The species classification : kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, class: Mammalia, order: carnivora, family: ursidae, Genus: Ailuropoda, species:one.
Description of its habitat: It's High-altitude, moist bamboo forest. Pandas Niche: it eats mainly bamboo, the way it obtains its food from the moist bamboo that grows. alot of pandas are captured and taken to zoos, so they get most of there food and shelter there. What are some of the ways traits that vary within their population? there is no pattern that connects to the pandas, so there is no pandas ancestors. the pandas diet is 99% bamboo they will occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or meat in the form of birds. rodents or carrion in captivity they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams,shrubs,leaves,oranges or bananas along with specially prepared food. They have collected 22 litters, (38 cubs), also 33 litters (48 cubs) collected. Weight male: 187-276 pounds. weight female: 154- 220 some closes related species is the red panda, and the giant panda. The panda has thick russet fur. the panda has a ''6th'' toe so it can get bamboo of the ground. The giant panda genome codes for all necessary enzymes associated with a carnivorous digestive system but lacks genes for enzymes needed to digest cellulose, the principal component of their bamboo diet. It has been posited that this iconic species must therefore possess microbial symbionts capable of metabolizing cellulose, but these symbionts have remained undetected. Comparing glycoside hydrolase profiles of pandas with those of herbivores and omnivores, we found a moderate abundance of oligosaccharide-degrading enzymes for pandas (36%), close to that for humans (37%), and the lowest abundance of cellulases and endohemicellulases (2%), which may reflect low digestibility of cellulose and hemicellulose in the panda's unique bamboo diet. The presence of putative cellulose-digesting microbes, in combination with adaptations related to feeding, physiology, and morphology, show that giant pandas have evolved a number of traits to overcome the anatomical and physiological challenge of digesting a diet high in fibrous matter. Structural adaptations help Pandas survive,structural adaptations are body coverings and body fur. The Giant Panda has a “sixth toe” that enables it to eat bamboo and pull roots from the ground. The Giant Panda also has strong jaw muscles that enable it to chew the tough bamboo plant. Giant Pandas also have strong leg muscles so they can escape predators by climbing up trees. In conclusion, the Giant Panda's structural adaptations have helped it survive for many years. |
Date:July 28, 2009
Source:
Ecological Society of America
Summary:
When the magnitude 8 Sichuan earthquake struck southern China in May 2008, it left more than 69,000 people dead and 4.3 million homeless. Now ecologists have added to these losses an assessment of the earthquake's impact on biodiversity. Researchers show that more than 23 percent of the pandas' habitat in the study area was destroyed, and fragmentation of remaining habitat could hinder panda reproduction.
Source:
Ecological Society of America
Summary:
When the magnitude 8 Sichuan earthquake struck southern China in May 2008, it left more than 69,000 people dead and 4.3 million homeless. Now ecologists have added to these losses an assessment of the earthquake's impact on biodiversity. Researchers show that more than 23 percent of the pandas' habitat in the study area was destroyed, and fragmentation of remaining habitat could hinder panda reproduction.
this is how a pandas would be like now at china or Australia, besides people capturing them at putting them in a cage and taking them to a zoo.
Our data reveal surprisingly rich genetic variability in the 5 extant giant panda populations for both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA (table 1). Genetic variation at the 10 microsatellite loci analyzed can be compared with levels of diversity observed in surveys of other ursine species. The most common explanation to the color of their fur is that it is black and white so they can blend in with their rocky enviroment. Because of their bamboo diet they have large molars for grinding on the bamboo shoots, and they wouldn't be able to grind on the tough shoots without very strong jaw mussles. The pandas like all bears have paws with four fingers that have claws, however the pandas also have a niche, bumd, hook, ect. on the base of their wrist witch acts like a thumb and alows them to hold bamboo. Because of their diet of bamboo and them being bears so plant doesn't give them alot of energy they must eat form around 20-40 pounds of bamboo per day. A result of having to eat so much bamboo they eat from 10-16 hours per day, also like I said they are bears and don't get very much energy from plants so to conserve the energy that they didn't use eating and traveling to find more food they sleep.