NDLI: Folivory with leaf folding by giant flying squirrels: its patterns and possible function

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Ito, Mutsumi Seto, Nickie Rico, Brianna Shigeta, Mayumi Tamura, riko Hayashi, Fumio
Copyright Year	2016
Abstract	Japanese giant flying squirrels, Petaurista leucogenys, are entirely arboreal folivores. From spring to summer, their principal food source consists of leaves of the deciduous oak Quercus acutissima in western Tokyo, Japan. Before consuming the central part of each leaf, the squirrels fold the leaf two or more times with their forelegs. In the wild, leaf folding is a very rare behavior, even in primates. In our study, this peculiar feeding behavior was not observed across all study sites or even in some local populations. Herbivores generally try to maximize their intake of nutritious foods (e.g., sugars) containing low levels of plant defensive chemicals (e.g., phenols). We found that total phenolic contents in individual leaves of Q. acutissima were lower in the center than at the margins, whereas sugar (glucose) was homogenously distributed. Consequently, consumption of only leaf centers appears to be an adaptation by Japanese giant flying squirrels to avoid leaf margin defensive chemicals and structures. These leaf margin characteristics, which may have developed as defenses against herbivorous insects that generally feed from the margins, have contributed to the skillful and complex feeding behavior of this generalist folivore.
Starting Page	617
Ending Page	626
Page Count	10
File Format	PDF
ISSN	09123814
Journal	Ecological Research
Volume Number	31
Issue Number	5
e-ISSN	14401703
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Japan
Publisher Date	2016-06-04
Publisher Place	Tokyo
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Food preference Learning Phenol content Plant–animal interaction Sugar content Ecology Plant Sciences Zoology Evolutionary Biology Behavioral Sciences Forestry
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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