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Diet and Feeding Ecology of Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Bulindi, Uganda: Foraging Strategies at the Forest–Farm Interface

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Abstract

Wild animals increasingly inhabit human-influenced environments such as forest fragments amid agricultural systems. Dietary studies provide a means of assessing wildlife responses to anthropogenic habitat changes. Chimpanzees are specialist frugivores that consume other plant parts, e.g., fibrous pith and leaves, in greater amounts during fruit shortages. I examined the plant diet and seasonal foraging strategies of chimpanzees inhabiting small forest fragments within a cultivated landscape in Uganda. I determined diet over 13 mo via systematic fecal analysis, supplemented by direct observation and feeding trace evidence. I identified important foods and examined their role as seasonal fallbacks. Diet composition and breadth were overall species typical. Chimpanzees were highly frugivorous and the fruit component of fecal samples exceeded that of nonfruit fiber in all months. Forest fruit availability fluctuated seasonally, including a 3-mo low fruiting season, when overall fruit intake declined. During this time chimpanzees pursued a mixed strategy of increasing fiber consumption and feeding more heavily on energy-rich cultivars, including those obtained through crop raiding. The data suggest that exploiting agricultural fruits helped chimpanzees maintain a fruit-dominated diet when forest fruit was scarce. No evidence suggested this disturbed forest–farm mosaic is a food-impoverished habitat for chimpanzees overall. Nevertheless, cultivar feeding creates conflict with people and the high nutritional quality of crops is likely offset by the inherent risk associated with obtaining them. This study adds to growing evidence of ecological and behavioral adaptability of Pan troglodytes in response to anthropogenic habitat alteration. Targeted conservation of key natural foods for wildlife —particularly fallbacks— would help reduce conflicts and improve the survival prospects of threatened species sharing environments with people.

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Acknowledgments

I thank the President’s Office, the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology, and the Uganda Wildlife Authority for permission to conduct this research. Dan Balemesa, Gerald Sunday Mayanda, Tom Sabiiti, Moses Ssemahunge, and Jane Stokoe helped collect data in Bulindi. Paul Ssegawa, Ben Kirunda, and Protase Rwaburindore at the Department of Botany Herbarium, Makerere University identified plants. Bulindi Agricultural Research and Development Centre provided meteorological records. The research was funded by an ESRC/NERC interdisciplinary studentship and a Leverhulme Trust award (to C. M. Hill; Project ref: F/00 382/F). The manuscript was greatly improved by comments from Jessica Rothman and three anonymous reviewers.

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    Matthew R. McLennan

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Table IV List of plant foods recorded in the diet of Bulindi chimpanzees, January 2007–January 2008. For each food species, the following information is given: family, life form, part(s) eaten, method used to determine consumption, and month(s) in which the food was recorded eaten
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McLennan, M.R. Diet and Feeding Ecology of Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Bulindi, Uganda: Foraging Strategies at the Forest–Farm Interface. Int J Primatol 34, 585–614 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-013-9683-y

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