Complex plant-disperser-pest interactions in NW Amazonia : beetle larvae and companions travelling inside Attalea maripa palm nuts

The dispersal and predation, by vertebrates, of bruchid beetle larvae living inside Attalea maripa palm nuts are described in the region of the Middle Negro river (state of Amazonas, Brazil). The complexity of the ecological relationships between palm trees, seed dispersers, beetle seed predators and parasitic or commensal organisms is discussed and their importance to the biological diversity of the Amazonian ecosystems is argued.