Changes in Chemical Composition of Food Parts in the Diet of Colobus Monkeys
1983
Baranga, Deborah
Foliage of Celtis durandii and Markhamia platycalyx are important foods of the red colobus (Colobus badius tephrosceles) and the black—and—white colobus (Colobus guereza occidentalis) at Kanyawara, Kibale Forest, Uganda. Seasonal variations in the chemical composition of this foliage were attributed to phenological changes. Moisture, crude protein, energy value, potassium, and phosphorus decreased, while acid detergent fiber, lignin, calcium, and sodium increased with advancing maturity. Intermonthly changes in plant chemistry of M. platycalyx were not so pronounced as in C. durandii; the latter also gave strong correlation among its chemical components, while similar correlations for M. platycalyx wee generally weak. The nutrient quality of leaves from C. durandii was highest during the brief period when buds (leaf and flower), flowers, and young leaves were most abundant. With increasing maturity, these leaves lost the characteristics that made them good forage. M. platycalyx, on the contrary, had foliage with varying nutrient quality. Intermonthly dietary variation of the colobus monkeys is governed by the interactions between food consumption rate and changing food quality, together with the availability of alternative food items.
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