title: Binturong (Arctictis binturong) and Kinkajou (Potos flavus) digestive strategy: implications for interpreting frugivory in Carnivora and primates.
abstract: Exclusive frugivory is rare. As a food resource, fruit is temporally and spatially patchy, low in protein, and variable in terms of energy yield from different carbohydrate types. Here, we evaluate the digestive physiology of two frugivorous Carnivora species (Potos flavus, Arctictis binturong) that converge with primates in a diversity of ecological and anatomical traits related to fruit consumption. We conducted feeding trials to determine mean digestive retention times (MRT) on captive animals at the Carnivore Preservation Trust (now Carolina Tiger Rescue), Pittsboro, NC. Fecal samples were collected on study subjects for in vitro analysis to determine methane, pH, and short chain fatty acid profiles; fiber was assayed using standard neutral detergent (NDF) and acid detergent (ADF) fiber methods. Results indicate that both carnivoran species have rapid digestive passage for mammals that consume a predominantly plant-based diet: A. binturong MRT = 6.5 hrs (0.3); P. flavus MRT = 2.5 hrs (1.6). In vitro experiments revealed no fermentation of structural polysaccharides--methane levels did not shift from 0 h to either 24 or 48 hours and no short chain fatty acids were detected. In both species, however, pH declined from one incubation period to another suggesting acidification and bacterial activity of microbes using soluble carbohydrates. A comparison with primates indicates that the study species are most similar in digestive retention times to Ateles--the most frugivorous anthropoid primate taxon.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, United States of America.
authors.forename: Joanna E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: Vivek
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fellner
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McKenney
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hartstone-Rose
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002335:Carnivora / Q000502:physiology*; D014676:Diet, Vegetarian; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000032:analysis; D004063:Digestion; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry; D060434:Herbivory; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000032:analysis; D011323:Primates; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D004043:Dietary Fiber; D005227:Fatty Acids; D011134:Polysaccharides