TY - JOUR
T1 - Low Levels of Fruit Nitrogen as Drivers for the Evolution of Madagascar's Primate Communities
AU - Donati, Giuseppe
AU - Santini, Luca
AU - Eppley, Timothy M.
AU - Arrigo-Nelson, Summer J.
AU - Balestri, Michela
AU - Boinski, Sue
AU - Bollen, An
AU - Bridgeman, Leandra L.
AU - Campera, Marco
AU - Carrai, Valentina
AU - Chalise, Mukesh K.
AU - Derby Lewis, Abigail
AU - Hohmann, Gottfried
AU - Kinnaird, Margaret F.
AU - Koenig, Andreas
AU - Kowalewski, Martin
AU - Lahann, Petra
AU - McLennan, Matthew R.
AU - Nekaris, Anna K.I.
AU - Nijman, Vincent
AU - Norscia, Ivan
AU - Ostner, Julia
AU - Polowinsky, Sandra Y.
AU - Schülke, Oliver
AU - Schwitzer, Christoph
AU - Stevenson, Pablo R.
AU - Talebi, Mauricio G.
AU - Tan, Chia
AU - Tomaschewski, Irene
AU - Vogel, Erin R.
AU - Wright, Patricia C.
AU - Ganzhorn, Jörg U.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 The Author(s).
PY - 2017/12/1
Y1 - 2017/12/1
N2 - The uneven representation of frugivorous mammals and birds across tropical regions - high in the New World, low in Madagascar and intermediate in Africa and Asia - represents a long-standing enigma in ecology. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain these differences but the ultimate drivers remain unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that fruits in Madagascar contain insufficient nitrogen to meet primate metabolic requirements, thus constraining the evolution of frugivory. We performed a global analysis of nitrogen in fruits consumed by primates, as collated from 79 studies. Our results showed that average frugivory among lemur communities was lower compared to New World and Asian-African primate communities. Fruits in Madagascar contain lower average nitrogen than those in the New World and Old World. Nitrogen content in the overall diets of primate species did not differ significantly between major taxonomic radiations. There is no relationship between fruit protein and the degree of frugivory among primates either globally or within regions, with the exception of Madagascar. This suggests that low protein availability in fruits influences current lemur communities to select for protein from other sources, whereas in the New World and Old World other factors are more significant in shaping primate communities.
AB - The uneven representation of frugivorous mammals and birds across tropical regions - high in the New World, low in Madagascar and intermediate in Africa and Asia - represents a long-standing enigma in ecology. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain these differences but the ultimate drivers remain unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that fruits in Madagascar contain insufficient nitrogen to meet primate metabolic requirements, thus constraining the evolution of frugivory. We performed a global analysis of nitrogen in fruits consumed by primates, as collated from 79 studies. Our results showed that average frugivory among lemur communities was lower compared to New World and Asian-African primate communities. Fruits in Madagascar contain lower average nitrogen than those in the New World and Old World. Nitrogen content in the overall diets of primate species did not differ significantly between major taxonomic radiations. There is no relationship between fruit protein and the degree of frugivory among primates either globally or within regions, with the exception of Madagascar. This suggests that low protein availability in fruits influences current lemur communities to select for protein from other sources, whereas in the New World and Old World other factors are more significant in shaping primate communities.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85032636626
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-017-13906-y
DO - 10.1038/s41598-017-13906-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 29089504
AN - SCOPUS:85032636626
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 7
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
IS - 1
M1 - 14406
ER -