Ethnoecology, Resource Use, Conservation And Development In A ...

to be far from complete. The extent to which the identities of food species is
corroborated by the ecological data is somewhat less. Conspecifics or congenerics
were recorded for only four of eleven food species recorded in the present study, and
a further four were corroborated to family level. This difference probably reflects a
greater degree of botanical overlap between the site of Roosmalen’s study and the
location of the present study, though in the absence of comparative botanical data
this is only an inference based upon their relative geographical locations. In all other
aspects of ecology, the ethnoecological data concords with the literature (table
7.16). Several observations made by informants in the present study were not
reported in the literature.
7.10 Brown Capuchin
Plant foods reported to be eaten by powatu included the fruits of the species listed
in table 7.17. Several categories of invertebrate food were reported, viz “insects”,
“spiders”, and the larvae of ‘marabunta’ (several species of wasp). The consumption
of two cultivated plants was also mentioned - maize (Zea mays) and sugar cane
(Saccharum officianum).
Table 7.17. List of food plants recorded in ethnoecological interviews on Cebus apella,
and their corroboration in the ecological literature.
Wapishana name English name Gen Fam
Iziari Manilkara bidentata: Sapotaceae X X
Koram Inga alba: Leguminosae (Mimosoideae) X X
Waazu Astrocaryum aculeatum: Palmae X X
Otoochi cf. Chrysophyllum: Sapotaceae X X
Toizau Astrocaryum sp. X X
Dyakara Inga sp: Leguminosae (Mimosoideae) X X
Kazarazowao cf. Sapotaceae - X
Pokoridi Attalea regia: Palmae X
Karaboao Carapa guianensis: Meliaceae X
Kawarori Anacardium giganteum: Anacardiaceae X
Naata Hymenaea courbaril: Leguminosae (Caesalpinioideae) X
Bowao Tetragastris sp./spp.: Burseraceae
Wamooko Parinari excelsa: Chrysobalanaceae
Siizan ‘wild banana’ - -
Widu'oko not identified - -
An ecological study in French Guiana reported a total of 66 food plants to be eaten
by Cebus apella, including four species of Inga (none identified) and members of the