Spatiotemporal relationships between snow leopard(Panthera uncia) and red fox(Vulpes vulpes) in Qionglai Mountains, Sichuan Province

SHI Xiaogang; SHI Xiaoyun; HU Qiang; FENG Xi; JIN Senlong; CHENG Yuehong; ZHANG Jing; YAO Meng; LI Sheng

doi:10.16829/j.slxb.150475

2021 , Vol. 41 >Issue 2: 115 - 127

DOI: https://doi.org/10.16829/j.slxb.150475

ORIGINAL PAPERS

Spatiotemporal relationships between snow leopard(Panthera uncia) and red fox(Vulpes vulpes) in Qionglai Mountains, Sichuan Province

SHI Xiaogang ,
SHI Xiaoyun ,
HU Qiang ,
FENG Xi ,
JIN Senlong ,
CHENG Yuehong ,
ZHANG Jing ,
YAO Meng ,
LI Sheng

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1 School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;
2 Wolong National Nature Reserve, Wenchuan 623004, China;
3 Institute of Ecology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;
4 Wolong Special Administrative Region, Wenchuan 623004, China

Received date: 2020-09-22

Online published: 2021-04-02

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Abstract

Carnivores is a key functional group in the ecosystem.Under the situation of global decline of large mammal populations,determining the interspecific interaction and co-existing mechanism between sympatric predators is essential to help us understand the underlying mechanisms driving ecosystem changes and species population dynamics.The spatial and temporal niches are the two most critical dimensions shaping an animal's ecological niche,and the interaction relationship of spatiotemporal niche between sympartric species is the basis to understand species co-existence.In this study,we took the Wolong National Nature Reserve in central Qionglai Mountains,Sichuan Province,as our study area.We collected spatiotemporal data of snow leopard(Panthera uncia,occurrence locations n=198) and red fox(Vulpes vulpes,n=68) from camera-trapping and fecal DNA surveys to construct species distribution models and conduct analysis on their daily activity patterns for both species.The results showed that,the area of overlapped suitable habitats of snow leopard and red fox in the study region was 404.08 km²,which mainly located in the high-altitude area in the northwest part of the reserve,accounting for 77.74% and 80.79% of the total habitat area of snow leopard and red fox respectively.These two species had great overlap on vertical distributions as well and both showed a distribution peak approximately at 4 300 m above sea level,whereas the mean elevation of snow leopard was slightly higher than that of red fox,and the range of red fox's vertical distribution spanned slightly wider than that of snow leopard.The daily activity patterns of snow leopard(number of independent detections n=351) and red fox(n=155) were both bimodal.Snow leopards tended to be crepuscular,while red foxes were more nocturnal,with high level of overlap between the two species(Δ=0.68).At sites where snow leopards were present or where snow leopards had been previously detected within two weeks,red foxes increased their nocturnality,thus reducing the temporal overlap with snow leopards,although their daily activity pattern was not significantly changed.The results of this study preliminarily revealed the spatiotemporal niche relationship between snow leopard and red fox,which will provide examples and basic information for us to better understand the co-existing mechanism of apex predators and meso-predators in alpine ecosystems,and provide supports for the fine management of these carnivore populations in the nature reserves.

Key words： Apex predator; Meso-carnivore; Ecological niche; Interspecific relationship; Camera-trapping; Species distribution model; Daily activity pattern

Cite this article

SHI Xiaogang , SHI Xiaoyun , HU Qiang , FENG Xi , JIN Senlong , CHENG Yuehong , ZHANG Jing , YAO Meng , LI Sheng . Spatiotemporal relationships between snow leopard(Panthera uncia) and red fox(Vulpes vulpes) in Qionglai Mountains, Sichuan Province[J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2021 , 41(2) : 115 -127 . DOI: 10.16829/j.slxb.150475

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