NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION OF FICUS PERFORATA FRUIT (PULP, SEEDS AND ANIMAL MATTER), CONSUMED BY HOWLER MONKEYS (ALOUATTA PALLIATA MEXICANA) |
| T. Urquiza-Haas and J. C. Serio-Silva Departamento de Ecologia Vegetal, Instituto de Ecologia A.C. km 2.5 Antigua carretera a Coatepec, Ap. 63. C.P. 91000, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico |
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| There is still some uncertainty about the nutritional importance of Ficus fruit, and although some studies have performed nutritional analysis of pulp and seed fractions separately there hasn’t been an attempt to quantify the contribution of animal matter inside the fruit. Therefore the proportion of pulp, seeds and animal matter was determined, and analysis of crude protein, lipids, total cell wall, calcium and phosphorus were performed for the pulp, seed fraction and whole fruit of Ficus perforarta. For the animal matter fraction, only analysis of crude protein and lipids could be accomplished. Also fruit consumption by howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata mexicana) was estimated in gr/day. Since seeds are not digested and represent a large proportion of the fruit (45%), whole fruit analysis exaggerate the concentrations of all nutrients, especially lipids. Our results suggest that animal matter represents 1% of the whole fruit, and contributes with 0.4% of the protein and 0.3% of the lipid content of the fruit. This represents the 11% and 9% respectively, of the available fraction. Differences in consumption of fruits by the howler monkeys were observed between age–sex classes (p =0.04) adult females presenting the highest consumption, and between periods of the day (p= 0.001), highest consumption was observed in the afternoon. The importance of F. perforata in the diet of howler monkeys is mainly due to its content of water and calcium. This study was supported by some equipment donated by Idea Wild to JCSS. |
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