Seki Yoshikazu, Hayama Shin-Ichi
School of Veterinary Medicine, Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University, 1-7-1, Kyonancho, Musashino, Tokyo 180-8602, Japan.
Department of Agri-Environmental Sciences, Tamagawa University, 6-1-1, Tamagawagakuen, Machida, Tokyo 194-8610, Japan.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Nov 28;11(12):3398. doi: 10.3390/ani11123398.
The Japanese serow () and sika deer () in Japan are usually allopatric. However, a recent expansion in the distribution range of sika deer, combined with an increase in abundance, has resulted in an overlap of the distribution ranges of the two species. We examined the habitat selection and activity patterns of Japanese serows and sika deer using camera traps placed at 83 sites within a 210 km study area, where the distribution range of these two species has recently overlapped. Although both species were photographed throughout the study area, we observed a low spatial overlap between them. The Japanese serows selected steep slopes, and the sika deer selected areas far away from human settlements. In addition, the Japanese serows and sika deer exhibited temporal partitioning with diurnal and crepuscular activity patterns, respectively. The observed partitioning could be explained by differences in their species-specific habitat selections, rather than competition, because the photographic capture rate of the Japanese serows was not affected by that of the sika deer and vice versa. These partitioning behaviors are likely to reduce the rate of encounters between the two ungulates, which enables their coexistence considering the sika deer density remains low.
日本鬣羚（ ）和日本梅花鹿（ ）在日本通常是异域分布的。然而，最近梅花鹿分布范围的扩大，加上数量的增加，导致了这两个物种分布范围的重叠。我们使用放置在210公里研究区域内83个地点的相机陷阱，研究了日本鬣羚和梅花鹿的栖息地选择和活动模式，这两个物种的分布范围最近在该区域发生了重叠。尽管在整个研究区域都拍到了这两个物种，但我们观察到它们之间的空间重叠程度较低。日本鬣羚选择陡坡，而梅花鹿选择远离人类定居点的区域。此外，日本鬣羚和梅花鹿分别表现出昼夜活动模式的时间分隔。观察到的分隔现象可以用它们特定物种的栖息地选择差异来解释，而不是竞争，因为日本鬣羚的拍照捕获率不受梅花鹿的影响，反之亦然。考虑到梅花鹿密度仍然较低，这些分隔行为可能会降低这两种有蹄类动物之间的相遇率，从而使它们能够共存。
