Doctoral Dissertation Research: Primate Nutritional Niches and Species Coexistence

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In primate communities there are multiple examples of coexisting species that overlap substantially in their use of dietary and other ecological resources in the same habitat. Discovering the mechanisms by which they are able to coexist is important for understanding how ecological communities are formed and is vital for conservation efforts. This dissertation project will examine the role of nutrition in primate species coexistence, investigating how different primate species who consume the same foods may select different amounts of protein, fat, carbohydrate, and other nutrients that result in a species-specific nutritional profile. By collecting behavioral, dietary, and nutritional data it is possible to quantify these nutritional profiles and examine the amount of overlap among them. This project provides a novel approach for conservation efforts because it will potentially uncover the nutrient balance necessary for the success of individual species. In addition, the Co-PI will provide training in lab-based nutritional ecology methods to undergraduates from underrepresented groups in STEM fields, and the project will involve international research collaborations with Malagasy colleagues and students. The Co-PI will also engage in conservation and scientific outreach at K-12 schools in the US and field locations.The project will investigate the role of the nutrition in maintaining species coexistence in four species of lemurs: the Milne-Edward's sifaka, the Verreaux's sifaka, the red-fronted lemur, and the red-tailed sportive lemur. The project will apply the Nutritional Geometry framework, which models how organisms balance multiple nutritional components, to identify the nutritional goals of each species and examine their degree of nutritional specialization. The project will also examine if there are sex-differences resulting in sex-specific nutrient goals, and finally, it will examine whether this nutritional approach is more informative for understanding coexistence than previous methods that used solely diet and microhabitat characteristics.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.