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07 July 2008, Volume 24 Issue 4

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A Survey of Disturbance of Giant Panda Habitat in the Xiaoxiangling Mountains of Sichuan Province

RAN Jianghong, LIU Shaoying, WANG Hongjia, ZENG Zongyong, SUN Zhiyu, LIU Shichang

2004, 24(4):  277-281. 

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Disturbance is a universal phenomenon in giant panda habitat, extensive human disturbance is the reason of giant panda endanger. Human disturbance of the giant panda habitat was studied at Xiaoxiangling mountain, Sichuan China in 2001. 12 major sources of disturbance were studied, including bamboo blooming, landslip, fire, logging, grazing, herb-collection, highway, poaching, bamboo shot collection and harvest bmnboo, croppitig, mining and tour . From elevation 1 800 to 4 020 m, 878 sampling spots were recorded, the disturbance elevation in 1 800-4 000 m. The result indicated that a)the nature of disturbance Was not serious; b)logging, grazing, herb-collection and highway were major human caused disturbance, occupied 34.9%, 26.3%, 5.1% and 4.2% of sampling spots respectively. C)49.67% of lclgglng spots, 47.19% of grazing, 31.11%of herb-collection were in 3 000-3 499 m, and 48.89% of giant panda traces were in the san'le elevation. The extensive hum andisturbances were in 3 000-3 499 m. d)The results of analyses of contingency tables suggested that giant panda avoid the logging and grazing habitat spots. After“nature forest conservation program”since 1998, logging was no longer major disturbance in giant panda habitat, but grazing, herb-collection and poaching would be increased.

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Daily Activity Rhythm and Time Budget of Sichuan Sika deer ( Cervus nippon sichuanicus) in Spring

LUI Hao SHI Hongyan HU Jinchu

2004, 24(4):  282-285. 

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The daily activity rhythm and time budget of Sichuan sika deer ( Cervus nippon sichuanicus) were studied in the Tiebu Nature Reserve of Sichuan province during April , 1997. 191 and 29 individuals were observed by scan sampling in daytime and night respectively. The results indicated that the diurnal activity rhythmof Sichuan sika deer was characterized by two peaks : first peak at 08 : 30 and second peak at 19 : 00. But they were more active in night than in day time , except at about 01 : 30. By the object sampling , 69 individuals of Sichuan sika deer recorded. It was concluded that their most activity time were spent in feeding and moving (90 %) . Among them , feeding accounted for 74.27 % in daytime and 58.90 % in night , and moving made 15.20 % and 31.29 % respectively. Sunlight , food and human activities are major factors that affect the daily activity rhythm and time budget of Sichuan sika deer.

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Study on the Influence of Post2thaw Motility on Giant Panda Cryopreserved Sperm by Thawing Rate and Pentyoxyf illine in vitro

HUANG Yan WANG Pengyan Rebecca E.Spindler JoGayle Howard ZHANG Hemin David E.Wildt

2004, 24(4):  286-292. 

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A management priority for giant pandas is developing cryopreserved sperm banks to use in conjunction with artificial insemination to protect extant diversity and transport genetic material between geographically disparate panda populations. To be an effective tool , these banks , sperm viability post-thaw must be optimized. These studies examined the influence of 1) different thaw rates and 2) the chemical stimulant pentyoxyfilline (PF) , on sperm viability and motility cryopreserved at rapid rates ( - 40 to -100 ℃/ min) . Semen was collected from 11 adult giant pandas and cryopreserved rapidly ( - 40 to - 100 °C/ min) . In study Ⅰ, sperm was thawed at various rates by plunging into water baths at (1) 22 ℃ ( slow rate thawing) ; (2) 37 ℃ (intermediate thaw rate) ; or (3) 50 ℃ (rapid thaw rate) . When compared to mean pre-freeze giant panda sperm motility (78.1 ±2.9 %) , post-thaw motility decreased ( P < 0.05) after rapid (57.5 ±5.4 %) thawing. However , the intermediate (67.5 ±3.1 %) or slow (73.33 ±2.1 %) thawing rates were comparable to the pre-freeze value. In study Ⅱ, sperm was thawed at the intermediate rate and exposed to 0mM, 1mM, 5mM and 10 mM PF for short (15 min) and long periods (24 hrs) . Sperm samples exposed to PF for 15 min at (0mM, 1mM, 5mM and 10 mM) had similar ( P > 0.05) sperm motility , progressive status , viability and acrosomal integrity patterns throughout the 90 min examination period. Long-term incubation with 1 mM PF , did not influence motility among time periods ( P > 0.05) . Giant panda sperm incubated with 5mM and 10 mM PF were less ( P < 0.05) motile by 4 hrs (5 mM: 24.0 ±4.7 ; 10 mM 19.5 ±3.6 %) compared with controls (38.3 ±5.2 %) . Additionally , sperm incubated with 10 mM PF had
fewer ( P < 0105) intact acrosomes (56.3 ±2.8) after 4 hrs incubation , compared with controls (71.0 ±3.3 %). These two studies of giant panda sperm demonstrated that giant panda sperm that are cooled and cryopreserved rapidly in pellet form , have better survival following slow rate thaw. Further , giant panda sperm are sensitive to the common motility enhancer PF. However , this boost is short-term , actually depressing sperm motility after a few hours of incubation and , at higher concentrations , damaging acrosomal integrity.

