Joanna Lambert

University of Colorado, Boulder, Biological Anthropology, Faculty Member

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I am an evolutionary ecologist and integrative biological anthropologist. My research program centers on mammal nutritional biology and the natural selection and plasticity of feeding-related adaptations in mammals, especially primates and, more recently, carnivora. With these data, I explore the evolution of clade-level feeding traits (especially digestive physiology, gut microbes), the role of diet in evolution, extant community interactions among mammals and plants (especially seed dispersal) and the implemention of sound tactics for the conservation of biodiversity. Overall, my work informs three interrelated questions:

(1) How does digestive strategy and the gut microbiome co-vary with diet and nutritional niches?
(2) How do species’ diet and nutritional niches relate to patterns of macroevolution and species diversity?
(3) How do consumer dietary adaptations impact plant reproduction and forest ecology?

With these questions in mind, since 1991, I have worked at my primary field site, Kibale National Park, Uganda, studying the diet, feeding, and seed dispersal behavior of apes (chimpanzees), monkeys (cercopithecine and colobine), and frugivorous birds (Sturnidae, Bucerotidae, Columbidae). With my team of research assistants, students, and collaborators, I integrate behavioral and ecological data collected in the field with physiological, genetic, and nutritional information collected in the laboratory. My work on primate digestive strategies, frugivory, and seed dispersal is complemented by comparative information collected on fruit-eating carnivora such as binturongs, kinkajous, and gray foxes.

AFFILIATION:
Professor, Department of Anthropology
University of Colorado - Boulder
Boulder, CO 80309

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Julian D Reynolds

Trinity College Dublin

Kristen J Gremillion

Ohio State University

Francisco E. Fonturbel

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso

Jana Javornik

University of East London

Armando Marques-Guedes

UNL - New University of Lisbon

Kevin Arbuckle

Swansea University

Jean-Jacques Hublin

Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

Guilherme Siniciato Terra Garbino

Universidade Federal de Viçosa

Iulia Bădescu

Université de Montréal

Veena Das

Johns Hopkins University

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Papers by Joanna Lambert

Seed fate: predation, dispersal and seedling establishment

CABI Publishing eBooks, Dec 20, 2004

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Patterns of seed predation by vertebrate versus invertebrate seed predators among different plant species, seasons and spatial distributions

CABI Publishing eBooks, Dec 20, 2004

Experiments were conducted to examine how the relative importance of two broad groups of seed pre... more Experiments were conducted to examine how the relative importance of two broad groups of seed predators, insects and mammals, changes depending on seed species, habitat, and spatial and temporal distribution of seeds. Experiment 1 was conducted at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica, to investigate if seed predation by insects and mammals change within forest sites with fruiting season and distance from parents. Experiment 2 was conducted in La Selva and Gigante Peninsula, Peru, to investigate if seed predation by insects and mammals change between forest sites with fruiting season and distances from parents. Socratea exorrhiza, a single large-seeded palm species, was observed in the first two experiments. Experiment 3 was conducted in Peru to investigate how are insect and mammal seed predators influenced by forest disturbance and plant species. Seed predation by insects and mammals was not affected by date of placement in a similar manner at either La Selva or Gigante. Distance from the parent tree did not influence predation by insects at either La Selva or Gigante. In contrast, predation by mammals was greater near the parent tree both at La Selva and at Gigante in May. Seed survival was generally higher at Gigante that at La Selva, and the relative importance of insect and mammal seed predators was very different between these two sites. Species-specific differences in predation were not consistent between insects and mammals and species with the highest levels of seed predation by mammals did not have the highest levels of insect seed predation. Although predation by mammals was not different between young and mature forest, insect predation was significantly greater overall in mature forest. Despite the general trend of higher insect predation in disturbed forest, there was still considerable variation among species in the relative importance of mammal and insect predation in young and mature forest.

Selection, predation and dispersal of seeds by tree squirrels in temperate and boreal forests: are tree squirrels keystone granivores?

CABI Publishing eBooks, Dec 20, 2004

This paper summarizes the ecological and evolutionary interactions for seed trees and Holarctic t... more This paper summarizes the ecological and evolutionary interactions for seed trees and Holarctic tree squirrels. The squirrel-seed interactions prior to dispersal and hoarding of seeds as well as those in which squirrels exert a significant positive effect on dispersal and establishment of seeds are reviewed. Across all Holarctic systems, three primary selective pressures that tree squirrels exert on tree seeds are recognized: two as seed predator and one as seed disperser. The close evolutionary relationship between several species of tree squirrels and tree species on which they feed, including the influence of tree squirrels on seed and tree characteristics and the effects of seeds on the demography, behaviour and social system of the squirrels are considered. It is suggested that in some systems tree squirrels might be considered keystone consumers as a result of their disproportionate influence on seed fates.

