Source Paper
The role of flower consumption in Howler Monkey Females’ diet: adjustment across reproductive states
Gisbrecht A, Aristizabal JF, Rodríguez-Landa JF, Hernández-Salazar LT
PeerJ • 2026
Food Intake Behavioral Assessment
Objective: To assess food intake behavioral patterns and tannin consumption in mantled howler monkeys across different reproductive and lactation states
This is a Food Intake Behavioral Assessment protocol using Alouatta palliata mexicana as the model organism. The procedure involves 8 procedural steps, 2 equipment items, 4 materials. Extracted from a 2026 paper published in PeerJ.
Model and subjects
Alouatta palliata mexicana • wild • female • adult • 20
Study window
~2.9 week study window | ~5 hours hands-on
Core workflow
Subject identification and categorization • Behavioral observation schedule • Food intake recording
Primary readouts
- Food intake in grams across different food categories
- Time invested in feeding behaviors
- Tannin content in consumed foods
- Feeding rate per minute
Key equipment and reagents
Use this page as an execution guide, then fall back to the source paper whenever you need exact exclusions, dosing details, or assay-specific caveats.
Confirm first
- Verify the animal model, intervention setup, and collection timepoints against the source paper.
- Check that every direct vendor link matches the exact specification your lab plans to run.
Use the page like this
- Work through the protocol steps in order and use the inline vendor chips only when you need to source or verify an item.
- Jump to Experimental Context for readouts, data shape, and analysis flow before planning downstream analysis.
Protocol Steps
Start here. The step list is optimized for running the experiment, with direct vendor links available inline when you need to source a cited item.
Subject identification and categorization
Identify 20 adult females using pelage coloration and physiological features, categorize into lactation states
View evidence from paper
“females were identified by means of pelage coloration and certain physiological features”
Behavioral observation schedule
Collect data monthly for 10-20 days from sunrise for 5 hours in random order
View evidence from paper
“Female behavior was collected every month for 10–20 days throughout the month, from sunrise and the following 5 h”
Food intake recording
Record time invested and food intake in grams for different food categories
View evidence from paper
“We recorded the time invested (seconds) and food intake (grams) of the items consumed”
Feeding rate calculation
Record discrete food units consumed per minute during feeding sessions
View evidence from paper
“recorded information on the number of discrete food units consumed during a feeding session”
Food sample collection
Collect consumed and dropped fruits or similar condition items from feeding trees
View evidence from paper
“collected all consumed and dropped fruits or fruits in the same condition as consumed from that tree”
Sample drying
Dry leaves using light bulb heat, dry fruits and flowers at 35°C
View evidence from paper
“leaves were dried in a cardboard box using the heat of a 60 W light bulb, and fruits and flowers were dried in a food dehydrator set at 35 °C”
Sample preparation for analysis
Process dried samples with methanol at 1:3 ratio, vortex and filter
View evidence from paper
“dried and pulverized samples were processed into solvents with methanol HPLC grade at a ratio of 1:3”
HPLC analysis
Use HPLC-VWD method with specific mobile phase composition and flow rate
View evidence from paper
“mobile phase A (acetonitrile), B (methanol), and C (water) were applied (15% A; 15% B; 70% C) at a 0.5 mL/min flow rate”