The extent to which wildlife utilise anthropogenic environments including human food sources will depend on species-specific traits, as well as local people's attitudes toward the species. However, populations of certain species are able to prosper in association with people and may rely on human activities for a substantial portion of their diet (e.g., some species of macaque monkey, Macaca 6). Some wild animals never or rarely exploit human foods and fare badly in human-modified environments. In this study we compared crop-feeding in two allopatric populations of chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes) – an endangered mammal, threatened by habitat loss – to better understand how human foods are assimilated into animal diets under conditions of dynamic land-use change. To date, little attention has focused on potential variation among conspecific populations in use of human foods or its causes. Understanding use of human food sources by wild animals is of considerable interest since it can shed light on the acquisition of novel feeding habits and the process by which species adjust their behaviour in response to rapidly changing environments. While land-use changes including cultivation, plantation forestry, ranching and urbanisation invariably erode wild food supplies, they provide wildlife with opportunities to feed on novel foods such as agricultural crops, introduced exotics, garbage and livestock 2, 3, 4, 5. Understanding the dynamic responses of wildlife to agriculture can help predict current and future adaptability of species to fast-changing anthropogenic landscapes.Įxtensive transformation of natural habitats to alternative land-uses by people means that wild animals must adapt to rapidly changing environmental conditions, migrate, or perish 1.
Our results suggest chimpanzees show increased foraging adaptations to cultivated landscapes over time however, local feeding traditions may also contribute to group differences in crop-feeding in this species. However, crop selection by chimpanzees with long-term exposure to agriculture was more omnivorous (i.e., less fruit-biased) compared to those with more recent exposure, which ignored most non-fruit crops. Both groups exploited a variety of crops, with more accessible crops consumed most frequently. We examined crop-feeding in two groups of wild chimpanzees – a specialist frugivore – with differing histories of exposure to agriculture. Little attention has focused on within-species variation in use of human foods or its causes. Understanding use of human foods by wildlife can shed light on the acquisition of novel feeding habits and how animals respond to human-driven land-use changes. Access nutrients is stored in the body as fat, but Chimpanzees are highly active creatures that need as much energy as they can get, so it is not likely for a Chimpanzee to be "fat." Also, like that of humans and other mammals, the Chimpanzee has a four-chambered heart, as well as arteries and veins, completely containing the blood within the blood vessels of its two-circuit circulatory system.The ability of wild animals to respond flexibly to anthropogenic environmental changes, including agriculture, is critical to survival in human-impacted habitats. They have a closed circulatory system, making them able to transport the nutrients, oxygen, and water by blood cells, to where it is needed. Food and water is digested and then transported by the circulatory system as nutrients, and wastes are eliminated after digestion. The Chimpanzee has a similar anatomy to that of humans when comparing digestion and circulation. They have been known to kill and eat baboons, bush pigs, smaller monkeys, and small antelope.
Chimpanzees will also hunt larger prey depending on availability of other food. The use of the stick or stiff grass resembles the use of utensils by humans. They usually utilize sticks or stiff grass and weeds to dig out ants and termites from the hole that they live in. An interesting fact about the Chimpanzees' eating habits when feeding on termites and ants is they have been observed fashioning tools to help with their feeding. They do however eat ants, termites, birds' eggs. Their diet consists primarily of fruits, seeds, stems, leaves, and nuts.
0 kommentar(er)
