Picking pithy plants: pith selection by wild, white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus imitator)

In this project, I examine the process of food selection by wild, white-faced capuchin monkeys using a novel multi-methodological approach. Capuchins are highly omnivorous, eating over 100+ fruit species as well as dozens of invertebrate prey species. However, when it comes to plant pith, the spongy interior of tree branches, capuchins are uncharacteristically picky, consuming only a handful of species of 300+ tree species available. To understand this selection process, I examine how dietary pith species differ from non-dietary pith species in multiple criteria, including mechanical hardness, relative amount of pith, macronutrient composition, and chemical profile. In my Mitacs Globalink internship, I will develop skills in chemical analysis by analyzing plant pith chemistry through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry at the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) in Leipzig, Germany. I will identify the chemical compounds that differentiate dietary piths from non-dietary ones, seeking ultimately to understand the chemical basis of food choice by a wild omnivorous primate.

Faculty Supervisor:

Amanda Melin

Student:

Partner:

German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Pharmaceuticals; Life Sciences (not health); Health and Related Sciences & Technology

University:

University of Calgary

Program: