Web of the Spider Monkey

some trees have a most peculiar effect on those that visit them the web of life here is so complex that we still do not understand all that is going on but there is one creature enlisted by the trees whose life is so closely entwined that many forest trees would disappear without its cooperation hanging by lemon tail from a high branch it is easy to see the black spider shape that's prompted the forest Indians to give the monkey its name spider monkeys spend their whole lives high up in the rainforest canopy eating fruit but as with everything here it is not that simple their prehensile tail is the longest in the world by curling the tip of that muscular tail around a branch they have their hands-free to reach for food or play with one another their bodies are covered in thick black fur which may seem odd for an animal that lives in such hot humid climes but the night air and the canopy can be called especially when it's raining like all monkeys they take great care to keep their coat in good condition every plant in their forest must ensure that at least one or two of its seeds grow to maturity but they have to combat an army of predators the Laconia tree attracts the SpiderMonkey by producing an irresistible pulp but in this case the monkey does not swallow the seed it is much too big for that it drops the seed to the forest floor and it is here that another creature will ensure the Laconia trees future the akuti moves through the forest using a special scent gland to mark its route a dainty wiggle leaves an invisible message that will lead it back to food it found earlier it does eat and destroy many seeds but even in this seemingly rich forest there are times coming soon when life will be a daily struggle to survive the seed is planted at the perfect place for it to germinate the akuti covers its tracks well it buries so many that when it eventually returns to dig them up some will already have begun to grow after spider monkeys feed on the Latanya fruits their droppings also fall onto the leaf litter below these contain seeds from other fruits that they've eaten earlier in the day the droppings are a good source of free fertilizer for the seed but another creature with eccentric dining habits has other intentions within minutes of the monkey droppings hitting the ground a horn dung beetle hones in on the smell and bit by bit drags the entire heap into a freshly dug chamber underground the seeds are buried along with the dung but the beetle only feasts on the feces the seed will remain underground and have a better chance to germinate away from the jaws of predators many familiar foods originate in the rainforest chocolate is made from the seeds of the cocoa tree wild cocoa produces fruits in the low forest land one monkey that cannot resist it is the grey sake seed predator and number one enemy of many trees the pod grows directly off the main trunk of the tree making it easier for some animals to reach the sakhis teeth are especially adapted for biting open hard fruit husks they prefer their seeds to be young and fresh this one must be too ripe for it seed predators such as squirrels and sakis are as important as the dispersers and the overall strategy of the forest by limiting the number of germinating seeds from each tree they prevent too many seedlings from competing for limited food and light some trees protect their crop by producing husks strong enough to prevent predators from getting through to the seeds the tree best known in Amazonia for doing this is the Brazil nut the mahogany tree uses the same strategy but they do not rely upon animals to disperse them the pods are very tough it is the wind that will eventually carry their winged seeds away from the parent trees the Brazil nuts 5 pound pod falls from a height of about 150 feet and they have been known to kill people the thud of the husks hitting the floor attracts the only animal really capable of opening it the agouti is a timid and cautious creature there are predators in this forest other than those that eat seeds and the seven and a half pound agouti would make a good meal after peeling the soft outer layer it delicately pairs away the hardwood even with its chisel like teeth it takes this rodent up to 20 minutes to get through to the 18 or so seeds inside with its sharp teeth the agouti shells them easily after eating one the agouti will take the seeds inside the husk one-by-one up to 1/4 mile away and store them for the hard times that are just around the corner like its cousin the Iguchi it will not retrieve all of them and those that remain buried will eventually repopulate this area of the forest with Brazil nut trees spider monkeys have a maximum home range of about 2500 acres a dominant female heads the small party on their foraging trips through the forest the babies are born at the beginning of the wet season and will be nursed by their mothers until they are 3 years of age the youngster won't leave her back permanently until it is a year and a half old during this time it learns to feed by example spider monkeys specialize in eating the fruits of many big valuable timber trees to avoid predation the seeds must germinate quickly and they do not unless the outer layer of the seed has been softened only by passing through the spider monkeys digestive system will this happen all the fruits that spider monkeys dispersed have to be split open with their teeth but some plants employ a very different strategy to attract potential seed dispersers when their seeds are mature the tree advertises the fact by opening the fruit to reveal appetizing colors sometimes with a startling effect some birds like spitz's guan are attracted by the edible seed coating but to eat it they also have to swallow the seed the bird will regurgitate the seed later far away from the parent plant an important factor if a forest is to remain diverse and healthy a bird built to fly a beak is a fair description of the toucan and like the spider monkey it is a very important seed disperser the toucan swallows the whole fruit and later far away from where it was picked the seed will be regurgitated the huge beak may look clumsy but it is actually a precision instrument it allows the bird to delicately pick fruit from the extremities of branches that a smaller beak could not reach plants like this closure have an added problem they are epiphytes living high in the canopy using the branches of other trees for support their seeds need