, and feeding ecology. Evol. Anthropol. 7: 8-20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambert, J. E. (2002). Digestive retention times in forest guenons (Cercopithecus spp.) with reference to chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Int. J. Primatol. 23: 1169-1185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langer, P., and Chivers, D. J. (1994). Classification of foods for comparative analysis of the gastro-intestinal tract. In Chivers, D. J., and Langer, P. (eds), The Digestive System in Mammals, Cambridge University Press, pp. 74-86.

  • Lucas, P. W., Turner, I. M., Dominy, N. J., Yamashita, N. (2000). Mechanical defences to herbivory. Ann. Bot. 86: 913-920.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maisels, F. (1993). Gut passage rate in guenons and mangabeys: another indicator of a flexible dietary niche? Folia Primatol. 61: 35-37.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKey, D. (1974). Adaptive patterns in alkaloid physiology. Amer. Nat. 108: 305-320.

    Google Scholar 

  • Milton, K. (1993). Diet and primate evolution. Sci. Amer. August, 1993: 86-93.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council (2003). Carbohydrates and fiber. In Committee on Animal Nutrition (eds.), Nutrient Requirements of Nonhuman Primates, 2nd rev. edn, National Academies Press, Washington D.C, Chap. 3, pp. 58-74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norconk, M. A. (1996). Seasonal variation in the diets of white-faced and bearded sakis (Pithecia pithecia and Chiropotes satanas) in Guri Lake, Venezuela. In Norconk, M. A., Rosenberger, A. L., and Garber, P.A. (eds.), Adaptive Radiations of Neotropical Primates, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 403-423.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norconk, M. A., Conklin-Brittain, N. L. (2000). Methods for assessing nutrient intake in wild primates: temporal-vs. weight-based estimates. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. Suppl. 32: 113-114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norconk, M. A., and Grafton, B. W. (2002). Changes in forest composition and potential feeding tree availability on a small land-bridge island in Lago Guri, Venezuela. In Marsh, L. M. (ed.), Primates in Fragments, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norconk, M. A., Grafton, B. W., and Conklin-Brittain, N. L. (1998). Seed dispersal by neotropical seed predators. Am. J. Primatol. 45: 103-126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norconk, M. A., Oftedal, O., Power, M., Jakubasz, M., and Savage, A. (2002). Digesta passage and fiber digestibility in captive white-faced sakis, Pithecia pithecia. Am. J. Primatol. 58: 23-34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norusšis, M. J. (1993). SPSS® for Windows™ Base System User's Guide, Release 6.0. SPSS, Inc. Chicago, 828pp.

  • Oates, J. F., Waterman, P. G., and Choo, G. M. (1980). Food selection by the south Indian leaf-monkey, Presbytis johnii, in relation to leaf chemistry. Oecologia 45: 45-56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parolin, P. (1992). Characterization and Classification of the Vegetation in an Island of Lake Guri, Venezulela. Unpublished MA Thesis, University of Bielefeld, Germany, March, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pierce, W., and Haenisch, E. L. (1948). Quantitative Analysis, 3rd edn, John Wiley & Sons, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter. L., Hrstich, L. M., and Chan, B. G. (1986). The conversion of procyanidins and prodelphinidins to cyanidin and delphinidin. Phytochemistry 25: 223-230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Remis, M. J., Dierenfeld, E. S., Mowry, C. B., and Carroll, R. W. (2001). Nutritional aspects of western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) diet during seasons of fruit scarcity at Bai Hokou, Central African Republic. Int. J. Primatol. 22: 807-836.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, V., Plumptre, A. J., Greenham, J., and Harborne, J. (1998). Condensed tannins and sugars in the diet of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in the Budongo Forest, Uganda. Oecologia 115: 331-336.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rikimaru, T., Fujita, Y., Okuda, T., Kajiwara, N., Date, C., Heywood, P. F., Alpers, M. P., and Koishi, H. (1985). Utilization of urea nitrogen in Papua New Guinea highlanders. J. Nutr. Sci. Vitam. 31: 393-402.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, J., and Van Soest, P. J. (1980). The detergent system of analysis and its application to human foods. In James, W.P.T., Theander, O. (eds.) The Analysis of Dietary Fiber in Food, Marcel Dekker, New York, Chap. 8, pp. 123-158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strickland, J., Parsons, T. R. (1972). A Practical Handbook of Seawater Analysis, Bulletin 167, 2nd edn, Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Ottawa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strier, K. B. (2003). Primate Behavioral Ecology. 2nd edn, Allyn and Bacon, Boston, 422pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tattersall, I, Delson, E., and Van Couvering, J. (1988). Encyclopedia of Human Evolution and Prehistory. Garland Publishing, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Terborgh, J., Lopez, L., Tello J., Yu, D., and Bruni A. R. (1997). Transitory states in relaxing ecosystems of land bridge islands. In Laurance, W. F., and Bierregaard, R. O. (eds.), Tropical Forest Remnants: Ecology, Management, and Conservation of Fragmented Communities, Chicago University Press, Chicago, pp. 256-274.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Roosmalen, M. G. M., Mittermeier, R. A., Fleagle, J. G. (1988). Diet of the northern bearded saki (Chiropotes satanas chiropotes): a neotropical seed predator. Am. J. Primatol. 14(1): 11-35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Soest, P. (1994). Nutritional Ecology of the Ruminant, 2nd edn, Comstock Publishing Associates, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vié. J.-C., Richard-Hansen, C., Fournier-Chambrillon, C. (2001). Abundance, use of space, and activity patterns of white-faced sakis (Pithecia pithecia) in French Guiana. Am. J. Primatol. 55: 203-221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waterman, P. (1984). Food acquisition and processing as a function of plant chemistry. In Chivers, D. J., Wood, B. A., and Bilsborough, A. (eds.), Food Acquisition and Processing in Primates, Plenum, New York, pp. 177-211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waterman, P. G., and Kool, K. M. (1994). Colobine food selection and plant chemistry. In Davies, A. G., and Oates, J. F. (eds.), Colobine Monkeys: Their Ecology, Behaviour, and Evolution, Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp. 251-284.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willson, M. F., and Whelan, C. J. (1990). The evolution of fruit color in fleshy-fruited plants. Am. Nat. 136: 790-809.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology & School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, 228 Lowry Hall, Kent, Ohio, 44242

    Marilyn A. Norconk

  2. Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Peabody Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138

    Nancy Lou Conklin-Brittain

Authors
  1. Marilyn A. Norconk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nancy Lou Conklin-Brittain
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marilyn A. Norconk.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Norconk, M.A., Conklin-Brittain, N.L. Variation on Frugivory: The Diet of Venezuelan White-Faced Sakis. International Journal of Primatology 25, 1–26 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:IJOP.0000014642.68751.ed

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:IJOP.0000014642.68751.ed

Search

Navigation