Macronutrient signature of dietary generalism in an ecologically diverse primate in the wild

Zhen-Wei Cui, Zhen-Long Wang, Qi Shao, David Raubenheimer and Ji-Qi Lu

Behavioral Ecology, 2018, vol. 29, issue 4, 804-813

Abstract: Theory predicts that animals with a broad diet should be capable of using macronutrients (protein, fats, and carbohydrates) flexibly, such that a shortfall in one can be made up by additional intake of another. We used Rhesus macaques, a highly generalist primate, to test this in the wild. Our results strongly support the theory, and raise the question of why the same does not apply to the most generalist primate of all, humans.

Keywords: dietary generalism; equal distance regulatory model; generalist primate; nutritional geometry framework; Macaca mulatta tcheliensis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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