to be scattered high up in the trees the closure seeds are coated with a sticky substance and when deposited in bird droppings on a branch they are glued on the two cans feeding session is brought to an abrupt halt by the arrival of the spider monkeys clearly visible in its droppings are the small seeds of an epiphyte fruits opening to advertise their mature is one way to lure animals to take them but one tree has evolved a more cunning method a moshe produces a seed that looks succulent but in fact it is as hard as iron and quite inedible they are also harder to germinate trumpeter birds scour the leaf litter for insects and grind up their prey and their gizzards there is no grit in the rainforest and it has only recently been discovered that these birds use emotion seeds as a substitute to break down hard insect matter by this process the seeds outer layers worn away when the bird eventually passes them out they germinate quickly in the leaf litter the colorful emotion wants to be seen but there are some creatures who don't it may be the most poisonous snake in the forest but the fer-de-lance has made a grave error by showing itself to the trumpeters these birds are snake killers in just a few minutes the deadly fer-de-lance has been pecked to death some trees and Liana's can be just as lethal as a bite from a fer-de-lance the strychnos Liana has a fruit that is heavily charged with strychnine the poison is only present in the seeds when the fruits reach maturity the spider monkeys are close to the fruiting strychnos crown and one of the youngsters is beginning to spend short periods away from her mother some animals that will come to feed here on the strychnos fruit will die the forests of the Amazon women called rainforests for nothing towards the end of July the rains move away and this triggers the flowering cycle of most trees and plants many accounts of early forays into the rain forest by men spoke of a wilderness of monotonous green but when individual trees begin to promote themselves to attract pollinators the forest canopy is dappled with color Oh the dry season also signals the beginning of a difficult time for many of the animals especially the fruit eating monkeys the leaf litter tells the tale fallen blossoms show that flowers high in the canopy have been successfully pollinated and will eventually bear fruit but the next three months will be a time of famine for many that live here the forest primate the woolly monkey fares better during this spell than the spider monkeys their diet includes more leaves and flowers than their relatives there are a few fruit rations and the woolly monkeys test them but they are weeks away from being ready to eat they also spend a lot of time hunting insects fat juicy caterpillars make a tasty snack woolly monkey society is similar to that of the spider monkey however unlike spiders who are ruled by the female they are governed by a dominant male far below on the forest floor the agouti searches for food that set aside just for this time a superb sense of smell helps it detect the seeds it buried earlier in the year for the spider monkeys a good memory is essential the dominant female knows her home range intimately she leads her group to remote food sources that she remembers year after year there are very few trees that bear fruit throughout the dry season the becau palms often have fronds flowering and fruiting at the same time for one bird this is good news the toucan has young they are especially vulnerable at this time and need a reliable source of food they are soon regurgitating the seeds just like their parents once their digestive juices have softened the hard outer pulp the young two can expertly manipulates the fruit and dropping the seed to the forest floor it swallows the pod the female is taking her group to a tree bearing only a meager crop the strange spikey fruits are a relative of the fig the first couple she tests are not ripe and her gentle nibbling prompts this fruit to defend itself a sticky latex exudes from the spiky tips biting also makes the fruit ripen quicker they eventually find some that are ripe and feast on the pulp and seeds the aerial route to the canopy epiphyte draped down from the crown of a tall Inca tree the owner of these roots is related to the familiar cheese plant it may look an oculus but if this succulent ripe fruit were chewed the mouth and throat would swell to such an extent that one may choke to death it is heavily laced with oxalate crystals while one female tucks in another turns her attention to the aerial roots these monkeys know that only the tips of these roots do not contain the poison and are edible this youngster will have to get there sooner if it is to find anything worth eating some Inga trees attract one of the strangest looking of all monkeys in Amazonia the white Whakaari it is a voracious seed predator whose teeth are specially adapted to tear open tough woody pods like this Inga fruit there are birds too that take their toll on the seed population especially young seeds parrots and macaws have beaks as effective as the what carries teeth it will cut through the strong outer casing of this fruit like a hot knife through butter the woolly monkeys do not eat these fruits and the seeds inside these pods will fall out when ripe the white Whakaari lives in areas where the forest floods annually and about 9% of the trees in Amazonia rely upon the water to disperse their seeds many of the trees are festooned with epiphytes and some of them have hidden surprises this tangle of epiphytes is in fact an ant's nest the campano tease ants who live in it have chosen a mallya tree for their high-rise home and the reason for this choice is fascinating the base of the fruits are crowded with plant hoppers whose needle-sharp mouth parts suck a special sap from the stalk and the ants in turn feed on the hoppers secretion this is not the end of the tale however it is even more complex growing from the ant garden are many plants whose roots help bind the nest together when these plants eventually produce fruits the ants harvest the contents seeds they take every one of them back to their nest and plant them in the walls of the garden it is a completely self-contained self-propagating community the mallya trees seeds will eventually be cast into the waters below and drift away as the level falls the tataki weighs in at an enormous 75 pounds its huge body is built by the rich fats of proteins of the 50 or more