Baboon feeding ecology informs the dietary niche of Paranthropus boisei.

Hominins are generally considered eclectic omnivores like baboons, but recent isotope studies call into question the generalist status of some hominins. Paranthropus boisei and Australopithecus bahrelghazali derived 75%-80% of their tissues' δ(13)C from C4 sources, i.e. mainly low-quality foods...

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Autor principal:	Gabriele A Macho
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/3cb61216c1fd4898b43aaac5a22ab67d
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:3cb61216c1fd4898b43aaac5a22ab67d2021-11-18T08:38:28ZBaboon feeding ecology informs the dietary niche of Paranthropus boisei.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0084942https://doaj.org/article/3cb61216c1fd4898b43aaac5a22ab67d2014-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/24416315/pdf/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Hominins are generally considered eclectic omnivores like baboons, but recent isotope studies call into question the generalist status of some hominins. Paranthropus boisei and Australopithecus bahrelghazali derived 75%-80% of their tissues' δ(13)C from C4 sources, i.e. mainly low-quality foods like grasses and sedges. Here I consider the energetics of P. boisei and the nutritional value of C4 foods, taking into account scaling issues between the volume of food consumed and body mass, and P. boisei's food preference as inferred from dento-cranial morphology. Underlying the models are empirical data for Papio cynocephalus dietary ecology. Paranthropus boisei only needed to spend some 37%-42% of its daily feeding time (conservative estimate) on C4 sources to meet 80% of its daily requirements of calories, and all its requirements for protein. The energetic requirements of 2-4 times the basal metabolic rate (BMR) common to mammals could therefore have been met within a 6-hour feeding/foraging day. The findings highlight the high nutritional yield of many C4 foods eaten by baboons (and presumably hominins), explain the evolutionary success of P. boisei, and indicate that P. boisei was probably a generalist like other hominins. The diet proposed is consistent with the species' derived morphology and unique microwear textures. Finally, the results highlight the importance of baboon/hominin hand in food acquisition and preparation.Gabriele A MachoPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 1, p e84942 (2014)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Gabriele A Macho Baboon feeding ecology informs the dietary niche of Paranthropus boisei.
description	Hominins are generally considered eclectic omnivores like baboons, but recent isotope studies call into question the generalist status of some hominins. Paranthropus boisei and Australopithecus bahrelghazali derived 75%-80% of their tissues' δ(13)C from C4 sources, i.e. mainly low-quality foods like grasses and sedges. Here I consider the energetics of P. boisei and the nutritional value of C4 foods, taking into account scaling issues between the volume of food consumed and body mass, and P. boisei's food preference as inferred from dento-cranial morphology. Underlying the models are empirical data for Papio cynocephalus dietary ecology. Paranthropus boisei only needed to spend some 37%-42% of its daily feeding time (conservative estimate) on C4 sources to meet 80% of its daily requirements of calories, and all its requirements for protein. The energetic requirements of 2-4 times the basal metabolic rate (BMR) common to mammals could therefore have been met within a 6-hour feeding/foraging day. The findings highlight the high nutritional yield of many C4 foods eaten by baboons (and presumably hominins), explain the evolutionary success of P. boisei, and indicate that P. boisei was probably a generalist like other hominins. The diet proposed is consistent with the species' derived morphology and unique microwear textures. Finally, the results highlight the importance of baboon/hominin hand in food acquisition and preparation.
format	article
author	Gabriele A Macho
author_facet	Gabriele A Macho
author_sort	Gabriele A Macho
title	Baboon feeding ecology informs the dietary niche of Paranthropus boisei.
title_short	Baboon feeding ecology informs the dietary niche of Paranthropus boisei.
title_full	Baboon feeding ecology informs the dietary niche of Paranthropus boisei.
title_fullStr	Baboon feeding ecology informs the dietary niche of Paranthropus boisei.
title_full_unstemmed	Baboon feeding ecology informs the dietary niche of Paranthropus boisei.
title_sort	baboon feeding ecology informs the dietary niche of paranthropus boisei.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2014
url	https://doaj.org/article/3cb61216c1fd4898b43aaac5a22ab67d
work_keys_str_mv	AT gabrieleamacho baboonfeedingecologyinformsthedietarynicheofparanthropusboisei
_version_	1718421494616293376

Baboon feeding ecology informs the dietary niche of Paranthropus boisei.

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