Abstract
I provide the first comprehensive data on the composition and mineral content of exudates eaten by saddleback (Saguinus fuscicollis) and mustached tamarins (S. mystax) and assess Garber's (1984; 1993) hypotheses on the potential nutritional importance of exudates in the diet of tamarins. In accordance with his initial findings, nutritional analyses show that the gums consumed are relatively high in calcium and may serve to balance a diet otherwise low in this mineral and high in phosphorus. However, the data on the seasonal variation in the amount consumed do not support the hypothesis that exudates are of particular nutritional importance during the later stages of gestation or lactation for saddleback or mustached tamarins.
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Smith, A.C. Composition and Proposed Nutritional Importance of Exudates Eaten by Saddleback (Saguinus fuscicollis) and Mustached (Saguinus mystax) Tamarins. International Journal of Primatology 21, 69–83 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005423629627
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005423629627