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The Effect of Low‐ and High‐Fiber Diets on the Population of Entodiniomorphid Ciliates T roglodytella Abrassarti in Captive Chimpanzees ( P an Troglodytes )
Author(s) -
PetrŽelkovÁ KlÁra J.,
SchovancovÁ KateŘina,
ProfousovÁ Ilona,
KiŠidayovÁ Svetlana,
VÁradyovÁ Zora,
PekÁr Stano,
Kamler JiŘÍ,
ModrÝ David
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
american journal of primatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.988
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1098-2345
pISSN - 0275-2565
DOI - 10.1002/ajp.22021
Subject(s) - troglodytes , population , biology , fiber , zoology , captivity , food science , chemistry , demography , organic chemistry , sociology
T roglodytella abrassarti is an intestinal entodiniomorphid ciliate commonly diagnosed in the feces of wild and captive chimpanzees ( P an troglodytes ). Entodiniomorphids could be considered to have a mutualistic relationship with the great apes, in that the ciliates benefit from the intestinal ecosystem of the host, while also contributing to the fiber fermentation process. We examined the effect of diet on the infection intensities of T . abrassarti in two captive chimpanzees in the L iberec Z oo, C zech R epublic. The chimpanzees were fed a low‐fiber diet ( LFD ) with 14% neutral detergent fiber ( NDF ) and a high‐fiber diet ( HFD ; 26% NDF ) for 10 days with one transition, and two 10‐day adaptation periods. Fecal samples were examined coproscopically with the merthiolate‐iodine‐formaldehyde concentration ( MIFC ) technique, in order to quantify the number of ciliates per gram of feces. A significant trend of increasing T . abrassarti numbers was observed when the animals were fed the LFD , compared to when they were fed the HFD . Our results suggest, however, that infection intensities of T . abrassarti in captive chimpanzees are not influenced primarily by the amount of fiber in the diet, but rather by the dietary starch concentration ( HFD : 1%; LFD : 8%). Am. J. Primatol. 74:669–675, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.