Tooth wear and feeding ecology in mountain gorillas from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
| Autor: | Olive Imanizabayo, Halszka Glowacka, Shannon C. McFarlin, Jordi Galbany, Michael R. Cranfield, Antoine Mudakikwa, Veronica Vecellio, Timothy G. Bromage, Tara S. Stoinski, Alejandro Romero |
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| Přispěvatelé: | Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Biotecnología, Biotecnología |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Male
0106 biological sciences Aging Anthropology Food habits Library science Biología Celular 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Anthropology Physical German Feeding behavior Political science Animals 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Dentine exposure 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology Feeding ecology 2. Zero hunger Gorilla beringei beringei Gorilla gorilla Ecology National park 05 social sciences Rwanda Feeding Behavior 15. Life on land language.human_language Diet George (robot) language Female Christian ministry Tooth Wear Anatomy |
| Popis: | Objectives: Ecological factors have a dramatic effect on tooth wear in primates, although it remains unclear how individual age contributes to functional crown morphology. The aim of this study is to determine how age and individual diet are related to tooth wear in wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. Material and Methods: We calculated the percent of dentine exposure (PDE) for all permanent molars (M1–M3) of known-age mountain gorillas (N = 23), to test whether PDE varied with age using regression analysis. For each molar position, we also performed stepwise multiple linear regression to test the effects of age and percentage of time spent feeding on different food categories on PDE, for individuals subject to long-term observational studies by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International's Karisoke Research Center. Results: PDE increased significantly with age for both sexes in all molars. Moreover, a significant effect of gritty plant root consumption on PDE was found among individuals. Our results support prior reports indicating reduced tooth wear in mountain gorillas compared to western gorillas, and compared to other known-aged samples of primate taxa from forest and savanna habitats. Discussion: Our findings corroborate that mountain gorillas present very low molar wear, and support the hypothesis that age and the consumption of particular food types, namely roots, are significant determinants of tooth wear variation in mountain gorillas. Future research should characterize the mineral composition of the soil in the Virunga habitat, to test the hypothesis that the physical and abrasive properties of gritty foods such as roots influence intra- and interspecific patterns of tooth wear. Grant sponsor: National Science Foundation; Grant numbers: BCS 0852866, 0964944; Grant sponsors: The Leakey Foundation; National Geographic Society’s Committee for Exploration and Research; the Center and Institute Facilitating Fund of The George Washington University; the 2010 Max Planck Research Award endowed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to the Max Planck Society; Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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