西黑冠长臂猿营养生态研究

Animals must acquire adequate nutrition under a suite of environmental and social constraints to suvive and reproduce successfully. Nutritional ecology is an integrative science studying the interactions between nutrition intake of animals and the environment. It spans a wide range of fields, including ecology, nutrition, behaviour, morphology, physiology, life history and evolutionary biology. Yunnan sheltered as much as 90% of the world population of western black crested gibbons (Nomascus concolor), and is essential to the species' conservation. Previous studies revealed that the quality and seasonality of habitat could affect various of behavior in western black crested gibbons.However, lacking food availability monitor and quantificational mensuration of nutrition in food, we now can't exactly figure out the nutritional model or feeding strategy in western black crested gibbons. In order to understand how the gibbons procure appropriate quantities of certain macro- and micro-nutrients for survive and breeding from their margin and harsh habitat by certain feeding strategy, and how they make ends meet for their enegy intake and consume, we choose three habituated groups of western black crested gibbons at Dazhaizi, Wuliang mountain as our subjects. We will conduct two years of field study: continuous food availability monitor, measure of physics and chemistry characters of food and items from non-food dominant plant species, as well as behavior observation. We will try to find the model of primary nutritional goal in our subject and explain the food selection and preferance from a nutritional ecology aspect. We will also draw a framework of their forage strategy for their nutritional goals and energy balance. Our study results will not only fill in a gap of nutritional ecology study in the species, but also of practical significance in gibbon conservation in China.

动物必须从生活环境中摄取适量的营养物质以满足生存和繁衍的需要。营养生态学是研究动物自身营养摄取和其生活环境之间关系的综合学科。云南保存着全世界西黑冠长臂猿（Nomascus concolor）90%的种群，对该物种保护有极重要的意义。我们现有的研究已发现栖息地质量和季节性变化可能影响西黑冠长臂猿多种生态行为，但尚缺乏定量和系统的营养生态学研究，并不清楚在相对边缘化的栖息地中，西黑冠长臂猿如何通过觅食策略的调整达到必需的营养需求和能量平衡。本研究选择滇中无量山大寨子地区三个相邻完全习惯化的西黑冠长臂猿群体，拟通过连续两年定量的食物可得性监测、食物营养成分测定及行为生态观察，从营养生态学角度解释西黑冠长臂猿对食物的选择以及偏好，确定其营养摄入基本模式，并考察研究对象采取怎样的觅食策略以满足营养需求和能量平衡。研究结果不仅将填补西黑冠长臂猿营养生态研究的空白，对该物种的进一步保护也有重要的意义。

本项目旨在通过结合食物可得性监测、食物营养成分测定和行为生态观察，从营养生态学角度解释西黑冠长臂猿对食物的选择和偏好，分析其如何通多觅食策略的调整和适应达到自身的营养需求和能量平衡。.研究结果显示：1、即使在相邻的栖息地中，各个长臂猿群体的家域也有大小和食物质量的巨大差异。2、不同植物以及植物不同部位的营养成分含量差异明显，并显著影响长臂猿是否将其作为食物的选择，长臂猿偏向于取食水分、水溶性糖、总碳水化合物（能量）高，而中性洗涤纤维和酸性洗涤纤维低的植物作为食物。叶类富含蛋白质和灰分，花果富含水分和糖，长臂猿通过取食不同部位的植物来获得不同营养。但长臂猿对各类食物的取食比例并不受其营养成分影响，反之，栖息地中食物可得性的季节性变化才是影响长臂猿觅食策略的重要原因。3、长臂猿群体可以通过行为策略的调节适应栖息地食物特征并满足自身营养和能量的需要，包括食谱、食性、栖息地利用、时间分配等各个方面。取食方面，家域较大或家域内食物质量较高的长臂猿群体降低食谱宽度，选择喜食的果类食物，而较小家域的群体则通过增加食物种类以及补充取食大量叶类食物满足自身需求。长臂猿对栖息地的利用和家域内食物可得性的时空变化有关，且不论家域面积大小，每月长臂猿只利用少部分栖息地，而放弃了全面游走行为，这是一种高效而节省能耗的策略。同时群体在食物贫乏或者低质而温度又低的情况下，会采取多休息少觅食的策略来降低能量消耗，同样是比较保守的能量策略。.本项目结果首次揭示了西黑冠长臂猿在不同大小或特征的栖息地中如何通过行为调整满足自身的营养需求和能量平衡。项目成果已经发表2篇SCI论文。