The Nutritional Ecology Lab analyzes wildlife foods for basic nutrients (protein, sugar, fiber, fat, ash, starch, pectin, energy), minerals and some basic assays to test for the presence of secondary compounds, such as tannins and alkaloids. The lab is certified Biosafety Level II which enables us to work safely with material of wildlife origin (feces, urine, saliva, etc.), and we have USDA/ CDC permits to handle most material needed for nutritional analysis.

Instruments in our lab include:
Foss XDS Near infrared reflectance spectrometer (funded by an NSF MRI grant)
Leco TruSpec Nitrogen Analyzer
ANKOM Fiber Analyzer
ANKOM Fat Analyzer
ANKOM Gas Production Measurement Kit 
Thermo iCAP 7200 ICP Spec 
Evolution UV-Vis Spectrophotometer
IKA Bomb Calorimeter
BioTek Plate Reader
LabConco Freeze Dryer

We also have the typical array of general lab equipment including centrifuges, drying ovens, incubators, muffle furnace, rotary evaporator, etc.

We are not a fee-for-service lab, but we are happy to consider collaborative projects. Through collaborative work, the main PI of the project usually pays the costs of their lab supplies and then runs the samples in our lab themselves. It is also possible for us to run the samples. We are sometimes able to cover the costs of lab supplies when funds are available and the project is of great interest to our lab.

We are happy to share published data that are featured in our papers. We also have a large database of nutritional values of the tropical plants eaten by primates in Uganda and are willing to consider sharing these data through collaborative research. Please contact Jessica for more information.

If you are interested in a commercial nutritional laboratory with no collaboration (fee-for-service), we frequently use and highly recommend Dairy One, in Ithaca, NY. Click here to access their website.

Undergraduates Opy, Avian and Rose are hard at work making solutions to analyze fiber in monkey foods