Summary
Recent results have suggested that the biomass of folivorous arboreal primates per unit area in Africa and Asia is positively correlated with the average quality of leaves, expressed as the ratio of protein to fiber concentrations in a given forest. This hypothesis has been tested in different forests of Madagascar. Leaf selection of all folivorous femus species was studied in relation to leaf chemistry. Except for two populations ofLepilemur subspecies all other folivorous lemur species (including two other subspecies ofLepilemur) select leaves with high concentrations of easily extractable protein or low concentrations of fiber, or both. This confirms the prominent role of these two components in leaf selection by folivorous lemurs. The average quality of mature leaves in a given forest, expressed as the ratio of protein to fiber concentrations, is positively correlated with the biomass of folivorous lemurs. This confirms the hypothesis tested and suggests rather uniform selection processes for arboreal folivorous primates across the world.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cant JGH (1980) What limits primates? Primates 21: 538–544
Charles-Dominique P, Hladik CM (1971) LeLepilemur du sud de Madagascar: écologie, alimentation et vie sociale. Terre Vie 25: 3–66
Chazdon RL, Pearcy RW (1986a) Photosynthetic responses to light variation in rainforest species. I. Induction under constant and fluctuating light conditions. Oecologia 69: 517–523
Chazdon RL, Pearcy RW (1986b) Photosynthetic responses to light variation in rainforest species. II. Carbon gain and photosynthetic efficiency during lightflecks. Oecologia 69: 524–531
Covi S (1988) Mise en valeur équilibrée d'un écosystème forestier. La réconstitution d'une forêt dense sèche après exploitation. In: Rakotovao L, Barre V, Sayer J (eds) L'équilibre des écosystèmes forestiers à Madagascar. UICN. Gland, pp 278–294
Davis AG, Bennet EL, Waterman PG (1988) Food selection by two South-east Asian colobine monkeys (Presbytis rubicunda andPresbytis melalophos) in relation to plant chemistry. Biol J Linn Soc 34: 33–56
Foster RB (1982) Famine on Barro Colorado Island. In: Leigh EG Jr, Stanley AS, Windsor DM (eds) The ecology of a tropical forest. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC, pp 201–212
Fowler SV, Chapman P, Checkley D, Hurd S, McHale M, Ramangason G-S, Randriamasy J-E, Stewart P, Walters R, Wilson JM (1989) Survey and management proposals for a tropical deciduous forest reserve at Ankarana in northern Madagascar. Biol Conserv 47: 297–313
Ganzhorn JU (1988) Food partitioning among Malagasy primates. Oecologia 75: 436–450
Ganzhorn JU (1989) Primate species separation in relation to secondary plant chemicals. Human Evol 4: 125–132
Ganzhorn JU (1991a) Tier- und Artenschutz aus der Sicht des Biotopschutzes: eine Fallstudie aus dem Trockenwald Madagaskars. In: Rahmann H, Kohler A (eds) Tier- und Artenschutz. Verlag Margraf, Weikersheim, pp 109–119
Ganzhorn JU (1991b) Forstprojekt im Trockenwald Madagaskars. Biologie in unserer Zeit 21: 293–297
Ganzhorn JU (in press) Flexibility and constraints ofLepilemur food selection. In Kappeler PM, Ganzhorn JU (eds) Lemur social systems and their ecological basis. Plenum Press, New York
Ganzhorn JU, Abraham JP (1991) Possible role of plantations for lemur conservation in Madagascar: food for folivorous species. Folia Primatol 56: 171–176
Ganzhorn JU, Abraham JP, Razanahoera-Rakotomalala M (1985) Some aspects of the natural history and food selection ofAvahi laniger. Primates 26: 452–463
Ganzhorn JU, Ganzhorn AW, Abraham JP, Andriamanarivo L, Ramananjatovo A (1990) The impact of selective logging on forest structure and tenrec populations in western Madagascar. Oecologia 84: 126–133
Gartlan JS, McKey DB, Waterman PG, Mbi CN, Struhsaker TT (1980) A comparative study on the phytochemistry of two African rain forests. Biochem Syst Ecol 8: 401–422
Gautier-Hion A, Michaloud G (1989) Are figs always keystone resources for tropical frugivorous vertebrates? Ecology 70: 1826–1833
Glander KE, Wright PC, Seigler DS, Randrianasolo V, Randrianasolo B (1989) Consumption of cyanogenic bamboo by a newly discovered species of bamboo lemur. Am J Primatol 19: 119–124
Harcourt C, Thornback J (1990) Lemurs of Madagascar and the Comoros IUCN, Gland
Hawkins AFA, Chapman P, Ganzhorn JU, Bloxam QMC, Barlow SC, Tonge SJ (1990) Vertebrate conservation in Ankarana Special Reserve, northern Madagascar, Biol Conserv 54: 83–110
Hladik CM (1978) Adaptive strategies of primates in relation to leaf eating. In Montgomery GG (ed) The ecology of arboreal folivores. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, pp 373–395
IUCN/UNEP/WWF (1987) Madagascar, an environmental profile. Jenkins MD (ed). WWF, Gland, Cambridge
Johns AD (1988) Effects of “selective” timber extraction on rainforest structure and composition and some consequences for frugivores and folivores. Biotropica 20: 31–37