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Difference among Echolocation Calls of Miniopterus schreibersii parvipes during Different States

LIU Ying FENGJiang CHEN Min ZHANG Xichen LI Zhenxin ZHOU Jiang ZHANG Shuyi

2004, 24(4):  293-297. 

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Miniopterus schreibersii parvipes is one of the local subspecies of China and the echolocation calls were distinct fromother species'. By analyzing the echolocation calls of the bats at different states , it was concluded that the echolocation calls were markedly different at different states , so that the bats could adapt to the different flying styles , foraging strategies and the body size of insects. The echolocation calls were recorded with Ultrasound Detector (D980 , ULTRASOUND DETECTOR , Pettersson Elektronik AB , Sweden). The sound spectrograms (frequency-time spectrograms) and the power spectra (intensity-frequency spectra) were analyzed by using Batsound 3.10 (Pettersson Elektronik AB , Sweden). The parameters included pulse duration , interpulse interval (the time from one pulse ending to the next one beginning) , dominant frequency , starting frequency of 1st harmonic and the terminal frequency of 1st harmonic. The echolocation calls were FM signals with 1 - 2 harmonics. The dominant frequency of calls was 49.35 ±4.24 kHz. The pulse duration of one complete sound was 3.46 ±1.63 ms , and the interpulse interval was 96.09 ±33.84 ms. The duty cycle is 3.5 %. The echolocation calls of Miniopterus schreibersii parvipes at 3 different states were analyzed by One-Way ANOVA of SPSS 11.5. The pulse durations of the bats during flying and holding were shorter than those during hanging and the interpulse interval during hanging was the shortest of 3 different states , while the dominant frequency during flying was the highest. Bats would face more complex environment and distinguish much more barriers when they were flying , so they use echolocation calls with short pulse duration and high dominant frequency to fly agilely.

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Effects of Annual Net Primary Productivity of Forest Ecosystem and Habitat Complexity on Species Diversity of Small Mammals

WANGJie LIU Shaoying RAN Jianghong WANG Changhe SHEN Li J IANG Ping GUO Cong

2004, 24(4):  298-303. 

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This study focused on the effects of annual net primary productivity of forest ecosystem and habitat complexity of Huanglong Nature Reserve on the species diversity of small mammals. We divided Huanglong Nature Reserve into four census sites every 500 meters from the elevation of 2 000 meters , at 2 000 - 2 500 meters , 2 500 - 3 000 meters , 3 000 - 3 500 meters and over 3 500 meters respectively. The average annual net primary productivity of the forest ecosystem of each site was 24.9 MJ / (m²·a) , 21.5 MJ / (m²·a) , 17.5 MJ / (m²·a) and 14.1 MJ / (m²·a) respectively. The landscape of the sites in 2 000 - 2 500 meters and 2 500 - 3 000 meters were less complex , while the landscape of the remaining two sites were much more complex. These latter two sites vary a lot and is full of rocks covered with thick moss and many fallen trees. Over 500 snap traps were placed in each site during July and August 2001 and 200 small mammals were captured. The biomass of small mammals of each site was 661.0 g , 487.3 g , 451.7 g , 205.8 g per hundred snap traps respectively with species richness of 12 , 10 , 10 , 2 and the Shannon-Wiener diversity index as 3.04 , 2.81 , 3.06 and 0.75 respectively. The results indicated that there was close relationship between annual net primary productivity and habitat complexity and species diversity of small mammals. The species richness decreased with the reduction of the productivity of forest ecosystem. Similar relationship also existed between the productivity and habitat complexity and the biomass of small mammals. The species diversity of small mammals keeped a relatively high level in a complex habitat when the productivity was in a certain range. However , if the productivity was low enough it will become the limited factor for the species diversity of small mammals.

