Picking pithy plants: Pith selectivity by wild white-faced capuchin monkeys, Cebus imitator.

ABSTRACT: Understanding diet selectivity is a longstanding goal in primate ecology. Deciphering when and why primates consume different resources can provide insights into their nutritional ecology as well as adaptations to food scarcity. Plant pith, the spongy interior of plant stems, is occasionally eaten by primates, but the context is poorly understood. We examine the ecological, mechanical, chemical, and nutritional basis of plant pith selection by a wild, frugivorous-omnivorous primate (Cebus imitator). We test the hypothesis that pith is a fallback food, that is, consumed when fruit is less abundant, and test for differences between plant species from which pith is eaten versus avoided. We collected 3.5 years of capuchin pith consumption data to document dietary species and analyzed "pith pat

SUBMITTER: DePasquale AN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11650937 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature