Browsing by Author "Tan, Evelyn Yee-Ling Chanida"

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    The nutritional quality of colobus vellerosus diet at the boabeng-fiema monkey sanctuary in Ghana
    (2006) Tan, Evelyn Yee-Ling Chanida; Sicotte, Pascale
    The nutritional quality of foods is one important feature of habitat quality. For folivores, the protein-to-fiber ratio is a reliable predictor of food selection and folivore biomass and allows for comparisons between forests. I analyzed the nutritional quality of mature leaves eaten by Colobus vellerosus in three forests. This study fits well with previous research and there was a correlation between feeding time and the protein-to-fiber ratio. Surprisingly we found that food, nonfood, deciduous, evergreen, pioneer, and nonpioneer species had similar nutrient profiles. Seasonality and leaf longevity may have an overriding influence on leaf quality. Additionally, plants allocated nutrients evenly throughout plant parts because of their deciduous phenology pattern. Differences between forests were variable and may have been the result of ecological disturbance or soil quality. From a conservation perspective, nutritional studies allow us to assess the population viability of primates that are living in increasingly fragmented habitats.