Seed handling in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and redtail monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius): Implications for understanding hominoid and cercopithecine fruit-processing strategies and seed dispersal

American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Jul 1, 1999

Primates are confronted with an array of constraints in feeding on fruit, including the removal o... more Primates are confronted with an array of constraints in feeding on fruit, including the removal of adhesive, energy-rich pulp from seeds. In this paper, I discuss how primates meet this challenge and present data on the fruit-processing and seed-handling behavior of chimpanzees and redtail monkeys in Kibale National Park, Uganda. These data are then related to these species&#39; services as seed dispersers. Particular attention was paid to the methods by which primates removed pulp from seeds, the density of seed clumps that they deposited (by spitting, dropping, or defecating) to the forest floor, and the distance seeds were moved from parent trees. Distance and density differences in chimpanzee and redtail seed dispersal resulted from distinct fruit-processing and seed-handling methods. It was observed, in general, that redtail monkeys engaged in fine oral processing and were seed spitters: most seeds were dispersed in close proximity to parent trees (84% of spat seeds &lt; 10 m of parent tree), and deposited singly (100% seeds spat singly). In contrast, chimpanzees were coarse fruit processors and seed swallowers: seeds were defecated in denser clumps (e.g., a mean of 149 large seeds/dung sample and hundreds of small seeds/dung sample), far from parent trees. I evaluate the factors that shape patterns of fruit processing in hominoids and cercopithecines, and argue that the observed seed handling differences can be attributed to differences in digestive retention times, oral anatomy, and alternative mechanisms by which to avoid the cost of seed ballast.

Myrmecochorous seed dispersal in temperate regions

CABI Publishing eBooks, Dec 20, 2004

This paper focuses on some less frequently discussed points of myrmecochory and provide an overvi... more This paper focuses on some less frequently discussed points of myrmecochory and provide an overview on: (1) the convergent origin of elaiosomes; (2) their chemistry; (3) importance of the lipid-rich elaiosomes as food source for ant populations and demography; (4) to what extent chemical signals by the plants mediate ant-dispersal; (5) the fate of the seeds and benefits for plants; and (6) the habitat preferences and phenology of temperate myrmecochorous plants.

Primate digestion: Interactions among anatomy, physiology, and feeding ecology

Evolutionary Anthropology, 1998

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Resource Switching and Species Coexistence in Guenons: A Community Analysis of Dietary Flexibility

Kluwer Academic Publishers eBooks, Dec 15, 2005

... Page 13. JOANNA E. LAMBERT 321 Chivers DJ and Hladik CM 1980. ... Biochem. Physiol. 66:529... more

Seed predation and dispersal by peccaries throughout the neotropics and its consequences: a review and synthesis

CABI Publishing eBooks, Dec 20, 2004

A review of literature on seed predation and dispersal by collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu) and ... more A review of literature on seed predation and dispersal by collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu) and white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari) throughout the Neotropics, is provided. A synthesis of the results of 143 studies published between 1836 and 2003 is presented. The ecological implication of seed predation and dispersal by both peccary species, taking into consideration their interactions with 212 plant species are discussed. The different mechanisms of seed dispersal are summarized, and examined whether peccaries play a key role among frugivores by creating a bimodal rather than a typical leptokurtic seed shadow.

Digestive Strategies, Fruit Processing, and Seed Dispersal in the Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes) and Redtail Monkeys (Cercopithecus Ascanius) of Kibale National Park, Uganda

UMI eBooks, 1997

ABSTRACT Printout. Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1997. Vita. Inclu... more

Exploring the link between animal frugivory and plant strategies: the case of primate fruit processing and post-dispersal seed fate

CABI Publishing eBooks, 2002

This paper presents a review on the fruit-processing behaviour of primates. Data from the experim... more This paper presents a review on the fruit-processing behaviour of primates. Data from the experiments designed to evaluate the influence of cercopithecine and chimpanzee seed handling behaviours and seed deposition on seed fate are enumerated. The investigation on how fruit processing and seed deposition affect post-dispersal fungal attack, predation and germination, are also presented.

Summary to the symposium issue: Primate fallback strategies as adaptive phenotypic plasticityâScale, pattern, and process

American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Dec 1, 2009

In this discussion, I evaluate our understanding of fallback foods in primate and hominin ecology... more In this discussion, I evaluate our understanding of fallback foods in primate and hominin ecology and evolution with reference to the challenges of nomenclature, scale, and of linking individual responses to food availability and properties (process) to species traits (pattern). I use these challenges to form the framework of my discussion and ultimately conclude that we situate the discussion of primate fallback strategy into a broader, ''synthetic'' framework of animal form and the evolutionary significance of phenotypic plasticity.

