Interannual variation in the diets of Piliocolobus badius badius from the Taï Forest of Cote d’Ivoire THESIS Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Mary Alexandra Wilkins Graduate Program in Anthropology The Ohio State University 2017 Master's Examination Committee: W. Scott McGraw, Advisor Kristen Gremillion Mark Hubbe Copyrighted by Mary Alexandra Wilkins 2017 Abstract Resource specialists have low dietary diversity and a high reliance on certain food sources due to behavioral or morphological adaptations. Specialists, who rely on a narrow range of habitats or food sources, tend to have restricted geographic ranges and are vulnerable when their preferred foods diminish. Identifying the relative vulnerability of resident primate species is of vital importance as anthropogenic disturbances and large-scale climate change alter the availability of potential food sources. Long term data indicate that several species of East African red colobus (Piliocolobus tephrosceles, Piliocolobus rufomitratus, and Piliocolobus kirkii) display significant inter and intra annual dietary variation. Much less is known about the extent of variation in the diets of West African red colobus. This study examines long term feeding data from one groups of Western red colobus (Piliocolobus badius badius) ranging in Côte d’Ivoire’s Taï Forest to test the hypothesis that changes in phenological productivity have resulted in significant changes in dietary diversity. All data were collected by Amanda Korstjens (2001) and assistants of the Taï Monkey Project. Feeding profiles were created through hourly scan samples, which indicate whether an individual was feeding and if so, what species and plant part was consumed. Phenological data were collected from 59 tree species on three transects biweekly; each tree was given an abundance score of 0 - 3. Shannon-Weiner Indices indicate significant decreases in dietary diversity between 1997 and 2015 (p<0.01). It is clear that fewer plant species are comprising a greater bulk of the diet over the study period. However, no apparent changes in phenological patterns of any individual plant parts were revealed. Further ii analysis of nutritional components and other elements of selectivity is needed to identify why specific plants are so vital to the diets of P. badius badius. Identifying those elements of the red colobus diet that are vital, especially given the influence of climate change on forest production, is necessary for safeguarding all red colobus populations across Africa. iii Acknowledgments I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Scott McGraw, and my committee members, Dr. Mark Hubbe and Dr. Kristen Gremillion for their support throughout this project. Additionally, this thesis - and many other projects - would not have been possible without the expertise, patience, guidance, and encouragement from the field assistants at the Taï Monkey Project. I extend an enormous merci to Benjamin, Frederic, Bertin, Richard, and many other friends at TMP. iv Vita 2011................................................................C.E. Jordan High School 2015................................................................B.A. Anthropology, History, Wake Forest University 2015 to present ...............................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University Publications Larsen PA, CH Hayes, MA Wilkins, Y Gommard, R Sookhareea, AND Yoder, SM Goodman. 2014. Population Genetics of the Mauritian Flying Fox, Pteropus niger. Acta Chiropterologica 16: 293-300. Fields of Study Major Field: Anthropology v Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................. iv Vita ...................................................................................................................................... v List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Specialists vs. Generalists: Definitions, Causes, and Vulnerabilities ............................. 1 Red colobus as specialists ............................................................................................... 5 Changes in the Taï Forest ................................................................................................ 7 Habitat influences on red colobus ................................................................................... 8 Focus of Study and Implications ..................................................................................... 9 Chapter 2: Materials and Methods .................................................................................... 11 Study Site ...................................................................................................................... 11 Species Studied ............................................................................................................. 12 Data Collection .............................................................................................................. 13 Feeding Data Collection: ........................................................................................... 13 vi Phenological Data Collection: ................................................................................... 14 Analysis: ........................................................................................................................ 15 Diet of P. badius badius ............................................................................................. 15 Phenological Data: ..................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 3: Results ............................................................................................................. 18 Diet of P. badius badius ................................................................................................. 18 Phenological Patterns .................................................................................................... 20 Chapter 4: Discussion ....................................................................................................... 22 Chapter 5: Conclusions ..................................................................................................... 26 Changing Diets & Selectivity ........................................................................................ 26 Specialization of P. badius badius. ................................................................................ 27 Conservation Implications ............................................................................................. 28 References ......................................................................................................................... 31 Appendix A: Figures ......................................................................................................... 39 Appendix B: Tables .......................................................................................................... 59 vii List of Figures Figure 1: A conceptual model of the niche breadths of specialists (S) and generalists (G) (Photo: Devictor et al. 2010). .................................................................................................................... 39 Figure 2: Predicted changes in niche breadths across different locations for specialists (a) and generalists (b) (Photo: Devictor et al. 2010). ................................................................................ 40 Figure 3: Piliocolobus badius badius in the Taï Forest (Photo: Erin Kane) ................................. 41 Figure 4: Côte d’Ivoire (Photo: Google Maps) ............................................................................. 42 Figure 5: A diagram of the TMP study grid and the home ranges of two groups of P. badius badius (Photo: Korstjens 2001). ................................................................................................... 43 Figure 6: Percent contribution to total diet when only the top ten most consumed species are considered in 1996, 1997 and 2015. ............................................................................................. 44 Figure 7: The ripe fruit of Scytopetalum tieghemii ....................................................................... 45 Figure 8: Scytopetalum tieghemii mature leaves (Photo: Hawthorne and Jongkind 2006) .......... 46 Figure 9: Lophira alata mature leaves (Photo: Hawthorne and Jongkind 2006) ......................... 47 Figure 10: Breakdown of total % contribution of each plant part to the diet in 2015. FU = unripe fruit, BU = unripe buds (closed flowers), LY = young leaves, FR = ripe fruit, LM = mature leaves. ............................................................................................................................................ 48 Figure 11: Comparison of Shannon-Weiner diversity indices for only common species