Seasonal or ecological differences in diet and molar microwear in Cebus nigrivittatus.

摘要: Dental microwear analyses have raised new hopes and questions for functional morphologists. One hope is that will allow insights into subtle dietary differences of extinct species. major question whether seasonal and/or habitat in dental are reliably detectable. The extensive collections Cebus nigrivittatus obtained by the Smithsonian Venezuelan Project allowed us to examine microwear. Specimens were collected from three distinct ecological life zones distinguished both amount rainfall its seasonability. Environmental variation generally correlated with resource availability which, C. nigrivittatus, affects diet. Published field studies indicate these animals depend more on dry hard fruit chitinous invertebrates during drier times succulent fruits caterpillars wetter year. As previous analyses, epoxy replicas prepared impressions, examined under a scanning electron microscope. Two micrographs taken facet 9 M2 each specimen. Mean values proportion pits (vs. scratches), pit wdith, scratch width computed 62 individuals compared between collecting dates using multiple comparison test. Results that, while molar perhaps detectable, 1) they small magnitude, 2) only detectable certain zones, 3) not order magnitude obscure interspecific such as those apella nigrivittatus.