Claw Sun Bear

Does the claw length of the sun bear, Herlarctos malayanus, influence the diet and overall ability to climb in different parts of the forest?

Introduction

The sun bear, Herlarctos malayanus, is a native to the Southeast Asian tropical forest; this includes the semi evergreen forests, the mixed deciduous forests, and the montane evergreen forests. The sun bear is a small species of bear, with short fur, a long tongue, and long claws. The prominent trait of this species is the long claws as it allows the bear to climb high altitudes of trees, as well as break through tree bark to attain insects. Both these factors are essential for survival, therefore it benefits the overall fitness of the species. The primary food source of this mammal is fruits,

To do this, I must trim the claws of some sun bears to make their claws shorter. I will be dividing the sun bears into two different categories, which are long-clawed and short-clawed sun bears, to observe the effectivity of claw length. Trimming the claws will not harm the animal since the claws grow back quickly. The claw length is the controlled variable in this experiment since it is a significant attribute I will be using for my observations, and it will maintain consistency in my data. Both the long-clawed and short-clawed sun bear will be put in the same environment to observe behavioural changes and overall fitness. I will also be using Asiatic black bears in this experiment to compare with the survival skills of the sun bears. The independent variable of this experiment is the selected habitats for observation: semi evergreen forests, mixed deciduous forests, and montane evergreen forests (Steinmetz et al. 2013). These three different categories of bears will be observed in each of the three habitats. I will choose 5 bears for each category, so a total of 15 bears will be placed in each habitat. The first factor I will be measuring are the distances climbed by the sun bears and black bears in each habitat, using the claw markings on the trees. Secondly, I will observe the diet of the bears by

The null hypothesis is that the length of the claws does not influence the diet and overall survival of the sun bear in different habitats. The null hypothesis would not be rejected if the short-clawed sun bears have similar diets to long-clawed sun bears within the environment. Also, if the food resources between the sun bear and Asiatic black bear do not differ, then the species are not competing for resources. All the habitats could have similar results as the habitat may not influence the survival techniques of the bears. If the sun bears do not show behavioural changes due to their claw length, and data collected is similar for each habitat, then the null hypothesis will not be rejected. The null hypothesis will be rejected if any behavioural changes are observed in the animal, such as dietary changes and ability to climb. If the bear species have differing data, and the data for each habitat also differs, then the claw length does influence the survival technique of the bears. The Asiatic black bear may also show changes in the environment as both niches compete for resources in the habitats. The diet and climbing ability of the bears may differ, meaning the null hypothesis is