Isotopic assessment of marine food consumption by natural‐foraging chacma baboons on the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. Issue 1 (27th October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lewis, Matthew C.; West, Adam G.; O'Riain, M. Justin
• Is Part Of: American journal of physical anthropology. Volume 165:Issue 1(2018)
• Page Start: 77
• Page End: 93
• Publication Date: 2017-10-27
• Subjects: diet -- intertidal foraging -- Papio ursinus -- δ13C -- δ15N; Physical anthropology -- Periodicals; Anthropology -- Periodicals; Anthropologie physique -- Périodiques; 599.9
• DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23332
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-9483

Abstract

Abstract: Objectives: Stable isotope analysis has been used to investigate consumption of marine resources in a variety of terrestrial mammals, including humans, but not yet in extant nonhuman primates. We sought to test the efficacy of stable isotope analysis as a tool for such studies by comparing isotope‐ and observation‐based estimates of marine food consumption by a troop of noncommensal, free‐ranging chacma baboons. Materials and methods: We determined δ 13 C and δ 15 N values of baboon hair ( n = 9) and fecal samples ( n = 144), and principal food items ( n = 362). These values were used as input for diet models, the outputs of which were compared to observation‐based estimates of marine food consumption. Results: Fecal δ 13 C values ranged from −29.3‰ to −25.6‰. δ 15 N values ranged from 0.9‰ to 6.3‰ and were positively correlated with a measure of marine foraging during the dietary integration period. Mean (± SD) δ 13 C values of adult male and female baboon hairs were −21.6‰ (± 0.1) and −21.8‰ (± 0.3) respectively, and corresponding δ 15 N values were 5.0‰ (± 0.3) and 3.9‰ (± 0.2). Models indicated that marine contributions were ≤10% of baboon diet within any season, and contributed ≤17% of dietary protein through the year. Discussion: Model output and observational data were in agreement, both indicating that despite their abundance in the intertidal region, marine foods comprised only a small proportion of baboon diet. This suggests that stable isotope analysis is a viable tool for investigating marine food consumption by natural‐foraging primates in temperate regions.