Spectral Data

Kibale National Park, Uganda

Spectral data were collected in January-October 1999, in Kibale National Park, Uganda (0º13'N to 0º41'N and 30º19'E to 30º32'E). Kibale is organized on a 56-km north-south axis, comprising nearly 766 square km (Struhsaker, 1997). Rainfall is bimodal in distribution, occurring in two distinct rainy seasons: March-May and August-November. Annual rainfall is ca. 1750 mm (1990-2001; Chapman et al. 2003). Plant taxonomy follows Hamilton (1991).

Methodology

Reflectance spectra were measured with an Ocean Optics S2000 spectrometer (Dunedin, FL, USA), diffraction grating No. 2, admitting light from 200-850 nm. Within 4 h of collection, fruit and leaf specimens were mounted in a custom-built chamber and illuminated with a 12-volt, 3100-Kelvin tungsten halogen lamp (LS-1; Ocean Optics; range: 350-700 nm). Light was focused onto specimens through a 400-µm diameter patch fiber-optic cable and lens (Ocean Optics) and then collected with a second lens and transmitted through a 200-µm fiber cable to the diffraction grating of the S2000. Specimens were placed 45° to the incident illumination with 20-degree axes separated the illuminating and recording lenses. Spectra were referenced to barium sulfate. For further details the reader is referred to Lucas et al. (2001). The files below are provided as tab-delimited .txt files.

Data

Illuminants

Fruits

Leaves

Literature Cited

Chapman, C.A., Chapman, L.J., Rode, K.D., Hauck, E.M., and McDowell, L.R. (2003). Variation in the nutritional value of primate foods: Among trees, time periods, and areas. International Journal of Primatology 24:317-333.

Hamilton A. (1991). A Field Guide to Uganda Forest Trees, 2nd edition. Kampala: Makerere University Printery.

Lucas, P.W., Beta, T., Darvell, B.W., Dominy, N.J., Essackjee, H.C., Lee, P.K.D., Osorio, D., Yamashita, N., and Yuen, T.D.B. (2001). Field kit to characterize physical, chemical, and spatial aspects of potential primate foods. Folia Primatologica 72:11-25.

Struhsaker, T.T. (1997). Ecology of an African Rainforest: Logging in Kibale and the Conflict Between Conservation and Exploitation. Gainesville: University of Florida Press.

Acknowledgements

These data were collected with the assistance of B. Balyeganira, C.A. Chapman, P.Y. Cheng, P. Chiyo, P. Kagoro, P.W. Lucas, O.W. Maganyi, J. Magnay, M. Musana, M. Namaganda, D. Osorio, E. Ting, and R.W. Wrangham. Research permission was granted by the Makerere University Biological Field Station, Ugandan National Council for Science and Technology, and the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Funding was received from the Croucher Foundation, Explorer's Club, National Geographic Society (6584-99), Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (7241/97M), and Sigma Xi.