Binturong (Arctictis binturong) and Kinkajou (Potos flavus) digestive strategy: implications for interpreting frugivory in Carnivora and primates.

ABSTRACT: Exclusive frugivory is rare. As a food resource, fruit is temporally and spatially patchy, low in protein, and variable in terms of energy yield from different carbohydrate types. Here, we evaluate the digestive physiology of two frugivorous Carnivora species (Potos flavus, Arctictis binturong) that converge with primates in a diversity of ecological and anatomical traits related to fruit consumption. We conducted feeding trials to determine mean digestive retention times (MRT) on captive animals at the Carnivore Preservation Trust (now Carolina Tiger Rescue), Pittsboro, NC. Fecal samples were collected on study subjects for in vitro analysis to determine methane, pH, and short chain fatty acid profiles; fiber was assayed using standard neutral detergent (NDF) and acid detergent (ADF) fibe

SUBMITTER: Lambert JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4144878 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature