Lynam Antony J, Tantipisanuh Naruemon, Chutipong Wanlop, Ngoprasert Dusit, Baker Megan C, Cutter Passanan, Gale George, Kitamura Shumpei, Steinmetz Robert, Sukmasuang Ronglarp, Thunhikorn Somying
Global Conservation Program, Wildlife Conservation Society(WCS), Bronx, NY, USAIUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group, Bangkok, ThailandConservation Ecology Program, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, ThailandCenter for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, Virginia, USAConservation Biology Program, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USAMuseum of Nature and Human Activities, Sanda, JapanWWF Thailand, Bangkok, ThailandDepartment of Forest Biology, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, ThailandWildlife Research Division, Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plants Conservation, Bangkok, Thailand.
Integr Zool. 2012 Dec;7(4):389-399. doi: 10.1111/1749-4877.12002.
Southeast Asia's tropical forests suffer the highest rates of deforestation and disturbance of any on Earth, with poorly understood impacts on native fauna. Asian tapirs (Tapirus indicus) are among the least studied of the large mammals in these forests. Using records from 9 camera trap surveys in 7 of the largest (>1000 km(2) ) protected area complexes, we assessed the influence of environmental variation and human-induced disturbance on tapir occurrence. Tapirs were detected at 13% of locations sampled, significantly associated with evergreen forest (P < 0.001). A multiple logistic regression model predicted tapir presence 87% of the time. According to this model, tapir occurrence was positively influenced by annual rainfall and proximity to the forest edge. However, tapirs may not avoid edges but instead prefer wetter evergreen forest, a habitat type that tended to occur further from the forest edge at higher elevations in our particular study sites (P < 0.001). By comparison, 4 other wild ungulate species that share habitats with tapirs showed a range of differing responses. Tapirs are expected to be less sensitive to disturbance because they are not targets for hunting and trade, and are almost entirely active at night, so avoid peak traffic periods in parks. Tapir populations in Thailand may be more stable than in other parts of their global range because rates of forest loss have decreased >40% over the past 20 years. We recommend surveys to fill gaps in the understanding of the status in lesser-known protected areas, research to better understand the fine-scale environmental influences on behavior and habitats of tapirs, and other forest ungulates, and continued legal status for tapirs in the highest category of protection.
东南亚的热带森林遭受着全球范围内最严重的森林砍伐和干扰，其对当地动物群的影响尚不清楚。亚洲貘（马来貘）是这些森林中研究最少的大型哺乳动物之一。我们利用7个最大的（面积超过1000平方公里）保护区综合体中的9次相机陷阱调查记录，评估了环境变化和人为干扰对貘出现情况的影响。在所采样的地点中，有13%检测到了貘，这与常绿森林显著相关（P < 0.001）。一个多元逻辑回归模型在87%的时间里预测到了貘的存在。根据这个模型，貘的出现受到年降雨量和与森林边缘距离的正向影响。然而，貘可能不是避开边缘，而是更喜欢湿润的常绿森林，在我们特定的研究地点，这种栖息地类型在较高海拔处往往离森林边缘更远（P < 0.001）。相比之下，与貘共享栖息地的其他4种野生有蹄类动物表现出一系列不同的反应。预计貘对干扰不太敏感，因为它们不是狩猎和贸易的目标，而且几乎完全在夜间活动，所以能避开公园的交通高峰期。泰国的貘种群可能比其全球分布的其他地区更稳定，因为在过去20年里森林流失率下降了40%以上。我们建议进行调查以填补对鲜为人知的保护区状况了解的空白，开展研究以更好地理解对貘以及其他森林有蹄类动物行为和栖息地的精细尺度环境影响，并维持貘在最高保护等级的持续合法地位。
