the shared preference niche of sympatric asiatic black bears and sun bears in a tropical forest mosaic的共同偏好利基分布区重叠的亚洲黑熊和太阳熊在热带森林马赛克.pdfVIP

The Shared Preference Niche of Sympatric Asiatic Black Bears and Sun Bears in a Tropical Forest Mosaic 1 2 3 1 Robert Steinmetz *, David L. Garshelis , Wanlop Chutipong , Naret Seuaturien 1 Conservation Biology Unit, World Wide Fund for Nature Thailand, Bangkok, Thailand, 2 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Grand Rapids, Minnesota, United States of America, 3 Conservation Ecology Program, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand Abstract Background: Ecologically similar species often coexist by partitioning use of habitats or resources. Such partitioning can occur through divergent or shared niches. We investigated overlap in habitat use and spatial co-occurrence by sympatric Asiatic black bears and sun bears in three habitats in Thailand, and thereby assessed which niche model best accounts for their coexistence. Methods/Principal Findings: We used density of species-specific signs to assess habitat use. Signs of both bear species occurred in all three habitats, and on .60% of sampling transects. Both species fed mostly on fruit; insect feeding signs were uncommon, and were mostly from sun bears. Significant differences in habitat use occurred only in montane forest, the habitat in which fruit was most abundant; incidence of black bear sign there was six times higher than that of sun bears. Habitat use was similar between the two species in the other habitats, which comprised 85% of the area. Of 10 habitat attributes examined, fruiting tree density was the best predictor of occurrence for both species. Models that included interspecific competition (fresh foraging activity of the other species) were less supported than the top models without competition. Conclusions/Significance: Bear species co-occ