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Ecology

White-bellied spider monkeys are important long-distance seed dispersal agents for many fruit-bearing species. They are a dominant disperser for Oenocarpus bataua , a species of palm. A. belzebuth often occupies a large territory and will utilize multiple nesting trees throughout their territory. Seeds of preferred species are often dispersed below sleeping trees.

They live in social groups that operate using fission-fusion dynamics. These groups are characterized by fragmenting into subgroups that travel, feed and sleep together. These groups display great fluidity and will often change composition, sometimes changing several times each day. The composition of these groups can be influenced by the reproductive status of females. Females are usually more solitary than males, but females with dependent offspring are more likely to join a large group than those without dependent offspring. Females will also usually remain in small core ranges within their home territories with their offspring while males will utilize more of their home range. These subgroups are brought together with long distance vocalizations. These long distance vocalizations can be up to a kilometer away.

Reproduction

White-bellied spider monkeys are believed to achieve sexual maturity at between 4 and 5 years of age and will usually produce a single offspring although females giving birth to twins has been reported. Their gestation period is between 226 and 232 days long. Males have been observed engaging in infanticide. All victims of observed infanticide were from the same social group as their attackers and all were young males.

Feeding

The diet of White-bellied spider monkeys is 83% mature fruits and they are important to the seed dispersal of many fruit-bearing species. They carry a relatively high number of intact seeds in their guts and intake relatively large amounts of fruit pulp when compared to some other monkey species within their range. They also are likely to return to previous food sources and spend relatively little time foraging. A. belzebuth is a generalist frugivore that doesn't specialize in a particular fruit type but do appear to prefer fruits with high lipid content, high sugar content, or fruits produced by trees with high fruit productivity. They will also feed on other plant parts such as leaves, flowers, and bulbs, and will very rarely consume small insects. A. belzebuth has also been observed engaging in geophagy.