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Chapter 4 - Adaptations and Competitive Interactions of Tropical Asian Bear Species Define Their Biogeography: Past, Present, and Future

from Part I - Systematics, Ecology, and Behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2020

By
Robert Steinmetz ,
David L. Garshelis  and
Anwaruddin Choudhury
Edited by
Vincenzo Penteriani  and
Mario Melletti
Vincenzo Penteriani
Affiliation:
Spanish Council of Scientific Research (CSIC)
Mario Melletti
Affiliation:
WPSG (Wild Pig Specialist Group) IUCN SSC
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Summary

Three potentially competing bear species inhabit tropical Asia: the sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), and Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus). Sun bears (30–80 kg), the smallest species of bear in the world, are about half the size of black bears (65–150 kg) and sloth bears (55–145 kg). What factors generate the separation of sloth bears geographically from black and sun bears? What factors facilitate the extensive sympatry of black bears and sun bears? How are these patterns structured by evolutionary history and competition between bear species, and what mechanisms facilitate their coexistence or maintain their separation? Has current forest loss and degradation benefited one species over another? If so, has interspecific competition played a part? These questions are the focus of this chapter.

Keywords

interactionsbearsAsiatic black bearsloth bearsun bearbiogeography
Type
Chapter
Information
Bears of the World
Ecology, Conservation and Management
 , pp. 45 - 52
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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