Geladas are the only grazing primate — essentially the cows of the primate order (but with only one stomach). Technically, they are graminivorous, which means that their diet is composed of almost entirely of grass. How do geladas survive off of such a seemingly low quality food source? What physiological and genomic adaptations facilitate surviving almost exclusively on grass? SMGRP researchers are studying how the distribution of grass affects gelada ranging patterns; inter- and intra-group feeding competition and interactions; and the development, composition, and function of their gut microbiome.

Our Relevant Publications 

• Aggression rates increase around seasonally exploited resources in a primarily grass-eating primate
• Consumption of underground storage organs is associated with improved energetic status in a graminivorous primate
• Graminivory and Fallback Foods: Annual Diet Profile of Geladas (Theropithecus gelada) Living in the Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
• Feeding ecology and diet of the southern geladas (Theropithecus gelada obscurus) in human-modified landscape, Wollo, Ethiopia