Primate resting postures : an adaptation to mammalian herbivory?

The functional separation of different particle sizes in the gut of an herbivorous primate is important, as faster excretion of large particles reduces the intake-limitation posed by the long microbial fermentation of plant. This separation functions only along a gravity gradient, therefore, a prima...

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Main Author: Chua, Physilia Ying Shi.
Other Authors: Kristen Elizabeth Sadler
Format: Final Year Project
Language:English
Published: 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10356/45335
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-453352023-02-28T18:05:55Z Primate resting postures : an adaptation to mammalian herbivory? Chua, Physilia Ying Shi. Kristen Elizabeth Sadler School of Biological Sciences Wildlife Reserves Singapore Sha John DRNTU::Science::Biological sciences::Zoology::Animal behavior The functional separation of different particle sizes in the gut of an herbivorous primate is important, as faster excretion of large particles reduces the intake-limitation posed by the long microbial fermentation of plant. This separation functions only along a gravity gradient, therefore, a primate’s resting postures may affect the efficiency of its digestive strategy. Other than in sloths, a primate’s resting postures has not been studied before. To find out if a primate’s resting postures is an adaptation to its diet, the resting postures, amount of rest time, correlation between the rates of ingesta passage time and resting postures, and terrestrial/arboreal adaptations of five groups of primates (Colobinae, Cercopithecinae, Alouattinae, Atelinae and Apes) were studied. Colobinae were observed to rest sitting upright the most. No differences were observed between the groups for the amount of time spent resting. There was also no correlation between the rates of ingesta passage time and resting postures. Colobinae, Alouattinae and Atelinae were observed to be arboreal, Cercopithecinae terrestrial while the Apes were semi-terrestrial. All the groups except for the Apes showed a preference for resting in a sitting upright posture when on the trees as compared to when on the ground. Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences 2011-06-13T01:33:38Z 2011-06-13T01:33:38Z 2011 2011 Final Year Project (FYP) http://hdl.handle.net/10356/45335 en Nanyang Technological University 32 p. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic DRNTU::Science::Biological sciences::Zoology::Animal behavior
spellingShingle DRNTU::Science::Biological sciences::Zoology::Animal behavior
Chua, Physilia Ying Shi.
Primate resting postures : an adaptation to mammalian herbivory?
description The functional separation of different particle sizes in the gut of an herbivorous primate is important, as faster excretion of large particles reduces the intake-limitation posed by the long microbial fermentation of plant. This separation functions only along a gravity gradient, therefore, a primate’s resting postures may affect the efficiency of its digestive strategy. Other than in sloths, a primate’s resting postures has not been studied before. To find out if a primate’s resting postures is an adaptation to its diet, the resting postures, amount of rest time, correlation between the rates of ingesta passage time and resting postures, and terrestrial/arboreal adaptations of five groups of primates (Colobinae, Cercopithecinae, Alouattinae, Atelinae and Apes) were studied. Colobinae were observed to rest sitting upright the most. No differences were observed between the groups for the amount of time spent resting. There was also no correlation between the rates of ingesta passage time and resting postures. Colobinae, Alouattinae and Atelinae were observed to be arboreal, Cercopithecinae terrestrial while the Apes were semi-terrestrial. All the groups except for the Apes showed a preference for resting in a sitting upright posture when on the trees as compared to when on the ground.
author2 Kristen Elizabeth Sadler
author_facet Kristen Elizabeth Sadler
Chua, Physilia Ying Shi.
format Final Year Project
author Chua, Physilia Ying Shi.
author_sort Chua, Physilia Ying Shi.
title Primate resting postures : an adaptation to mammalian herbivory?
title_short Primate resting postures : an adaptation to mammalian herbivory?
title_full Primate resting postures : an adaptation to mammalian herbivory?
title_fullStr Primate resting postures : an adaptation to mammalian herbivory?
title_full_unstemmed Primate resting postures : an adaptation to mammalian herbivory?
title_sort primate resting postures : an adaptation to mammalian herbivory?
publishDate 2011
url http://hdl.handle.net/10356/45335
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