Consumption of underground storage organs is associated with improved energetic status in a graminivorous primate.

J Hum Evol

Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA; Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA. Electronic address:

Published: July 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • Early hominins likely had access to open, grassy areas and may have relied on underground storage organs (USOs) for their diet, particularly during drier seasons.
  • Geladas, a primate species that primarily eats grass, shift their diet to include more USOs when grass is scarce, making them an interesting case study for examining dietary strategies.
  • Research showed that while male geladas increased their movement during dry months, they actually had higher energetic status, suggesting that USOs might be energy-rich rather than fallback foods, indicating potential advantages in their consumption for early hominin diets.

Article Abstract

Early hominin species likely had access to open, grassy habitats where periodic reliance on underground storage organs (USOs) is hypothesized to have played a crucial dietary role. As the only living graminivorous primate today, geladas (Theropithecus gelada) provide a unique perspective for understanding the energetic consequences of seasonal consumption of USOs. Geladas rely heavily on above-ground grasses throughout the year, but when grass is seasonally less available, they feed more on USOs. To assess whether USOs fit the definition of fallback foods (i.e., foods that are difficult to access, less preferred, or both), we examined how foraging effort (measured via time spent feeding and moving) and energetic status (measured via urinary C-peptide) fluctuated during seasonal dietary changes in a population of wild geladas in the Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. If, indeed, USOs are fallback foods, we predicted an increase in foraging effort and a decline in energetic status during the dry season, when geladas rely more heavily on USOs. We collected behavioral and physiological data from 13 adult gelada males across a 13-month period. As expected, we found that male geladas spent more time moving during drier months. However, counter to the hypothesis that USOs are fallback foods in geladas, urinary C-peptide concentrations were significantly higher during the dry season. We suggest that USOs may represent an energy-rich food item for geladas, but it remains unclear why USOs are not consumed year-round. Future work is needed to better understand seasonal variation in the availability, nutrient content, and digestibility of USOs. However, results indicate that exploiting USOs seasonally could have been a valuable dietary strategy for the evolutionary success of early hominins.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103545DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

energetic status
12
fallback foods
12
usos
11
underground storage
8
storage organs
8
graminivorous primate
8
geladas rely
8
rely heavily
8
foraging effort
8
urinary c-peptide
8

Similar Publications

Introduction: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is characterised by severe exercise intolerance, particularly in those living with obesity. Low-energy meal-replacement plans (MRPs) have shown significant weight loss and potential cardiac remodelling benefits. This pragmatic randomised trial aims to evaluate the efficacy of MRP-directed weight loss on exercise intolerance, symptoms, quality of life and cardiovascular remodelling in a multiethnic cohort with obesity and HFpEF.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Protein synthesis is by far the most energetically costly cellular process in rapidly dividing cells. Quantifying translating ribosomes in individual cells and their average mRNA transit rate is arduous. Quantitating assembled ribosomes in individual cells requires electron microscopy and does not indicate ribosome translation status.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

MCT1 lactate transporter blockade re-invigorates anti-tumor immunity through metabolic rewiring of dendritic cells in melanoma.

Nat Commun

January 2025

Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Team: Epigenetics, Immunity, Metabolism, Cell Signaling & Cancer, Inserm U 1209, CNRS UMR 5309, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France.

Dendritic cells (DC) are key players in antitumor immune responses. Tumors exploit their plasticity to escape immune control; their aberrant surface carbohydrate patterns (e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Prey depletion, interspecific competition, and the energetics of hunting in endangered African wild dogs, .

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

February 2025

Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales SA2 8PP, United Kingdom.

Large herbivores are in decline in much of the world, including sub-Saharan Africa, and true apex carnivores like the lion () decline in parallel with their prey. As a consequence, competitively subordinate carnivores like the African wild dog () are simultaneously experiencing a costly reduction in resources and a beneficial reduction in dominant competitors. The net effect is not intuitively obvious, but wild dogs' density, survival, and reproduction are all low in areas that are strongly affected by prey depletion.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Alterations in energy metabolism may drive fatigue in older age, but prior research primarily focused on skeletal muscle energetics without assessing other systems, and utilized self-reported measures of fatigue. We tested the association between energy metabolism in the brain and an objective measure of fatigability in the Study of Muscle, Mobility and Aging (N=119, age 76.8±4.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!