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Mycophagy in Primates of the Issa Valley, Tanzania

Summary

Researchers studied how three types of primates in Tanzania eat mushrooms. They found that baboons eat mushrooms regularly throughout the year and prefer them as food, while chimpanzees and red-tailed monkeys mainly eat mushrooms when other foods are scarce. Different eating patterns between the three species suggest they may be sharing forest resources without competing too much with each other.

Background

Mycophagy (fungi consumption) is an important animal-ecosystem interaction that provides nutrients for numerous mammalian taxa including primates. Although mushroom consumption is documented in about a quarter of all known primate species, little is known about mushrooms as staple or fallback foods and their relationship to mushroom availability.

Objective

To investigate mushroom consumption patterns across three sympatric primate species (chimpanzees, yellow baboons, and red-tailed monkeys) in the Issa Valley, Tanzania, and assess the relationship between mushroom availability and consumption patterns to understand the ecological role of mycophagy.

Results

Mushrooms were a consistent dietary component during the wet season (October-April) for all three species: chimpanzees 4%, baboons 17%, and red-tailed monkeys 4%. Baboons consumed mushrooms (~11% annually) even when availability was low, while chimpanzee and red-tailed monkey consumption tracked mushroom density. This represents the first report of mushroom consumption by red-tailed monkeys.

Conclusion

Mushrooms serve as fallback resources for Issa chimpanzees and red-tailed monkeys, while representing a preferred food for baboons. Different consumption patterns suggest niche partitioning to reduce interspecific feeding competition, highlighting the importance of mycophagy in primate dietary ecology and human evolution.
  • Published in:Ecology and Evolution,
  • Study Type:Observational Study,
  • Source: PMID: 41019392, DOI: 10.1002/ece3.72000
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