Determining nitrogen requirements of Aceros and Buceros hornbills
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20188.abs Over 2 months, seven feeding trials were conducted at St. Catherines Island, GA, to quantify protein intake and utilization in captive mature nonreproducing Aceros (n=3 spp.) and Buceros (n=2 spp.) Hornbills were fed homogeneous isocaloric diets. A mixture of Bird of Paradise pellets, grapes, and raisins was offered to the birds as grape-sized […]
Protein requirements of three species of parrots with distinct dietary specializations
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.10086.abs Dietary protein deficiency is considered a major obstacle in the evolution of highly specialized nectarivorous and frugivorous birds. Proposed physiological mechanisms that enable such specialists to subsist on low-protein diets include minimized endogenous protein losses, which contribute to reduced protein requirements. I compared these traits among nectarivorous red lories (Eos bornea), frugivorous Pesquet’s […]
Diet of the Critically Endangered Brown Spider Monkey (Ateles hybridus) in an Inter-Andean Lowland Rainforest in Colombia
Brown spider monkeys (Ateles hybridus) are one of the least known and more threatened primates in the Neotropics. Recognized as a species about a decade ago, field studies on these endangered primates have mainly focused on estimating local population densities. Since 2006, we habituated a group of wild brown spider monkeys at Serranía de Las […]