Dietary ethanol ingestion by free-ranging spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi)

Ethanol within ripe and over-ripe fruit is produced naturally through the metabolic activity of fermentative yeasts.  As a consequence, frugivorous animals may chronically consume ethanol as part of their routine diet, although direct measurements of such exposure are lacking.  Here, we present data on ethanol concentrations within fruits of the Neotropical tree Spondias mombin (Anacardiaceae) that are eaten by Geoffroy's spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) on Barro Colorado Island, Panama.  Of collected fruits that were partially consumed and then dropped by foraging monkeys, pulp-ethanol content was typically in the range of 1–2%; the percentage of pulp for consumed fruits was not significantly correlated with ethanol concentration of the pulp remaining within each fruit.  Urine samples from foraging spider monkeys were also evaluated for the ethanol metabolites ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and ethyl sulfate (EtS); five of six samples tested positive for both compounds.  In aggregate, these ...