ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA ›› 2022, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (3): 240-249.DOI: 10.16829/j.slxb.150596

• ORIGINAL PAPERS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Winter diet of wild red deer (Cervus elaphus xanthopygus) in the forestgrassland ecotone in Inner Mongolia, China

ZHOU Liangjun, WANG Lin, WEI Kaili, ZHANG Minghai, ZHANG Weiqi   

  1. College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
  • Received:2021-08-12 Revised:2022-02-23 Published:2022-06-02

内蒙古森林—草原交错带中野生东北马鹿冬季食物组成模式

周良俊, 王琳, 魏楷丽, 张明海, 张玮琪   

  1. 东北林业大学野生动物与自然保护地学院, 哈尔滨 150040
  • 通讯作者: 张玮琪,E-mail:zhangweiqi@nefu.edu.Cn
  • 作者简介:周良俊(1996-),男,硕士研究生,主要从事大型有蹄类营养生态学研究.
  • 基金资助:
    国家自然科学基金(32071512,31500328);中央高校基本科研项目(2572020BE02);国家级大学生创新训练项目(202110225149)

Abstract: Coldness and snow cover in harsh winters pressure red deer (Cervus elaphus xanthopygus) inhabiting the Inner Mongolia forest-grassland ecotone to balance their nutrient and energy requirements. The main dietary portion of twigs from woody plants in winter is inadequate in the forest-grassland ecotone. In the winters of 2019 and 2020, we respectively collected 33 and 65 fecal samples of wild red deer in Gaogesitai Hanwula National Natural Reserve, Inner Mongolia, constituting 98 individual samples for feeding habit analysis. The food composition of red deer was analyzed via fecal microscopic analysis, and the patterns of feeding similarity between individual red deer were determined through detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) applied to the food composition data. The red deer ate 22 species (family) of plants in two winters, mainly including Quercus mongolica, Armeniaca sibirica, Salix rosmarinifolia, and Poaceae spp. A large percentage (9. 88%) of plants consumed by red deer in the winter of 2020 consisted of Picea asperata, which was not found in the samples from 2019. During the two winters, most red deer mainly foraged for deciduous trees and shrubs, such as Quercus mongolica, Armeniaca sibirica, Salix rosmarinifolia, and Ulmus pumila, and a high proportion foraged for Poaceae spp. A few individuals fed largely on Picea asperata when there was a food shortage. The consumption of Poaceae spp. and Picea asperata were the factors contributing to the variation in food composition.These results provide fundamental data for research on the nutritional ecology of red deer.

Key words: Red deer, Winter, Food composition pattern, Detrended correspondence analysis

摘要: 分布于内蒙古森林—草原交错带的东北马鹿(Cervus elaphus xanthopygus)种群,受冬季低温和雪被的影响,对营养和能量的需求发生变化,同时,交错带内植物区系复杂,草本植物覆盖率高,而野生东北马鹿冬季主要以木本植物的嫩枝为食,因此分布于该地区的野生东北马鹿种群将面临食物资源短缺、营养缺乏的潜在威胁。本研究于2019年和2020年冬季,在内蒙古高格斯台罕乌拉国家级自然保护区内,采集野生东北马鹿粪便样本共98份。采用粪便显微分析法了解内蒙古森林—草原交错带中东北马鹿冬季的食物组成,结合去趋势分析法揭示了东北马鹿冬季食物组成模式。对东北马鹿粪便残渣分析发现,东北马鹿冬季共采食22种(科)植物,其中2020年冬季发现东北马鹿大量采食云杉(Picea asperata,9.88%)为其新食物。对东北马鹿食物组成进行去趋势分析发现,两年冬季中多数东北马鹿呈现出以蒙古栎(Quercus mongolica)、山杏(Armeniaca sibirica)、细叶沼柳(Salix rosmarin? ifolia)和家榆(Ulmus pumila)等落叶乔木和灌木为主要食物,同时采食高比例禾本科(Poaceae spp.)植物的食物组成模式;少数个体因食物短缺而呈现出以云杉为主要食物的特殊组成模式。禾本科和云杉是引起东北马鹿冬季食物组成变化的主因。本研究揭示了内蒙古森林—草原交错带中东北马鹿冬季的食物组成模式,为该地区东北马鹿营养生态学的进一步研究与保护管理提供参考依据。

关键词: 马鹿, 冬季, 食物组成模式, 去趋势分析

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