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Influence of Photoperiod on Conspecif ic Odor Preferences of Adult Male Brandt's Vole ( Microtus brandti)

ZHANG Li FANG Jiming SUN Ruyong

2004, 24(4):  304-310. 

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The odor preferences and the changes of behavioral strategy of male adult Brandt’s vole in different photoperiods were studied. All male actors showed more social investigation on the odors of long-photoperiod (LD) males/ females than those of short-photoperiod (SD) male/ female donors in a 302min odor choice test. LD males presented more sniffing and digging significantly to the substrates of unfamiliar opposite-sex/ same-sex individual scents than SD males. While , exposed to the substrate of diestrous female , LD and SD male did not differ in the behavior of sniffing and digging. Male voles preferred to staying in the odor chamber with LD male scents over that of SD males. LD male actors spent more time on staying in the odor chamber with LD female substrate than that of SD female substrate , while SD male actors showed no difference in the duration of visit between LD and SD female odor chambers. LD males preferred the scents of LD estrous females to those of LD diestrous donors , and presented no significant difference to the SD estrous and diestrous female odors. SD male actors showed more sniffing to the odor of LD/ SD estrous females than that of diestrous females on the frequency of the behavior. Those results suggested that the changes inBrandt’s vole’s odor emissions and odor preferences were associated with the changes of the photoperiod , and individual scents of the vole carried the information of seasonal changes. Odors released in long-photoperiod lead to more sexual attractions than those of emitted in short-photoperiod ; short-photoperiod might restrain the estrus of females and the sexual behavior of males.

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Effects of Seed Species and Burial Depth on Seed Recovery by Female Adult Edward's Long-tailed Rats

XIAO Zhishu ZHANG Zhibin

2004, 24(4):  311-314. 

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From September to December of 2001 , two experiments were conducted to study the effects of seed species ( Quercus varialilis , Q. serrata , Castanopsis fargesii , Lithocarpus harlandii , Cyclobalanopsis glauca , and Camellia oleifera) and burial depth (0 - 1 cm , 1 - 2 cm , 2 - 4 cm , 4 - 6 cm , 6 - 8 cm and 8 - 10 cm) on seed recovery in the arenas by female adult Edward’s long-tailed rats ( Leopoldamys edwardsi) , a dominant rodent species in the forest of Dujiangyan Region of Sichuan Province , China. The results showed that : 1) Due to the variation in seed size , nutrient value and tannin content among the six tree seed species , the seed species did significantly influence seed recovery by female adults : the highest for L. harlandii seeds (the biggest seeds) , second for Camellia oleifera (high fat content) and Castanopsis fargesii (low tannin content) , and lower for the other three seed species (high tannin content) ; 2) There was a significantly negative correlation between burial depths and seed recovery of Q. varialilis by female adults. That is , female adults recovered the lower proportion of seeds as the seeds were buried deeper from 0 - 1 cm to 8 -10 cm.

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Sexual Dimorphism of Odoural Discrimination in Root Voles

SUN Ping ZHAO Yajun ZHAO Xinquan

2004, 24(4):  315-321. 

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The behavioral discrimination to fresh urine and feces of root voles (Microtus oeconomus) was investigated in a behavioral choice maze. The results showed that : (1) There were no signficant difference between odor discrimination to urine and feces in female root voles. There were significant differences between odor discrimination to urine and feces in males. (2) There was no signficant difference in odoral discrimination of root voles between urine and feces of strange opposite sex. (3) Except for sniff / lick time , there were no signficant difference on odor discrimination to feces between males and females. (4) By comparison of odor discrimination to urine between males and females found that , the visit frequency and counter-marking of males to urine were significantly more than females , and females spent more time sniffing / licking opposite-sex voles than males did , even there were no significant differences in other aspects. The results indicated that there was no sexual difference in odor discrimination to feces and there were sexual differences in odor discrimination to urine between males and females.

