Dietary Traits Among Primates

Lemurs(Prosimians/Strepsirhini) 

Lemurs are primates with a very restricted range, and are only found on the tropical island of Madagascar. They are arboreal, living in the treetops of the Madagascar rainforests along the north-south axis on the east coast of the island. The forests are tropical in climate: warm and humid. The east side of the island gets, on average, 3.5 meters of rainfall each year and is home to thousands of species of animals, insects, and plant life (including a vast array of trees for these lemurs to call "home").

Because Lemurs are tree-dwellers their diet consists primarily of fruits and seeds found in the tops of trees. However, some families of Lemurs (like the Aye Aye) prey on frogs, insects, eggs and newly hatched birds (also found in tree tops).

Since Lemurs are arbhoreal, it makes sense that, over time, they have adapted to any and all food sources available to them. This adaptation is expressed in their omnivorous dietary trait.

Aye Aye (lemur) eating from a bird's egg. 

Spider Monkey (New World Monkey/Platyrrhini) 

The spider monkey, also a primate, is found in the tree tops of the tropical rain forests in Central and South America. They even reside as far north as Mexico. There, the climate is generally hot and humid through out the year, with an average temperature of 80 degrees fahrenheit. In the rain forests of Central and South America, there is no real "dry season" with up to 180 inches of rain each year. The trees of the rain forests range in size and are densely packed, providing the perfect home for the spider monkey.

Like other arboreal primates, the spider monkey's diet is varied. They eat nuts, eggs, spiders, fruits and leaves found high in the trees of rainforests across Central and South America.

Like the lemur, they have adapted to a variety of foods, eating what is available to them in their surrounding environment and providing them with an abundance of food choices.

Spider monkey eating fruit.

Baboon (Old World Monkey/Cercopithecidae) 

African grassland, sub-saharan.

The baboon is found in the sub-saharan African savannahs. Their habitat differs from other primates in that the trees are far more sparse than the densely packed trees of rain forests. Baboons spend most of their time roaming the ground in the grasslands of Africa. Also unlike rainforests, the climate in the sub-saharans is arid and dry.

The baboon is a hunter as well as a forager, sometimes feeding on other primates and the young of larger mammals such as antelopes. They are even known to hunt flamingos. While foraging, they will eat grass, seeds, roots, bark and fruit from trees. Baboons are also opportunistic in their diet and will eat the crops on farms, becoming a pest for African farmers.

Baboon feeding on an antelope in a tree top. 

Similarily to other primates, baboons have adapted their diets to meet the opportunities found in their environment. Being omnivorous and opportunistic provide them a greater chance of finding food all across the sub-saharan terrain.









Gibbon (Lesser Ape/Hylobatidae)

Jungle in South-East Asia

Gibbons can be found in the tropical jungles of South-east Asia, China, and the surrounding islands. They are arboreal, rarely coming down from the tops of trees. The trees in these jungles are abundant and densely packed, providing a great enviroment for gibbons, who can swing effortlessly from one tree to the next.

Mother and baby gibbons eating. 

Gibbons thrive, primarily, on the abundant fruits found in the trees where they dwell, favoring figs above all others. Though fruit foraging makes up aproximately 75% of the gibbons food source, they are omnivorous (like other primates) and will sometimes supplement their diet with leaves, bark, flowers, birds and bird eggs found in the tree tops.

Again, they have adapted to the food sources available to them and have developed a very generalized diet.





Chimpanzee (Great Ape/Hominidae) 

Central African rainforest.

Chimpanzees live in the tropical rainforests of central Africa. Though it recieves less rainfall than most (only 68-73 inches annually), the rainforests of central Africa are still rich in bio-diversity in regards to plant, insect, and mammalian life. Similar to other forests, trees account for aproximately 70% of the plant life (600 different species), providing a great home for the arboreal and terrestrial chimpanzee. The forests in central Africa are home to the tallest species of rain forest tree, the Kapok. Also like other rainforests, the trees are incredibly densely packed and it can take up to 10 minutes for rain to hit the forest floor.

Chimpanzee feeding on fruit.

The chimpanzee is also an omnivorous primate. Though they feed primarily on fruits, their diet consists of up to 80 different plant foods including blossoms and leaves, and they can sometimes be found eating other mammals. Occassionally, a chimpanzee will eat an antelope or goat, but more frequently they might feed on other primates such as young baboons. Because the chimpanzee is found in such densely packed vegetation with abundant bio-diversity, they have not been forced to adapt to any single food source, but have the ability and desire to feed on a wide-array of sources.

Mother and baby chimpanzee eating. 

While these five primates have adapted to finding food in their separate environments, they have not developed a particularly specialized diet. Each primate lives in an environment that is rich in bio-diversity, providing an abundant source of foods and allowing them to adapt to eating a wide variety in their omnivorous diets. Evolutionarily speaking, this provides these primates with an advantage when resources become scarce. Because their diets are so generalized, when a food source runs out they still have options.   

Rainforests of the world.

Sources: 

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/explore/southern/southern_animals_lo.html

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/gibbon/

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/spider-monkey/

http://www.outtoafrica.nl/animals/engchimpanzee.html

http://interesting-africa-facts.com/Africa-Landforms/African-Rainforest-Facts.html