Digesta Passage Time,Digestibility, and Total Gut Fill in Captive Japanese Macaques (<Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Macaca fuscata</Emphasis>): Effects Food Type and Food Intake Level |
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Authors: | Akiko Sawada Ei Sakaguchi Goro Hanya |
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Institution: | (1) Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama Aichi, 484-8506, Japan;(2) Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Tsushima-naka, Kita-ku, Okayama 700-8530, Japan |
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Abstract: | Digestion is an important process in understanding the feeding ecology of animals. We examined digesta passage time, digestibility,
and total gut fill in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata; n = 4) under 4 dietary conditions representing the seasonal and regional variations in the diets of wild populations to determine
the effects of food type and food intake on these digestive features. Food type is associated with mean retention time (MRT),
digestibility, and total gut fill. Dry matter intake (DMI) of food correlates positively with total gut fill but not with
MRT or digestibility. Conversely, indigestible DMI affected MRT negatively. Thus, when Japanese macaques consume high-fiber
foods, MRT becomes shorter and digestibility is lower than when eating low-fiber foods. Moreover, macaques experience increases
in total gut fill when they consume high-fiber diets or a large amount of food. Japanese macaques may excrete difficult-to-digest
food components quickly; they nevertheless buffer an increase in food intake by an increase in gut fill. Our study offers
new insights into the relationship between feeding ecology and nutritional physiology in primates by simultaneously examining
the effects of food type and intake level on MRT and digestibility. |
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