Acquisition of a Near Infrared Spectrometer to Rapidly Analyze Primate Diets

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Questions regarding the complex interactions that humans and non-human primates have with their environment are central to understanding both the evolution and ecology of our own species, as well as that of non-human primates. Obtaining adequate nutrition is among the most profound of these interactions. Estimates of the nutritional quality of food resources are needed to address questions regarding the role of diet and nutrition in primate abundance, distribution, and social behavior. Recently documented striking and unpredictable variation in nutritional composition within same plant species through time and space needs to be considered when characterizing primate diets and addressing many questions of interest to primatologists. This requires the analysis of thousands of plant samples to examine primate diets, and traditional nutritional analysis is time-consuming and expensive when dealing with sample sizes of this magnitude. Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is an economical method that can be used to rapidly assess nutritional content primate foods. The underlying principle of this technology is that the chemical bonds in the organic matter of a food item are represented in a spectrum when the sample is irradiated with near infrared light. These spectra are then calibrated against reference values of nutrients, obtained from traditional nutritional analysis, to develop predictive statistical equations. Since a single spectrum can represent many attributes of a sample (fiber, fat, protein etc.), it can replace assays for multiple nutrients; over 150 plant samples can be analyzed per day for a variety of nutrients simultaneously, greatly improving the efficiency of nutritional analysis. This award will support the acquisition of a near-infrared reflectance spectrometer, and will form the foundation for research collaboration among physical anthropologists studying primate behavior and ecology. The spectrometer will be housed in the Department of Anthropology at Hunter College of the City University of New York. The use of NIRS will support many research and training activities within the PI's primate nutritional ecology lab, including the research efforts of the PI, and five collaborators and their students within North America. It will contribute to the research activities of at least thirteen ongoing projects on primate nutritional ecology on a diversity of monkeys living in East Africa and South America. Hunter College is a minority serving institution, where many opportunities are available to improve the research and training infrastructure of underrepresented groups and women pursuing degrees in the sciences. Students at Hunter will be trained in this cutting-edge NIRS technology, allowing them to test anthropological theories in ways that have not been previously possible. Further, since NIRS users will be attracted to Hunter College, collaborations through the use of the spectrometer will enable a vibrant and engaged group from multiple universities internationally, enhancing student training at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.