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Primate seed dispersers as umbrella species: a case study from Kibale National Park, Uganda, with implications for Afrotropical forest conservation

American Journal of Primatology, 2011

Almost half of the world's extant primate species are of conservation concern [IUCN, Internat... more Almost half of the world's extant primate species are of conservation concern [IUCN, International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, 2008]. Primates are also effective seed dispersers. The implications of and interactions between these two facts are increasingly understood, and data demonstrating the consequences of losing primates for forest ecology are now available from throughout the tropics. However, a reality is that not all species—and the mutualisms among them—can be protected. Conservation managers must make difficult decisions and use shortcuts in the implementation of conservation tactics. Using taxa as “umbrellas” is one such shortcut, although a lack of an operational definition of what an umbrella species is and how to choose one has made implementing this tactic difficult. In this study, I discuss primates as umbrellas by defining a selection index in terms of richness/co‐occurrence, rarity, and sensitivity to anthropogenic disturbance. I evaluate the anthropoid assemblage of Kibale National Park, Uganda, in light of the selection index and determine that Cercopithecus is the genus best fitting the criteria for umbrella status. I then evaluate the functional significance—in terms of seed dispersal—of using Cercopithecus monkeys (guenons) as umbrellas. Results from 1,047 hr of observation of focal fruiting trees in Kibale indicate that Cercopithecus ascanius was the most commonly observed frugivore visitor (July 2001–June 2002). These data corroborate earlier data collected in Kibale demonstrating that guenons are highly effective seed dispersers. Patterns of richness/co‐occurrence, rarity, and sensitivity observed in Kibale are reflected in Afrotropical forests more generally, with the genus Cercopithecus tending to exhibit greatest richness/co‐occurrence with taxonomically similar species, to be neither extremely rare nor ubiquitous, and also to be moderately sensitive to human disturbance. Moreover, in all available evaluations of frugivory in Afrotropical forests, guenons emerge as among the most important seed dispersers relative to other taxa. Am. J. Primatol. 73:9–24, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Rewilding the American West

BioScience

Ecological Communities

The International Encyclopedia of Primatology

The Humpty Dumpty Effect on Planet Earth

Humans have treated the earth harshly. Degradation of extant ecosystems leaves little chance that... more Humans have treated the earth harshly. Degradation of extant ecosystems leaves little chance that they might function as they have in the past. Putting back the pieces and restoring what once existed is no longer possible even with re-wildling—an effect analogous to the Humpty Dumpty parable. However, we do have conservation successes after concerted efforts related to habitat protection, species and ecosystem restoration, and planning. While the changes to Earth's biosphere are grave, necessitating immediate and exhaustive action, our Humpty Dumpty world reassembles with progressive conservation victories at all regional scales from local to global which should lead to a modicum of optimism rather than despair. We suggest that to be truly effective our work as academic scientists must be more than publishing in scholarly journals. At the least, this should include changes in how success is measured in science and how university tenure is awarded.

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How primates move seeds: movement ecology and dispersal kernels in a Cercopithecoid community

Ecological communities

The International Encyclopedia of Biological Anthropology, 2018

Disassembled Food Webs and Messy Projections: Modern Ungulate Communities in the Face of Unabating Human Population Growth

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2020

Berger et al. Earth destabilizes systems beyond return points. These include ungulates both in an... more Berger et al. Earth destabilizes systems beyond return points. These include ungulates both in and out of protected areas. Consequently, only messy projections of future community reorganization seem reasonable, whether related to food webs or assembly rules that once governed ungulate communities of the very recent past.

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Investigating Niche Construction in Dynamic Human-Animal Landscapes: Bridging Ecological and Evolutionary Timescales

International Journal of Primatology, 2018

Human influence on the environment is evident at all landscape and ecological scales, from local ... more Human influence on the environment is evident at all landscape and ecological scales, from local to global, shaping both abiotic and biotic processes. Niche construction theory provides a means by which to investigate the consequences of these anthropogenic effects, but primatological research has been slow to integrate ecological and evolutionary timelines. We review methods that can be used to study how human niche construction influences nonhuman primates including phenological assessment, nonhuman primate behavioral observations, and ethnographic interview techniques. We argue that this approach provides a starting place to examine niche construction theory but that scholars of primate behavioral ecology must expand our methodologies to bridge the disconnect between ecological and evolutionary research time frames. We suggest areas of research and methods that have been underused but offer opportunities for integrative, innovative research. We conclude that an integrated, synthetic methodological approach is a major goal and that it will likely require a cross-disciplinary, collaborative effort.

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Fallen fruits and terrestrial vertebrate frugivores: a case study in a lowland tropical rainforest in Peninsular Malaysia

Seed fate: predation, dispersal and seedling establishment

... cameras used for frugivory experiments are described in detail by Miura et al.(1997), and con... more

Seed fate: predation, dispersal and seedling establishment

CABI Publishing eBooks, Dec 20, 2004

Download

Patterns of seed predation by vertebrate versus invertebrate seed predators among different plant species, seasons and spatial distributions

CABI Publishing eBooks, Dec 20, 2004