Zhang Dexi, An Bei, Chen Liuyang, Sun Zhangyun, Mao Ruirui, Zhao Changming, Zhang Lixun
College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, No. 222, Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Yuzhong Mountain Ecosystems Observation and Research Station, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Animals (Basel). 2022 Jun 28;12(13):1657. doi: 10.3390/ani12131657.
Studying the spatio-temporal niche partitioning among closely related sympatric species is essential for understanding their stable coexistence in animal communities. However, consideration of niche partitioning across multiple ecological dimensions is still poor for many sympatric pheasant species. Here, we studied temporal activity patterns and spatial distributions of the Blue Eared Pheasant (EP, ) and Blood Pheasant (BP, ) in the Qilian Mountains National Nature Reserve (QMNNR), Northwestern China, using 137 camera traps from August 2017 to August 2020. Kernel density estimation was applied to analyze diel activity patterns, and the Maxent model was applied to evaluate their suitable distributions and underlying habitat preferences. Eight Galliformes species were captured in 678 detection records with 485 records of EP and 106 records of BP over a total of 39,206 camera days. Their monthly activity frequencies demonstrate temporal partitioning but their diel activity patterns do not. Furthermore, 90.78% of BP distribution (2867.99 km) overlaps with the distribution of EP (4355.86 km) in the QMNNR. However, BP manifests a high dependence on forest habitats and shows larger Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values, while EP showed obvious avoidance of forest with NDVI greater than 0.75. Hence, differentiation in monthly activity patterns and partitioning in habitat preference might facilitate their coexistence in spatiotemporal dimensions. Conservation actions should give priority to highly overlapping areas in the center and east of the QMNNR and should strengthen forest landscape connectivity, as they provide irreplaceable habitats for these threatened and endemic Galliformes.
研究密切相关的同域物种之间的时空生态位划分对于理解它们在动物群落中的稳定共存至关重要。然而，对于许多同域分布的雉类物种，跨多个生态维度的生态位划分研究仍显不足。在此，我们利用2017年8月至2020年8月期间的137台相机陷阱，对中国西北部祁连山国家级自然保护区的蓝马鸡（Crossoptilon auritum，CE）和血雉（Ithaginis cruentus，IE）的时间活动模式和空间分布进行了研究。应用核密度估计分析昼夜活动模式，并应用最大熵模型评估它们的适宜分布和潜在栖息地偏好。在总共39206个相机日的678次检测记录中捕获了8种鸡形目物种，其中蓝马鸡记录485次，血雉记录106次。它们的月活动频率显示出时间上的划分，但昼夜活动模式并非如此。此外，在祁连山国家级自然保护区，血雉90.78%的分布范围（2867.99平方千米）与蓝马鸡的分布范围（4355.86平方千米）重叠。然而，血雉对森林栖息地表现出高度依赖，且归一化植被指数（NDVI）值较大，而蓝马鸡则明显避开NDVI大于0.75的森林。因此，月活动模式的差异和栖息地偏好的划分可能有助于它们在时空维度上的共存。保护行动应优先考虑祁连山国家级自然保护区中部和东部高度重叠的区域，并应加强森林景观连通性，因为这些区域为这些受威胁的特有鸡形目物种提供了不可替代的栖息地。
