RESEARCH ARTICLES Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) as Seasonal Frugivores: Use of Variable Resources

species of plants and invertebrates, including the fruits of 77 species. Seeds were present in 99 % of all fecal samples (n = 859). Although goril-las ate fleshy fruit whenever it was available, herbaceous plants and fibrous fruits were consumed year-round and were important during times of fleshy fruit scarcity. At Bai Hokou and across their range, resources are temporally discontinuous, and western gorilla diet exhibits marked seasonal and interannual variation. Although their large body size lends them dietary flexibility relative to chimpanzees, seasonal fruit-eating shapes the foraging and ranging patterns of western lowland gorillas