The habitat and food requirements of grizzly bears and black bears are similar but not identical.A study in British Columbia examined predicted versus actual distributions of these two species using hair traps and DNA analysis of the hair to determine whether black bears or grizzly bears were using particular areas.Most of the area was suitable for both species, but black bears mainly occurred in valley bottoms and open habitats, whereas grizzly bears occurred in more closed habitats (forest) at higher elevations.The lack of overlap in habitat suggests that the two bear species are practicing

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The lack of overlap in habitat between grizzly bears and black bears suggests that the two species are practicing resource partitioning, where they divide the resources available to reduce competition and coexist in the same ecosystem. This is different from competitive exclusion, where one species completely outcompetes and eliminates another, or interference competition, where one species actively prevents another from accessing a resource. Exploitation competition and character displacement are also mechanisms of reducing competition, but they do not specifically refer to the division of resources among different species in a shared habitat.

The Habitat and Food Requirements of Grizzly Bears and Black