Effects of two dietary fiber levels on nutrient digestibility and intestinal fermentation products in captive brown howler monkeys (Alouatta guariba)

Herbivorous primates present a selective consumption profile and morphological adaptations to use the fibrous fraction of their diets. Brown howler monkeys (Alouatta guariba) are generalist herbivores; however, when kept under human care, they usually receive diets rich in fruits and with insufficie...

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Published in:	American journal of primatology Vol. 83; no. 3; pp. e23238 - n/a
Main Authors:	Carneiro, Lucas, Moreno, Tatiane B., Fernandes, Barbara D., Souza, Camilla M. M., Bastos, Tais S., Félix, Ananda P., Rocha, Chayane
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-03-2021
Subjects:	Adaptation Alouatta Alouatta guariba Animal Feed - analysis Animals Cecropia sp Consistency Diet Diet - veterinary Dietary fiber Dietary Fiber - metabolism Digestibility Digestion Dry matter Enclosures Fatty acids Feces Female Fermentation Herbivores Intestine Lactation Male Males Monkeys neutral detergent fiber Nutrients Primates short‐chain fatty acids primates Cecropia sp short-chain fatty acids neutral detergent fiber
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Summary:	Herbivorous primates present a selective consumption profile and morphological adaptations to use the fibrous fraction of their diets. Brown howler monkeys (Alouatta guariba) are generalist herbivores; however, when kept under human care, they usually receive diets rich in fruits and with insufficient amounts of fiber. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of two levels of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) in howlers on apparent total tract digestibility coefficients (ATTDC), fecal consistency, and intestinal fermentation products. A group of 26 adult howler monkeys, 13 males and 13 females, were fed two diets formulated to have 33% or 40% NDF for 11 days, according to a randomized block design (N = 26). The block factor was the enclosures with one, two, or three individuals (each enclosure corresponded to an experimental unit), totaling in eight replicates per treatment. There were no differences in dry matter and nutrients intake between treatments (p > 0.05). The diet with 33% NDF resulted in higher (p < 0.05) ATTDC of crude protein and crude energy. However, lower fecal concentrations of short‐chain fatty acids (SCFA) and dry matter were observed in the treatment with 33% NDF in contrast to the 40% NDF group (p < 0.05). We recommend the inclusion of higher fiber levels (40% NDF) in the diet of howler monkeys since there is evidence of greater production of SCFA and improvement in fecal consistency. Howler monkey (Alouatta guariba) eating Cecropia leaves as part of fiber source of the diet (Photo by Ana Júlia Dutra Nunes). Highlights High dietary fiber concentration and composition influences diet digestibility in howler monkeys. Diets containing high amount of fiber (>33% neutral detergent fiber [NDF]) favor fecal consistency in captive howler monkey (Alouatta guariba) and may reflect intestinal functionality. Dietary fiber can influence the amount and proportion of short‐chain fatty acids formed through the fermentation process since total fecal concentration of these products were about 21% higher in the 40% NDF diet in comparison with the 33% NDF diet.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Undefined-3
ISSN:	0275-2565 1098-2345
DOI:	10.1002/ajp.23238