seeds that it eats several others species of fish also help disperse seeds such as the banded auricle the tambaqui has powerful molar teeth that crush rock-hard sea kernels with ease but some passed through its gut unharmed and eventually germinate on dry land after the waters have returned to the rivers the flooded forest provides a haven for the tapir this baby is enjoying the water's edge while its mother searches for fruits further into the dry forest they are large gentle herbivores who have long trunk like noses that they use to browse and sweep foliage one of its favorite fruits is volusia a soft juicy pulp contains many small seeds and the tapir simply cannot resist them the forest Indians used this knowledge to help them set traps they call the Felucia tree guava of the tapir the animal has long been a favorite food of theirs and of the Jaguar the snout is highly sensitive it doesn't just pick up the scent of fallen fruit it also detects danger from far away she moves carefully towards the creek her baby unaware of the imminent danger the powerful calf has an instant effect upon the spider monkeys who have seen it below bear alarm calls carry far through the forest and warn all of its presence safety for a tapir is in the water they are strong swimmers and can dive well the mother whistles an alarm to her youngster the danger has passed the spider monkeys calm down as they contemplate a much more pleasant prospect only a few species of tree and this is one produce a large crop of juicy fruits which the monkeys allowed to ripen longer than normal the fruit ferments quickly in the tropical Sun and the spider monkeys adore them for them just a couple of fruits are about the equivalent of a triple shot of whiskey the effect on their relatively slight bodies is rapid and intoxicating it's a well-known fact that alcohol impairs judgment and this monkey miss calculates the distance to a branch it's of no importance spider monkeys are so acrobatic that a 50 to 70 foot drop is taken in the general swing of things familiar signs begin to appear movement becomes slow but that tail must have a mind of its own it clings on no matter what vision perhaps blurred and of course hunger the hangovers are inevitable the spider monkeys move into their Lodge tree where they will spend the night their movement disturbs another canopy resident who has passed the day in deep sleep there are some nights when you just don't want to get up as one world goes to sleep another begins to awake on moonlit nights owl monkeys call passion-flowers populated by hummingbirds have ripe fruit now these are the only nocturnal monkeys in the world they love soft fruits and will swallow the seed along with their juicy coatings driven by thirst the kinkajou finally drags itself out of bed a flowering bromeliad provides a source of drinking water its leaves closely overlap at the base forming a treetop water tank that other creatures take advantage of to the kinkajou is only interested in nectar of fruit the Volusia tree whose fruit the taper like so much is also one of its favorites the seeds are tiny and many will be dispersed in its droppings during the night bats are one of the most important specialists and regenerating gaps in the forest where trees have fallen large fruits like this are taken back to their tent roost using its winged claws the bat deftly rotates the fruit chewing off the moist pulp the seed will be dropped to the ground with about 15 others that it will get through this night some will germinate and ultimately produce a high forest tree to fill this gap as with the creatures of the day those that come out at night have no intentions of dispersing seeds they just want to eat them in a den under the forest floor a pair of pakka are stirring their dens have several entrances which they keep clear for emergency escapes they emerge cautiously and one at a time they are a favorite prey of nocturnal cats and large constricting snakes the first task of the nightshift is to refill their burrow entrance with leaves to hide its location from enemies these large rodents feed mainly on fallen fruit and they have powerful jaws that destroy the seeds quickly there are many smaller nocturnal rodent predators like the spiny rat they to take a heavy toll on fallen seeds the fer-de-lance is not after the fruit but the fruit eater the rat has a lucky escape this time the spider monkeys are awake and hungry breakfast today is in the nel wood tree this tree produces vast quantities of fruit all at one time and drops its crop as quickly as possible the yellow footed tortoise can be an effective seed disperser despite its slow nature birds like the Razr build caress I'll slice open the seeds our goodies and Pacha's feast on the abundant fruit fall to despite this heavy predation the tree produces so much fruit that at least one or two seeds are likely to escape the jaws of these predators but from the trees point of view the spider monkeys once again are the perfect partners the female has moved into the crown of this strychnos Liana to feed and her baby is following her the mature fruit with their deadly seeds inside are easily picked the spider monkeys have adopted a unique way of feeding on these fruits to protect them from harm they also ensure that the seeds are scattered in the best way their technique is not to chew but to swallow the whole seed and surrounding pulp without biting it their digestive system removes the nutritious pulp and softens the seed coating in the only way that will allow it to germinate all of this after the monkeys have travelled considerable distances from the parent tree they play a vital part and the regeneration of this forest left alone this forest will continue to regenerate and evolve in the right way over one-quarter of all prescription medicines originated here yet less than 2% of the plants have been studied for hundreds of thousands of years the animals and trees of Amazonia have evolved together many are completely reliant upon each other for survival today that existence is increasingly fragile mankind could benefit from these complex relationships but only if they are allowed to continue what miracle drugs are locked within the rainforests of the Amazon maybe the spider monkey has the key

Channel: ricks9922

Views: 206,489

Rating: 4.4244947 out of 5

Keywords: Web of the Spider Monkey

Id: ikQmNxxB-sQ

Length: 42min 41sec (2561 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 11 2013