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Seasonal Fluctuations of the Small Mammals Community in Plantation of Yan'an

LIANG Jian LI Jingang

2004, 24(4):  322-328. 

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In order to provide scientific bases for the prevention and control of pest small mammals , the seasonal fluctuations of the small mammals community were studied in the Yan'an plantation region. This research will help to find out the distribution and structure characteristics of small mammals community in the Yan'an plantation region. The investigation was carried out from April to October in 2001. According to the traits of natural conditions , the plantation region can be divided into three kind of basic habitat , i.e. Chinese pine plantation area , locust plantation area (both are typical of this plantation area ) and weeds and shrubs area. Method of trap-day was adopted in the investigation of small mammals above ground while method all captured in plot was adopted in that of small mammals underground in each habitats , the collection of small mammals sample and the statistics of its category , quantity and biomass were processed according to different seasons : Spring (April - May) , Summer (June - August) and Autumn (September - October). The seasonal fluctuation of small mammals community in Yan'an plantation region was analyzed based on variables like the biomass , the Shannon index of species diversity , the evenness and dominance ; choosing biomass as the index of dominance of small mammals , the seasonal fluctuations of small mammals’dominance and its performance in different habitat were analyzed. The results were as follows : Nine species of three families and two orders of small mammals were found to exist in the region , the Ochotona daurica and the Myospalax fontanieri ca that closely correspond to the seasonal fluctuations of population biomass. In Yan'an plantation region , the seasonal fluctuation of the community biomass was determined by that of the dominant species ; The seasonal fluctuations of both the rare and common species together determined seasonal differences in species variation and number. The nine different species in the Yan'an plantation district existed in different spatial-temporal location. Only one species , The Myospalax fontanieri cansus , existed throughout the Yan'an plantation district all year round. The Ochotona daurica is especially dominant during the summer and fall seasons in the locust plantation area and weeds and shrubs area.

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The Present Living Status of Tarim Red Deer ( Cervus elaphus yarkandensis) and Its Protective Countermeasures

Mahmut HALIK, Omar ABLIZ, Anwar TUMUR, ZHU Fude, Anwar MOSA, Noriyuki OHTAISHI

2004, 24(4):  329-332. 

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Among the 8 subspecies distributing in China, Tarim red deer ( Cervus elaphus yarkandensis) is a special subspecies belong to Western system which is wondrously adapted to desert habitat. The Tarim red deer inhabits in the river valley of the Tarim, Konqi and Qarqan rivers in Xinjiang, China. Since 1950, due to the affections of nature and human, the populations of this subspecies have been urgently declined and the Tarim red deer has been included in the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ( IUCN) in the category of an endangered species and classified as a second class protected animal in China. Currently, the habitat of the Tarim red deer is an area of intensive human activities, therefore the deer populations isolated into three areas, namely Xayar, Lopnur and Qarqan. Even more with the habitat's decreasing, not only the subspecies lost it's genetic diversity but also the animals are in severe danger because of genetic drifting and close relative reproduction. So far, the protective measure that has been not been sufficiently effective, and the ecology and genetic features of this subspecies remain to be elucidated. For that, some effective measures must be taken at present. Therefore in this work, the main reason bringing the endangerous affect to this subspecies have been discussed, and the feasible measures to protect this subspecies has been put forward.

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Coprophagy in Herbivorous Small Mammals

LIU Quansheng WANG Dehua

2004, 24(4):  333-338. 

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Coprophagy is widespread among small-and medium-sized mammalian herbivores. These animals have a colonic separation mechanism , by which they can form two kinds of feces. Coprophagy provides another avenue for some species to recover nutrients , vitamins , microbial proteins and short chain fatty acids which produced in the hindgut. The digestibility of high fibre food is improved by caecotrophy. The daily rhythm of reingestion is the result of trade-off between the risk of feeding and coprophagy. The ingestion of soft feces is more strongly related to diet than to taxonomic association. This paper reviewed the coprophagy and its evolutionary and nutritional significance in herbivorous small mammals.

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Coding Patterns of the Main Olfactory System and the Vomeronasal System for Information Recognition in Mammals

WANGJianli TAI Fadao AN Shucheng

2004, 24(4):  339-345. 

