Abstract
Capuchin monkeys (Sapajus sp.) have cognitive skills and variation in morphological traits among different species that allow for a varied diet and flexible use of food resources. In the northern Atlantic forest, capuchins have been forced by fragmentation to live in human-altered environments; in addition, animal densities have been reduced by hunting and habitat loss, wiping out a number of large mammals that disperse zoochoric fruits. With the decrease in populations of other seed dispersers, yellow-breasted capuchins (Sapajus xanthosternos) are currently one of the largest fruit-eating mammals in the region. We provide frequency of feeding on invasive species (sensu Colautti and MacIsaac, Divers Distrib 10(2):135–141, 2004), and insights into how they might compete for seed dispersal with other species. S. xanthosternos had a high frequency of travelling and feeding on fruits. They ate fruits in primary, old- and young-secondary forest, swamp, and cabruca (shaded cocoa plantations). In addition, they fed on fruits of oil-palm (Elaeis guineensis), jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) and cocoa (Theobroma cacao); these cultivars compete with native species for seed dispersal by S. xanthosternos. We recommend the management of invasive fruiting species, especially in protected areas.
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