Seed predation of Cariniana micrantha (Lecythidaceae) by brown capuchin monkeys in central Amazonia

Reports on a tight plant-animal interaction between Cebus apella and the emergent Cariniana micrantha. The very hard and thick pericarps of this species are morphological adaptations to protect their fatty and protein-rich seeds from predispersal predators, but brown capuchins are behaviorally adept at overcoming the seed protection mechanisms. Some 69.5% of the entire anemochorous, winged-seeded crop was destroyed because of direct predation. Another 30.1% of the seed crop also became inviable: its single dispersal opportunity was disrupted because seeds remained trapped inside indehisced fruits which had been discarded to the ground by the monkeys. -from Author