Abstract: There are several methods for estimating the area of home ranges and the same data analyzed by different methods yield appreciably different results. This paper described these methods and compared the results estimated by some main methods inclusive boundary strip method ( Stickel, 1954), methods of circular home range ( Calhoun and Casby, 1958 ) and of elliptical home range or principle component method ( Jennrich and Turner, 1969; Mazurkiewicz, 1971 ) and mean's method ( Murakami 1971 ) on the base of the same material collected by us for the root vole from May to October of 1980 in a brush community of Qinghai Plateau. The results estimated by mean's method are more comparable with that of inclusive boundary strip method. The complicated procedures of calculation of this method lead us to propose a simplified mean's method and the results are considered quite near to that of proper mean's method. The estimated values of circular and elliptical home range method arc in considerable degree higher than the results from boundary strip method, especially, of the circular method. The elliptical method is impossible to deal with the home ranges with a linear cap- ture points. Although the circular method can deal with, but the results are higher than that of boumdary strip method to an incredible degree. The elliptical method is more suitable to deal with slender home ranges and the ratio of axes calculated by this method is a good index for measuring the circularity of home range. Therfore, available methods for estimating home range are far to be perfected, perhaps the mean's method is the more prac-ticale.

摘要： 巢区(Home range)是动物在其巢附近进行取食、生殖、育幼等日常活动的区域(Burt 1940)。标志流放法是应用最广的调查啮齿动物巢区的方法,尤其是按方格式布笼。但对同一野外调查结果,由于估算方法不同,巢区估算值相差很大,并且至今尚无学者提出一致公认的估算法。1980年5—10月,我们在青海省门源县的高寒草甸生态系统定位站调查根田鼠的巢区,按多种估算法对同一批实际调查结果估计了巢区面积,并对结果进行了分析比较,检查其特点和优缺点,并提出修正平均值法,作为我们今后讨论根田鼠巢区动态的基础。 对方格式布笼的调查结果进行巢区的估算方法,基本上分二大类,图形法和概率性模型法。图形法是按照捕点分布划出巢区,并直接求出巢区面积,如最小面积法,包括或不包括周边地带法,最大距离法和复合散布图法。