ANTH 311 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Muriqui, Seasonal Food, Zoopharmacognosy
23 May 2014
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Document Summary
Strier begins this chapter with a description of how a muriqui group starts their day, in pretty much the same fashion as all wild primates, by foraging. Foraging includes looking for, handling, processing, and actually eating food. Understanding the diet and foraging behavior of primates is the key to understanding many aspects of their anatomy, behavior and social organization. This is particularly true for female primates, as food is often considered the key factor limiting female reproductive success. Food is especially important to female primates because of the high metabolic costs associated with gestation and lactation. Feeding competition can determine many aspects of primate social life and behavior. In lecture we describe primate social groups as layered , with females mapping on to the food supply and males mapping on to females. This chapter is dedicated to the complex relationship between female primates and the food supply.