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Mammals have two distinct , well-developed olfactory systems : the main olfactory system (MOS) and the vomeronasal system (VS). The former is specialized for the discrimination of volatile chemical. The latter is used to recognize pheromones. In this review , we unraveled coding patterns of two olfactory systems for information recognition at three levels : olfactory receptor , olfactory bulb and higher brain region beyond the olfactory bulb. The vomeronasal organ use narrow tuning range to recognize pheromones components , differing significantly from coding scheme used by the olfactory epithelium in which odors are recognized through distributed combinations of different receptors. Information is integrated by domains of glomeruli that receive the same receptors inputs in the accessory olfactory bulb differ from specific combinations of glomeruli modules in the main olfactory bulb. Pheromones signals exert their effects on hypothalamic areas through which pheromones elicit specific behavior and neuroendocrine effects in VS; In contrast , the olfactory cortex likely use temporal pattern to encode neuron populations , and perception of odor is related to different region of brain in MOS. In conclusion , the coding of olfactory information is likely to be far simpler in VS than in MOS due to VS fulfilling fewer functions.

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Mating Behaviors of Wild Giant Pandas in Foping Natural Reserve

YONG Yange WEI Fuwen YE Xinping ZHANG Zejun LI Yu

2004, 24(4):  346-349. 

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On March 26 and 27 , 2003 , we observed six and five giant pandas assembled together respectively in Huodiba and Lijiagou districts of Sanguanmiao , Foping Nature Reserve , Shaanxi Province , China. The mating sites were located in the coniferous forest and mixed coniferous and deciduous forest , with steep slope and sparse shrubs and bamboos. Wind power was estimated over 3rd category in those two days. The competition and fighting among male pandas were observed , and the mating right with the female panda was mainly based on the hierarchical ordering. However , not all the winners during competition can be access to mating with the female panda. For wild giant panda , its mating system is maybe plastic , which perhaps is affected by environment , time and panda population itself . Cubs or sub-adults are observed occurring at the mating site , which is considered to be linked with the learning of the reproductive behavior. Our results maybe provide a useful guideline to the management and breeding of giant pandas in the captivity.

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Application of 12S rRNA in the identif ication of Muntiacus crinifons and Muntiacus reevesi

HE Peijian RUAN Xiangdong FANG Shengguo

2004, 24(4):  350-352. 

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The gene of 12S rRNA exhibits a high degree of conservation during animal evolution. Its sequence shows partial difference among species but little variation among individuals of the same species. Therefore , the 12S rRNA could be used to perform intra-and inter-specific identification studies. All the deer of genus Muntiacus become endangered due to excessive poaching and thus protected by Chinas Wildlife Protection Law at the national and provincial level. In this study , we employed the sequencing of 12S rRNA to identify two confiscated samples and found out that the two samples were Muntiacus crinifons and Muntiacus reevesi , respectively. The sequence of the 12S rRNA adopted in this study proved to be a suitable genetic marker for species identification of conservation animals.

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Using Marrow Fat Index to Assess Roe Deer ( Capreolus capreolus) Body Condition during Winter

WANG Lijun HONGMeiling XIAO Xianghong MA Jianzhang

2004, 24(4):  353-356. 

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Fat content of bone marrow has long been related to physiological condition in deer. To assess body condition of roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus) , marrowfat index was employed. Tibiae , radii , metacarpal and metatarsal bones of 6 roe deer were collected in Xiaodong Forestry Region during winter season in 1999 , the marrow fat contents were analyzed by use of ether extraction , ovendrying , and reagent-drying method respectively , and the ages were determined by dental cementum. The results of comparison of marrow fat content for each bone after ether extraction , oven-drying , and reagent-drying indicated a high degree of similarity ( P >0.05). No significant differences existed between the tibia and radius , metacarpal and metatarsal bone ( P > 0.05). Low level of bone marrow fat content (54.93 ±30.88 % , measured by ether extraction method for tibia) meant that roe deer remained in a phase of undernutrition. Under low crude protein and energy content of natural vegetation and low digestibility of browse during winter , roe deer relied primarily on diet and its fat stores to partially meet energy requirements. As roe deer’s nutritional status declined , its body fat stores were mobilized and depleted , which can be reflected by the low kidney fat content (12.50 ±8.34 %) . Marrow fat index along with kidney fat index can be useful as a indicator in assessing roe deer's body condition.

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Observation on the Daytime Behaviour of Tibetan Fox ( Vulpes ferrilata) in Shiqu County , Sichuan Province , China

WANG Zhenghuan WANG Xiaoming LU Qingbin

2004, 24(4):  357-360. 

