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Nutritional ecology of Preuss's red colobus monkey ( Colobus badius preussi Rahm 1970) in Korup National Park, Cameroon
Author(s) -
Usongo Leonard I.,
Amubode Felix O.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
african journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.499
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1365-2028
pISSN - 0141-6707
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2028.2000.00279.x
Subject(s) - biology , nutrient , national park , food habits , sapotaceae , botany , ecology , medicine , environmental health
Studies on the nutritive ecology of red colobus monkeys ( Colobus badius preussi ) in Korup National Park, Cameroon, investigated food plants and the parts eaten as well as nutritive values of the various food items. Food plants were identified through direct observations and collected for laboratory determination of nutrient content. Food plants were analysed for crude protein (CP), crude fibre (CF), ether extract (EE), nitrogen‐free‐extractive (NFE) and total ash (A). A total of seventeen species belonging to nine different families were identified as food plants for red colobus. Food and feeding habits showed that the species were highly folivorous, tending to prefer the young leaves of food plants. Lecomtedoxa klaineana (27.0%) and Xylopia aethiopica (22.2%) of families Sapotaceae and Annonaceae, respectively, constituted about 50% of total food items consumed. Results of nutrient composition indicated individual nutrients varied significantly ( P < 0.01) with food species.