ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA ›› 2019, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (1): 69-76.DOI: 10.16829/j.slxb.150153

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Effects of vegetation cover and pastoral land-use types on the foraging and vigilance behaviors of the plateau pika

Migmar Wangdwei   

  1. (Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Tibet University, Lhasa 850000, China)
     
  • Online:2019-01-30 Published:2019-01-18

植被覆盖度和土地利用对高原鼠兔觅食与警戒行为的影响

米玛旺堆   

  1. (西藏大学理学院,拉萨 850000)
  • 通讯作者: 米玛旺堆 E-mail: migmarwangdwei@hotmail.com

Abstract: The natural behavior of wildlife can be different when livestock are present. The plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) is a burrowing lagomorph on the Tibetan Plateau that shares its habitat with livestock herded by pastoralists. I used focal animal sampling and Poisson regression to determine if the behavioral frequencies of free-ranging plateau pikas were affected by the presence of pastoralists and their yaks, as well as by land-use type. Results showed that frequencies of foraging and moving were the main behaviors of the plateau pikas.  In yak foraging areas, pikas foraged more frequently than they were vigilant in winter with reversed pattern in summer; and this occurred in both pastoral and bedding areas for domestic herbivores. Behavior frequencies displayed by plateau pikas were likely affected by pasture land-use type and vegetation cover, as well as by seasonal changes. Seasonal livestock grazing management is preferable to permanent human settlements on the Tibetan Plateau in terms of local overgrazing.

Key words: Vigilance behavior, Focal sampling, Yak grazing, Lagomorpha, Ochotonidae

摘要: 野生动物的自然行为受当地家畜影响。作为与家畜共享一个栖息地、并具有挖掘行为的兔形目高原鼠兔,其行为也受当地高原家畜影响。本文采用了Poisson回归分析方法,确定牦牛、不同土地利用对高原鼠兔行为频次的影响。结果显示觅食、移动频次是高原鼠兔的主要行为频次。在冬季牦牛觅食地高原鼠兔觅食行为频次高于警戒行为频次。相反,在夏季,无论是在牦牛觅食地还是在其夜宿地,高原鼠兔警戒行为的频次高于觅食行为频次。高原鼠兔行为也受不同土地利用、植被覆盖度以及季节因素的影响。植被覆盖度与觅食频次成反比,植被覆盖度高的生境高原鼠兔觅食较少,相反,植被覆盖度较低生境觅食行为频繁。另外当前牧民的定居化趋势造成局域放牧过度,加速了土地荒漠化。因此本文也认为,季节性传统游牧模式对于草地可持续发展具有重要意义。

关键词: 警醒行为, 目标取样法, 牦牛放牧, 兔形目, 鼠兔科