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Daytime behaviour and activity rhythm of Tibetan fox were observed in Shiqu County , Sichuan Province , China , from July to October in 2003. While doing line transect , Tibetan foxes were observed 83 times totally by random sampling. Among these 83 times observed , 79 times were valid for statistics. Daytime was divided into 6 even groups (07 : 00 - 09 : 00 , 09 : 01 - 11 : 00 , 11 : 01 - 13 : 00 , 13 : 01 - 15 : 00 , 15 : 01 - 17 : 00 , 18 : 00 - 20 : 00) , and daytime behaviour was defined as 3 patterns : running , hunting and resting. Behaviour in different patterns observed in every period was recorded. The Kruskal - Wallis test was used to exam the difference of the accumulated observed individuals of each time group. Observed times in different behaviour patterns in each time group were also compared by Friedman ANOVA with Kandall’s concordance. Results showed that the activity rhythm in daytime had no significant difference among different time groups (Kruskal - Wallis test : H_{( 5 , N = 131)} = 5.081 , P = 0.4060). By using behaviour pattern and time group as factors respectively , the 3 kinds of behaviour distributions had no significant difference during daytime ( P < 0.580 ; P < 0 .447). In addition , all the times observed were recorded in sunny days. The results implied that the reasons of activity in daytime in Tibetan fox cannot only be hunting , but also the demands of sunshine. Though behaviour and activity rhythm of Tibetan fox in daytime were studied in this paper , telemetry on the same topics should be introduced to compare with our results.

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Physical Measurement and Comparison for Two Species of Pangolin

WU Shibao LIU Naifa ZHANG Yingmei MA Guangzhi

2004, 24(4):  361-364. 

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There are 7 species of pangolin in the world. This paper dealt with the measurement of some morphology indices in Manis petadactyla and Manis javanica. Measured variables included the body weight , the total body length , the length of head and body , the length of tail , the length of protruding rim of external ear , the length of hind feet , the length of middle claws of fore feet , the length of middle claws of hind feet , the number of rows of scales round mid-body , the number of single flank scales of edge tail. All variables measured were compared respectively between this 2 species. The results indicated that : (1) there were no significant differences in body weight and length of hind feet between this 2 species , but differences in the other variables were extremely significant. (2) The ratio of the length of middle claws of hind feet and fore feet in Manis pentadactyla was less than 1/ 2 (n = 48) , while Manis javanica was more than 1/ 2 (n = 15) ; the length of protruding rimof external ear in Manis pentadactyla was over 10 mm (n = 38) , whereas Manis javanica was under 10 mm (n = 13) ; the number of single flank scales of edge tail in Manis pentadactyla was not beyond 21 (n = 65) , and Manis javanica exceeded 21 (n = 14). So the ratio of the length of middle claws of hind feet and fore feet , the length of protruding rimof external ear , and the number of single flank scales of edge tail should be regard as distinctive features and taxonomic indices between this 2 species. (3) The relationships between body weight ( Y) and the total body length , the length of head and body , the length of tail ( X) were positive correlation , and satisfied relation equation Y = a Xb.

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GIS Analysis of Zoogeographical Distribution of Rodents in Alashan Desert of Inner Mongolia

WU Xiaodong FU Heping BAO Ping GAN Hongjun

2004, 24(4):  365-368. 

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The rodents were investigated with trap-day method in Alashan Desert of Inner Mongolia from August to September 1998 and 1999. Sixty-five sites were selected according to conditions of vegetation , landform , topography and soil. The area of the site was 10 ha in which 400 - 500 traps were arranged. There were 1019 samples captured with 31 469 effective trap-days in all sites. The results showed that Meriones meridianus was a typical dominant species and Euchoreutes naso was one of representative rodents in Alashan Desert. The Alashan Desert was a new distribution region of Salpingotus crassicauda in China. Therefore , geographical distribution of the three rodents was analyzed with Map-info Professional 6.5 software of GIS (Geographical Information System) . The results showed that the distribution maps of the three rodents , which were obtained on the basis of GIS , not only told the information of prophetical distribution of the three rodents in Alashan Desert , but also reported information of the rodents’distribution affected by habitat change , which can not be obtained by traditional site2distribution ways. This result can be used as scientific foundation for perfecting research design and monitoring harmful rodents in future.