Biological and Ecological Aspects of the Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos Ornatus, Ursidae) in the Ecuadorean Andean Zone and Conservation Perspectives under the Landscape Species Approach

The Andean bear (Tremarctosornatus) has inhabited South America for more than five million years, and he is the only living representative of the short-nosed bears, a group that only lived on the American continent. In Ecuador he is considered an endangered species, mainly because the loss of natural...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:La Granja: Revista de Ciencias de la Vida 2019-09, Vol.30 (2), p.19
Main Authors: Sandoval-Guillén, Pablo, Yánez-Moretta, Patricio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bears
Cloud forests
Conservation
Conservation areas
Dispersion
Endangered species
Landscape
Livestock
Natural resources
Tremarctos ornatus
Wildlife conservation
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Summary:The Andean bear (Tremarctosornatus) has inhabited South America for more than five million years, and he is the only living representative of the short-nosed bears, a group that only lived on the American continent. In Ecuador he is considered an endangered species, mainly because the loss of natural habitats in the Andes, due to the pressure of productive anthropic activities (mainly, livestock and agriculture) and extraction of natural resources. This bear is a mammal that needs large areas to eat and find a mate. The Andean bear is important for cloud forests and paramos due to his efficient role as seed scatter. In this work, the ’landscape species’ theoretical approach is applied in order to propose activities to conserve the Andean bear and the places that inhabits. This approach also allows to evaluate in a systematic way the quality of the landscape in terms of biological requirements of the species (here, Tremarctos ornatus) and the landscape human uses; likewise, it also considers the size and limits of the conservation area and its internal variation. El oso andino u oso de anteojos (Tremarctos ornatus) ha habitado Sudamérica por más de cinco millones de años, y es el único representante viviente de los osos de nariz corta, un grupo que habitó solamente en el continente americano. Dentro de Ecuador es considerado en peligro de extinción, principalmente debido a la fragmentación y pérdida de hábitats naturalesen la regiónandina, causada poractividades antrópicas productivas(ganadería y agricultura)y de extracción de recursos naturales. Este oso es un mamífero que necesita de grandes extensiones para poder alimentarse y buscar pareja. El oso andino es importante para las zonas que habita, principalmente el bosque andino y el páramo, debido a su eficiente rol como dispersor de semillas. En el presente trabajo se analizan aspectos de esta especie en Ecuador, utilizando el enfoque teórico de ’especies paisaje’ para proponer actividades en pro de la conservación de este mamífero y de los hábitats en los que se desarrolla. Este enfoque permite evaluar de forma sistemática la calidad del paisaje en términos de los requerimientos biológicos de una especie de interés (en este caso,Tremarctosornatus) y de los usos humanos del paisaje; de igual forma considera características del área de conservación como su variación. O urso andino ou urso de óculos (Tremarctos ornatus) habita na América do Sul há mais de cinco milhões de anos e é o único representante vivo do
ISSN:1390-3799
1390-8596
DOI:10.17163/lgr.n30.2019.02