Kappeler PM (1991) Patterns of sexual dimorphism in body weight among prosimian primates. Folia Primatol 57: 132–146
Leigh EG Jr, Windsor DM (1982) Forest production and regulation of primary consumers on Barro Colorado Island. In: Leigh EG Jr, Stanley AS, Windsor DM (eds) The ecology of a tropical forest. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, pp 111–122
Mahall BE, Schlesinger WH (1982) Effects of irradiance on growth, photosynthesis, and water use efficiency of seedlings of the chaparral shrub,Ceanothus megacarpus. Oecologia 54: 291–299
Milton K (1982) Dietary quality and demographic regulation in a howler monkey population. In: Leigh EG Jr, Stanley AS, Windsor DM (eds) The ecology of a tropical forest. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, pp 273–289
Milton K (1984) The role of food-processing factors in primate food choice. In: Rodman PS, Cant JGH (eds) Adaptations for foraging in nonhuman primates. Columbia Univ Press, New York, pp 249–279
Nicoll ME, Langrand O (1989) Madagascar: Revue de la conservation et des aires protégées. WWF, Gland
Oates JF, Waterman PG, Choo GM (1980) Food selection by the South Indian leaf monkey,Presbytis johnii, in relation to plant chemistry. Oecologia 45: 45–56
Oates JF, Whitesides GH, Davies AG, Waterman PG, Green SM, Dasilva GL, Mole S (1990) Determinants of variation in tropical forest primate biomass: new evidence from West Africa. Ecology 71: 328–343
Overdorff D (1988) Preliminary report on the activity cycle and diet of the red-bellied lemur (Lemur rubriventer) in Madagascar. Am J Primatol 16: 143–153
Pollock JI (1975a) The social behaviour and ecology ofIndri indri. PhD thesis, London University
Pollock JI (1975b) Field observation onIndri indri: A preliminary Report. In: Tattersall I, Sussman RW (eds) Lemur biology. Plenum Press, New York, pp 287–311
Rabinowitz PD, Coffin MF, Falvey D (1983) The separation of Madagascar and Africa. Science 220: 67–69
Razanahoera-Rakotomalala M (1981) Les adaptations alimentaires comparées de deux lémuriens folivores sympatriques:Avahi JOURDAN, 1834,Lepilemur I. GEOFFROY, 1851. Thèse doctorat 3ème cycle. EES, Laboratoire de Zoologie, Biologie générale. Univ. de Madagascar, Antananarivo
Richard AF (1978) Behavioral variation. Bucknell Univ Press, Lewisburg
Richard AF, Dewar R (1991) Lemur ecology. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 22: 145–175
Ripley S (1979) Environmental grain, niche diversification, and positional behavior in neogene primates: An evolutionary hypothesis. In: Morbeck ME, Preuschoft H, Gomberg N (eds) Environment, Behavior, and Morphology; Dynamic Interactions in Primates. G Fischer, Stuttgart New York, pp 37–74
SAS/STAT (1987) Guide for personal computers. Cary, NC, USA
Smythe N, Glanz WE, Leigh EG Jr (1982) Population regulation in some terrestrial frugivores. In: Leigh EG Jr, Stanley AS, Windsor DM (eds) The ecology of a tropical forest. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, pp 227–238
Tattersall I (1982) The primates of Madagascar, Columbia Univ Press, New York
Terborgh J (1986) Keystone plant resources in the tropical forest. In Soulé ME (ed) Conservation Biology. Sinauer, Sunderland, pp 330–344
Terborgh J, van Schaik CP (1987) Convergence vs. nonconvergence in primate communities. In: Gee JHR, Giller PS (eds) Organization of communities. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 205–226
Tuohy JM, Prior JAB, Stewart GR (1991) Photosynthesis in relation to leaf nitrogen and phosphorus content in Zimbabwean trees. Oecologia 88: 378–382
Ustin SL, Wessman CA, Curtis B, Kasischke E, Way J, Vanderbilt VC (1991) Opportunities for using the EOS imaging spectrometers and synthetic aperture radar in ecological models. Ecology 72: 1934–1945
Waterman PG, Choo GM, Vedder AL, Watts D (1983) Digestibility, digestion-inhibitors and nutrients of herbaceous foliage and green stems from an African montane flora and comparisons with other tropical flora. Oecologia 60: 244–249
Waterman PG, Ross JAM, Bennett EL, Davies AG (1988) A comparison of the floristics and leaf chemistry of the tree flora in two Malaysian rain forests and the influence of leaf chemistry on populations of colobine monkeys in the Old World. Biol J Linn Soc 34: 1–32
Woodward FI (1990) From ecosystems to genes: the importance of shade tolerance. Trends Ecol Evol 5: 111–115
Wright PC, Daniels PS, Meyers DM, Overdorff DJ, Rabesoa J (1987) A census and study ofHapalemur andPropithecus in southeastern Madagascar. Primate Conserv 8: 84–88
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ganzhorn, J.U. Leaf chemistry and the biomass of folivorous primates in tropical forests. Oecologia 91, 540–547 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00650329
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00650329