. The Ecology of arboreal folivores : a symposium held at the Conservation and Research Center, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, May 29-31, 1975 . LOG BODY MASS Figure 1. Histogram of primate and phalangeroid species abun- dance (vertical axis) at different log body sizes (horizontal axis). Stippled peaks at the left represent insectivorous species; cross- hatched peaks at the right are folivorous species. body sizes because their prey are more abundant. At small body size, acquisition of sufficient amounts of energy is also a problem. Since oxygen consumption per unit body m
. The Ecology of arboreal folivores : a symposium held at the Conservation and Research Center, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, May 29-31, 1975 . LOG BODY MASS Figure 1. Histogram of primate and phalangeroid species abun- dance (vertical axis) at different log body sizes (horizontal axis). Stippled peaks at the left represent insectivorous species; cross- hatched peaks at the right are folivorous species. body sizes because their prey are more abundant. At small body size, acquisition of sufficient amounts of energy is also a problem. Since oxygen consumption per unit body mass gets larger as animals get smaller (Kleiber, 1961), the energy requirements of a mam- malian insectivore place theoretical minimum limits on attainable body placental nor mar- supial arborealists approach their respective energy- imposed size minima, since there are many smaller terrestrial mammalian insectivores. That there are few arboreal folivores smaller than 700 grams may be explained by the nature of leaves as a food source. Most of the energy found in leaves is stored as structural carbohydrates (Boyd and Goodyear, 1971). Aided by microorganisms in their digestive tracts, it is possible for folivorous mammals to break down some of this material into usable form. However, it is necessary to process a large bulk of leaves to meet energy requirements. The smallest size attained by "bulk processing" leaf-eaters may represent a balance between increasing energy consumption per unit body mass on one hand and food-processing time on the other. Parra (1978) presents evidence to suggest that cellulose digestion is rate controlled; the longer cellulose remains in the digestive tract the more will be digested. Small mammals have shorter food passage times than large ones so that an increase in body size will increase passage time and digestive assimilation. Malagasy Prosimians Among Malagasy prosimians, at least some species of Lemur are moderately foliv
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcolle, booksubjectleaves, booksubjectmammals
