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

families Arecaceae (Palmae), Meliaceae and Sapotaceae (Guillotin et al. 1994). Both
Tetragastris and Chrysophyllum were recorded at the study site, but neither was
reported to be consumed by Cebus apella. Further ecological data from the same site
reported consumption of fruits of Manilkara bidentata, ten species of Inga - although
not including I. alba - four species of Chrysophyllum, various palms and one member
of the family Anacardiaceae. (Simmen and Sabatier 1996). In Colombia, the recorded
diet of C. apella includes fruits of unidentified species of Astrocaryum and one
member of the Anacardiaceae. A separate study recorded the consumption of Zea
mays (Freese and Oppenheimer 1981). A recent study of capuchin feeding ecology in
the Iwokrama Reserve reported C. apella to consume fruits of Manilkara bidentata,
Astrocaryum vulgare, an unidentified species of Inga, and members of the family
Caesalpinioideae (Wright 2002).
Table 7.18. Comparison of ethnoecological and ecological data sets for Cebus apella
Subject Ethnoecological data Ecological observations
Diet Fruits - especially Attalea Diets of all capuchins consist of fruits and
regia - and arthropods insects [1]
Use branches to open hard Fruits and insects dominate diet [2]
fruits
Cebus apella diet consists of 68.29% fruits
Raid crops
and seeds, 26.74% invertebrates by dry
weight [3]
Food shortage during dry Around 80% of feeding observations on
season
fruits, around 20% on invertebrates [4]
Stomach contents weigh less during season
Little or no seed dispersal: of lowest fruit production [3]
most seeds not eaten Most seeds not eaten; some small seeds
may be dispersed endozoochorously [2]
Intraspecific Group size variable: 4-30
Large individuals
terminologically
distinguished
Reported group sizes range from 3-40 [1]
Interspecific Form mixed groups with Commonly associate with Saimiri [1,2]
Saimiri
Those of Cebus most common prey remains
Major predator Harpia
harpyja
found in nest of Harpia harpyja [6]
Reproductive Litter size one
Litter size one, some seasonality reported
Births timed to coincide
with fruiting of Inga alba
[1]
Activity
patterns
Diurnal C. capucinus diurnal [1]
Habitat use Sleep under bracts of Most common sleeping site on leaves of
Attalea regia
palm Oenocarpus bataua [7]
Ranging Occupy fixed home ranges Field evidence suggests occupation of fixed
behaviour
home ranges [1]
[1] Freese and Oppenheimer 1981 [2] Mittermeier and Roosmalen 1981
[3] Guillotin et al. 1994 [4] Simmen and Sabatier 1996 [6] Rettig 1978 [7] Zhang
1995