MATURE LEAF CHEMISTRY OF 2 AFRO-MONTANE FORESTS IN RELATION TO FEEDING BY FOREST GUENONS (CERCOPITHECUS SPP)

Mature leaves from two Afro-montane forests in widely separated parts of Africa were compared for protein and acid detergent fibre content, major factors in their potential as food items for members of Cercopit hecus spp. which inhabit both forests. Leaves from Kilum Mountain Fore st in Cameroon, which grows on volcanic soils, had a much higher prote in content than leaves from the Zomba Plateau in Malawi, where the soi ls are derived from syenite and granite rocks. Fibre content, however, was similar in both forests. Members of the same species on different sites also showed the same pattern, indicating that it was not the re sult of floral divergence.