Mechanical and Nutritional Properties of Food as Factors in Platyrrhine Dietary Adaptations

Abstract

Platyrrhines face a vast array of potential food resources in the Neotropics. Ecological challenges associated with finding, ingesting, masticating, and digest- ing foods are influenced by food availability and accessibility. Food availability is influenced by seasonal variation in forest productivity, fruiting synchrony, and crop size (e.g., Stevenson 2001; Chapman et al. 2003, but see Milton et al. 2005). Accessibility, on the other hand, is related to such factors as fruit and seed size, the ability to breach mechanically challenging tissues, to tolerate secondary chemical compounds, and to balance nutrient intake. Our goal in this chapter is to examine the diversity of platyrrhine responses to this second variable – gaining access to and processing foods.