Comparability among measures of primate diets

Abstract

Feeding niche constitutes one of the most basic ecological parameters defining any species. Unfortunately, our picture of primate feeding niches is suspect because field workers have used a variety of observational techniques to assess diet in the wild. Here the question of the comparability of these techniques is explored empirically, by comparing the dietary profiles of a small group of primate species that have been studied by two methods in a single locality. These methods are shown to yield quite different results, both in the realm of simple description, and in the realm of behavioral-ecological hypothesis testing. © 1987 Japan Monkey Centre.