Anthropology

FASA would like to invite you to this weeks’ colloquium. We will have two speakers this week, presenting on related research topics. 

Date: Friday, March 31^st

Location: Turlington 1208     

Time: 3-4pm

Speakers:

Elise Geissler, PhD student in Dr. Daegling’s lab (ABD)

Taylor Polvadore, PhD student in Dr. Daegling’s lab

Elise’s Talk Title and Description:

Title: Female sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) select softer seeds than males

            Teeth are frequently used to make inferences regarding the diets of extinct non-human primates and hominins. Yet, surprisingly little is known about the actual properties of foods to which these teeth are adapted – such as the hardness of different food items. During my field work in the Tai National Park, Cote d’Ivoire, this past summer, I collected and analyzed one particularly hard food item consumed by one of the endemic monkey species of the region. Much of the diet of C. atys consists of the oily nut of Sacoglottis gabonensis which is accessed by postcanine crushing of a hard protective coat.  During a typical foraging bout, some nuts are discarded after initial crushing attempts; however, the reasons why individual nuts are rejected remain unclear.  I examined hardness values of nuts rejected by the mangabeys and will discuss the differences I found in male and female nut choice. 

Taylor’s Talk Title and Description:

Title: Niche Partitioning, Diet, and Oral Processing Behaviors in Three Sympatric Guenons in the Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire.

This research project evaluates the oral processing of three species of sympatric guenons in Côte d’Ivoire’s Taï National Park. Diana monkeys (Cercopithecus diana) exploit the upper canopy and incorporate significant amounts of fruit; Campbell’s monkeys (C. campbelli) exploit the understory and ground, consuming mostly fruit and invertebrates; and lesser spot nosed guenons (C. petaurista) use the middle canopy, consuming more foliage than their congenerics. Data on the number of mastications per minute were collected on habituated individuals in the Taï Forest between June and August 2016 (C. diana. N=300; C. campbelli N=194; C. petaurista N=38). There is no difference in the mastication frequency utilized by the Diana monkeys and lesser spot nosed guenons (p-value= 0.585). Campbell’s monkeys masticate at a significantly lower frequency than that of their congenerics (p-value= 0).

The results indicate that these taxa process their food in different ways despite similarity in food types. Though Diana monkeys and Campbell’s monkeys ingest large amounts of fruit, Campbell’s monkeys process their food with fewer chews than the Diana monkey.  Lessor spot nosed guenons incorporate more foliage, but consume these foods with similar processing time to that of the Diana monkey. Due to the low sample size of the lesser spot nosed guenons, our results are preliminary. However, these results indicate differences in the stresses and mechanical demands of oral processing experienced by closely-related, sympatric taxa with dietary overlap, but divergent ecological strategies.

 Hope to see you there!

Your Colloquium Coordinators,

Kelly and Dalila