Pilot Study on Diet Nutrition and Digestive Strategies Among Gorillas

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This is a pilot study on the nutritional aspects of diet and food preferences of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes). The primary objective is to conduct experimental observational research on gorillas and chimpanzees in laboratory and zoological park settings. This research will contribute to broader efforts to understand the relationships of body size and digestive physiology to ecology, the diversification and evolution of variation in body size, feeding ecology and social organization among the African apes, humans and their ancestors. Gorillas and chimpanzees are very different sizes, and consequently, have been traditionally viewed as ecologically distinct. Western lowland gorillas have proved difficult to study in the wild and limited field data has provided conflicting information about whether gorillas are fundamentally different from chimpanzees in their diet and behavior. Fruit eating shapes the behavior of most of the apes, but it remains unclear whether the large-bodied gorillas are an exception to this rule, specifically whether they are less selective and more opportunistic fruit eaters than chimpanzees. This research will provide much needed laboratory data to complement field data and assist efforts to better characterize diets and food preferences of the African apes. During laboratory research, species, sex and individual differences in food preferences, taste perception and rates of digestion of captive chimpanzees and gorillas will be evaluated. This pilot study will refine methods for experimental observational research on primate feeding strategies while providing preliminary data to expand our understanding of dietary differences and ecological adaptations of chimpanzees and gorillas.