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Primate Movements Across the Nutritional Landscapes of Africa

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Movement Ecology of Afrotropical Forest Mammals

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Abstract

To find suitable food, organisms must navigate through a matrix of resources that vary in their concentrations of nutrients, toxins, and digestion inhibitors while also avoiding multiple hazards such as food competitors and predators. Wild primates eat a variety of foods that vary in their availability and quality both spatially and seasonally, and their movements differ accordingly. Here, we review the movement ecologies of primates in African forests with a focus on nutrient acquisition. We discuss how primates find different nutrients using a variety of sensory adaptations and adapt their movement to meet specific nutritional needs. We discuss future directions for research in this area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Emma G. Thurau, Brynn E. Lowry & Jessica M. Rothman

  2. Anthropology Program, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Emma G. Thurau, Brynn E. Lowry & Jessica M. Rothman

  3. New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA

    Emma G. Thurau, Brynn E. Lowry & Jessica M. Rothman

  4. Biology Department, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda

    John Bosco Nkurunungi

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  1. Emma G. Thurau
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  2. Brynn E. Lowry
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  3. John Bosco Nkurunungi
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  4. Jessica M. Rothman
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Correspondence to Emma G. Thurau .

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  1. Department of Biodiversity Conservation, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Campeche, Campeche, Mexico

    Rafael Reyna-Hurtado

  2. Biology Department, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, BC, Canada

    Colin A. Chapman

  3. Wild Pig Specialist Group, IUCN SSC, African Buffalo Initiative Group IUCN, ASG, Rome, Italy

    Mario Melletti

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Thurau, E.G., Lowry, B.E., Nkurunungi, J.B., Rothman, J.M. (2023). Primate Movements Across the Nutritional Landscapes of Africa. In: Reyna-Hurtado, R., Chapman, C.A., Melletti, M. (eds) Movement Ecology of Afrotropical Forest Mammals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27030-7_7

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