Frank E. Poirier

Hominid Dietary Selection Before Fire

Control of fire was apparently acquired rather late in the course of hominid evolution. It is therefore necessary, in the study of dietary selection by early hominids, to consider the range of plants that would have proven inedible without cooking. Some plants contain toxins or digestibility-reducing compounds, and some plant constituents are indigestible. Cooking mitigates the impact of toxins and renders complex carbohydrates more digestible. Plant foods high in cellulose and/or starch are not readily digestible uncooked, and these constituents reduce the digestibility of other nutrients. Since nutrient intake is limited by the amount of food that can be processed per unit time, non-fire-using hominids should have attempted to increase nutrient intake by minimizing intake of these carbohydrates. Unlike animal sources of protein, plant materials generally lack a full complement of amino acids, and a variety of such materials must be ingested to obtain a balance of essential amino acids. Leaves and legumes, both possible sources of essential amino acids, may be ruled out as major suppliers of them for non-fire-using hominids-leaves because of their cellulose content and legumes because of their high frequency of toxic compounds. The limitations on the availability of plant protein strengthen the inference that some animal protein was ingested by early hominids on a regular basis. A ranking of plant parts as potential foodstuffs for non-fire-using hominids is proposed. When considered in conjunction with ecological factors, such a ranking should be helpful in generating models of hominid dietary selection before fire.

The Early Hominid Plant-Food Niche: Insights From an Analysis of Plant Exploitation by Homo, Pan, and Papio in Eastern and Southern Africa [and Comments and Reply]

African plant-food genera exploited by Homo, Pan, and Papio have been catalogued and analyzed to provide an estimation of the size and composition of the fundamental plant-food niche of the early hominids. Results to date include recognition of more than 100 widely distributed African plant genera which are the best known candidates for plant-food exploitation by the Plio/Pleistocene hominids of eastern and southern Africa. An analysis of staples reveals that fruits would be the most common type of plant part contributing to the early hominid plant-food diet. Six plant genera (four providing edible fruits) are the first genera to be identified as members of the most probable early-hominid fundamental plant-food niche. Potential interspecies competition for plant-food staples has also been estimated. It is highly significant and must be considered in models predicting the realized niche of these primates and the early hominids.

Lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus) in a disturbed forest fragment: Activity patterns and time budget

We describe the activity patterns and time budget of a feral group of lion-tailed macaques that were confined to a disturbed forest fragment of 65 ha and compare the results with those obtained for groups in protected forests. The degraded nature of the study site was reflected in low tree densities, low specific diversity, gaps in the girth distribution of trees, and frequent disturbance by humans. The study group of 43 subjects was twice as large as lion-tailed macaque groups in protected habitats. They spent the most time ranging (34.0%), followed by foraging (23.7%), feeding (17.9%), resting (16.0%), and other activities such as social interactions (8.4%). Monthly variations are significant for all activity categories except ranging. Times spent resting and foraging are negatively correlated (r = −0.5) and show significant seasonal differences. Foraging time was highest from September to November, when key food sources such asCullenia andArtocarpus were absent or marginally available. The study group spent most time (40.4%) at canopy levels between 21 and 30 m. They spent more time each day ranging than resting or feeding and more time terrestrially compared with groups in protected forests. Large group size, poor habitat quality, and seasonal variation in food availability were the major variables affecting their time budget, and these variables accounted for differences from the time budgets of groups in protected forests.

FUNCTIONS OF PRIMATE PLAY BEHAVIOR

“Play has the status of a religion. It is a system of beliefs with many sectarian views” (I. S. Bernstein, personal communication). This view was communicated to the authors at the symposium from which papers for the present volume were drawn. The authors agree with Dr. Bernsteins tongue-in-cheek assessment. As this paper will show, there are many tenets of faith for play behavior, the cornerstone being that play is functional.

The Crab-Eating Macaques (Macaca fascicularis) of Angaur Island, Palau, Micronesia (Part 1 of 2)

Crab-eating macaques on Angaur are an exotic fauna introduced to the island in the early 1900’s. The present population of 480-600 animals reportedly are descendents of a pair of monkeys brought

The St. Kitts Green Monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus): Ecology, Population Dynamics, and Selected Behavioral Traits

The ecology and social behavior of the St. Kitts green monkey were investigated for a total of 77 days and 128 h during the summers of 1969 and 1970. This report deals with the ecology and population

The Communication Matrix of the Nilgiri Langur (Presbytis johnii) of South India

The Nilgiri langur communication network is less varied than communication systems reported for terrestrial species. Most of the communicatory signals are witnessed in intratroop situations. Nilgiri langurs produce nineteen distinct vocalizations, the most notable being an intertroop territorial, spacing call. A complete description of the communicatory network is presented and compared specifically with other colobids, and nonhuman primates generally.

TAXONOMY, DISTRIBUTION, AND STATUS OF GIBBONS (HYLOBATES) IN SOUTHERN CHINA AND ADJACENT AREAS

Gibbons are small and arboreal apes restricted to southeastern tropical and southern subtropical regions in Asia. They are distributed from Assam in the northwest, eastward to south China and Vietnam, south through the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra, Borneo, Java, and the Mentawai Islands. Twenty-two genetically distinct populations of gibbons are generally recognized.Gibbons were once widely distributed in China; however, they are now primarily restricted to southern and southwestern Yunnan and Hainan Island. Their widest distribution and greatest species diversity is in Yunnan Province. Gibbons are rare in China and are now listed as a first class endangered species.Four gibbon species inhabit Yunnan Province in southern China. They areH. hoolock, H. lar, H. leucogenys, andH. concolor. There are three subspecies ofH. leucogenys: H. l. leucogenys, H. l. siki, andH. l. gabriellae. OnlyH. l. leucogenys inhabits China. Four subspecies ofH. concolor inhabit China. These areH. c. concolor, H. c. jingdongensis, H. c. furvogaster, andH. c. hainanus. The first three subspecies inhabit Yunnan andH. c. hainanus is found only on Hainan Island.H. lar yunnanensis is the subspecies ofH. lar in southern China.H. hoolock leucogenys is the subspecies ofH. hoolock in southern China.H. concolor jingdongensis, H. concolor furvogaster, andH. lar yunnanensis are all newly proposed subspecies byMa andWang (1986).The data on southern China gibbons presented here is based on an analysis of the skeletons and skins of 49 specimens held at the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan.

Nilgiri langur (Presbytis johnii) territorial behavior

During 1250 hours of observation 84 intertroop encounters were witnessed suggesting territorial behavior. Most of these involved an exchange by adult males of visual and/or vocal signals. Chasing was rare, and when it occurred, it seemed to be “ritual chasing.”The amount of intertroop male intolerance was unexpected. Arboreal animals occupying upper story vegetation which provided an unobstructed view of the surroundings, could easily avoid contact. It is therefore interesting that males regularly sought other males to display against. Although encounters were frequent, the cost to the participants was minimal because physical contact and injury rarely occurred.The exact function of Nilgiri langur territories is unclear. Presumably, territorial behavior regulated population dispersal, especially of adult males, and population numbers. Territorial behavior also protected core areas against incursions which indirectly prevented, or minimized, overfeeding and overcrowding.

Macaca mulatta and Rhinopithecus in China: Preliminary Research Results

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