White-fronted Capuchin - Behavior and Ecology

Behavior and Ecology

This species has been studied in Colombia by Defler, in two different sites in Peru by Soini and Terborgh, in Trinidad by Phillips and in Ecuador by Matthews.

In eastern Vichada, Colombia, the white-fronted capuchin is found in large groups of around 35 individuals, while to the south in closed forest (perhaps as a result of competition with the tufted capuchin) it has an average group size of 8–15 individuals. A group in Vichada used a home range of about 1.2 km2 (0.46 sq mi), while Terborgh found a home range of more than 1.50 km2 (0.58 sq mi) and Matthews calculated 240 hectares (590 acres). Near the type locality in gallery forest and islands of forest in Vichada, the species has an ecological density of around 30 individuals/km². In forests with closed-canopy in Colombia and in southern Vichada, many areas have very low densities. Around the lower Apaporis River, for example, densities are less than one individual/km² and the size of the groups is around 15 individuals. Low densities in many parts of the Colombian Amazon make it difficult to detect the presence of the species in many parts.

Terborgh found an average of 1,800 metres (1.1 mi) for the day range of a group, and calculated the following time budget of the study group in Manú National Park, Peru: 18% rest, 21% travel, 22% feeding on plant material and 39% feeding on insects; total feeding 61%. Matthews however, registered 54% foraging, 25% moving and 21% feeding and socializing. It is primarily quadrupedal, although it utilizes a great variety of gallops, jumps, falls and climbing. During certain times of the year the white-fronted capuchin is extremely terrestrial, especially when there is a scarcity of available fruits and the troop must search for arthropods in the dry leaves of the forest floor. In some parts of the Llanos Orientales it is found walking over the grassy savanna between forests, leaving well-beaten trails. In Vichada it uses preferential trees for sleeping at heights of 25–30 metres (82–98 ft). The palm Attalea regia is often used for sleeping in this zone.