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What would marsupials require in order to directly compete successfully against placentals?
Topic Started: Feb 9 2017, 11:20 PM (566 Views)
Finderskeepers
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I am curious why marsupials seem to be faring so bad against placentals. What would they require to compete successfully with placental mammals? A faster birth rate? Higher intelligence?
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zergthe
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Probably adaptability, if anything. Placental mammals are generally much more adaptable than the marsupial mammals.
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Cape Leopard
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There are a few marsupials that seem to be doing quite well against placentals, in my opinion. The opossum of North America and the rest of the marsupials in South America for example. The larger kangaroos in Australia also seem to be doing well - e.g. the various introduced hoofed mammals haven't driven them out.
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Vivyx
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Feb 10 2017, 04:20 AM
There are a few marsupials that seem to be doing quite well against placentals, in my opinion. The opossum of North America and the rest of the marsupials in South America for example. The larger kangaroos in Australia also seem to be doing well - e.g. the various introduced hoofed mammals haven't driven them out.
I think another mention should be the Tasmanian devil, who seem to fare quite well against the red foxes and feral cats in the area (even predating upon them).
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zergthe
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I guess...but in general, I'd still remain with placentals generally doing much better than marsupials.
Also, as long as they are carnivores, larger sizes would definitely help.
Edited by zergthe, Feb 10 2017, 04:57 AM.
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Wyvax
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I can't remember who said it, it think it was a consensus regarding monitor lizards by one of the reptile experts here in the past. But "in general placental carnivores are smarter then perenties, but perenties are smarter then the marsupial carnivores". I don't know if that scale is accurate but it is safe to say that placentals are generally more intelligent than marsupials, and monitors are quite intelligent themselves. So if intelligence correlates to adaptive behavior then yeah I could see that being the main issue.
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Taipan
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Feb 9 2017, 11:20 PM
What would they require to compete successfully with placental mammals?


Compete for what?

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Mesopredator
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The world isn't like a big boxing match. It seems that the animal vs animal stuff creeps in users heads here and the whole natural world becomes a struggle for dominance instead of simply (co)existence.

Placentals might outperform marsupials in certain niches. As others point out other marsupials are doing fine. I speculate that the whole disaster with non-native species in Australia might've partly given us the idea that marsupials are 'inferior'.

What I found interesting after reading the book by Tim Low is how successful reptiles have been in Australia. I sometimes wonder how things would've turned out if places like Australia and New Zealand had their unique species co-evolving with some - and only some - species similar that have been introduced now. What would the result be?

Say, if stoats were on New Zealand from the start, but not rodents, could some of the weta still have evolved towards the role of mice? Would this in turn made them better able to face the introduction of rodents? Here I would say no since the co-evolution would be with stoats not rodents. And in the scenario of co-evolution with rodents instead, it could've prevented them from taking that niche.

In a same way, maybe placentals do have features, genetic or otherwise, that makes them much more suitable to adapt at most niches. At the same time it is also possible that features of the landscape of Australia, a landscape which does seem to have unique features, makes some of the marsupials there more adapted to it. Though some plants introduced to Australia have somewhat changed this I suppose.

So in simpler terms if we go with your statement that marsupials do not already compete successfully - which I would disagree with - what would make them able to compete is:
1) Be better at the niche of placental
2) Find niches not occupied by placentals

Source: my ass
Edited by Mesopredator, Feb 12 2017, 06:19 AM.
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My question would be whether a evolutionarily similar marsupial would be able to compete for or hold a niche against a placental mammal.

Example Thylacoleo and say, a Jaguar. Would the Jaguar be able to drive the Thylacoleo out of its niche? Would the Thylacoleo be able to hold the niche? etc etc etc
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Mesopredator
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Feb 12 2017, 09:52 AM
My question would be whether a evolutionarily similar marsupial would be able to compete for or hold a niche against a placental mammal.

Example Thylacoleo and say, a Jaguar. Would the Jaguar be able to drive the Thylacoleo out of its niche? Would the Thylacoleo be able to hold the niche? etc etc etc
You would need to look at the morphology of both species.
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Grazier
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Feb 12 2017, 09:52 AM
My question would be whether a evolutionarily similar marsupial would be able to compete for or hold a niche against a placental mammal.

Example Thylacoleo and say, a Jaguar. Would the Jaguar be able to drive the Thylacoleo out of its niche? Would the Thylacoleo be able to hold the niche? etc etc etc
All signs point to the jaguar easily outcompeting thylacoleo. The jaguar has outcompeted a long laundry list of various rival predators in its history. Including thylacosmilus, rendering it extinct basically immediately upon contact. The jaguar even can compete/coexist with homo sapiens, and a fairly advanced variety as well.
Meanwhile the marsupial lion folded immediately upon contact with a much more primitive lineage of homo sapien, a good 50 000 years more primitive with far less advanced technology and weaponry.
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