Chaiyarat Rattanawat, Thongkrathok Piyamaporn, Maisuwan Wanwipa, Chantra Amornrat, Chimplee Jinda, Jieychien Nawee, Assawaklang Songkrit, Youngpoy Namphung
Wildlife and Plant Research Center, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, 73170, Thailand.
Forest Protection Operation Base 4 (Khao Phu Luang), Nakhonratchasima, 30370, Thailand.
Heliyon. 2024 Apr 17;10(8):e29786. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29786. eCollection 2024 Apr 30.
Access to suitable water sources is important for mammals. This study aimed to compared mammal diversity and water use among water springs, standard artificial ponds, and water pans within the Khao Phaeng Ma Non-Hunting Area in 2020 and 2021. Two camera traps were installed at each water sources for 749 nights with a total of 12 camera traps of 6 water sources. A total of 19,467 photographs were recorded comprising 13,777 photographs of gaur (, vulnerable and the most important species in the area), and 5690 photographs of other mammals. In the wet season, relative use was highest at standard artificial pond number 2, which is established in the forest plantation area (4 × 4 m spacing, 12-20 m height, and 60%-80 % crown cover) and has a high volume of water, and at water pan number 1, which mimics a natural water spring in the man-made grassland and can supply water to mammals throughout the year. In the dry seasons, relative use was highest at water pan numbers 1 and 2; at the same time, other water sources dried up. During the study period, the number of mammal species was highest at water pan number 1 (10 species, diversity index [] = 1.38), and water pan number 2 (11 species, = 1.75). Grazers and browsers, including gaur, sambar deer (), northern red muntjac (), omnivores (e.g. wild boar, ), and Asian black bear (), used the water pan in the artificial grassland and standard artificial pond in the forest plantation rather than the water spring in the dry evergreen forest. Beside forest types, the use of water springs was associated with water period (months), while the use of standard artificial pond and water pans was associated with water surface area, water depth, altitude, species diversity, and species richness, and number of mammals photographed. The results show that water pans were more suitable for utilization by mammals than are other water sources.
获取合适的水源对哺乳动物来说很重要。本研究旨在比较2020年和2021年考帕昂玛非狩猎区内水泉、标准人工池塘和水槽之间的哺乳动物多样性及用水情况。在每个水源处安装了两台相机陷阱，共749个夜晚，涉及6个水源的12台相机陷阱。总共记录了19467张照片，其中包括13777张白肢野牛（该地区易危且最重要的物种）的照片，以及5690张其他哺乳动物的照片。在雨季，二号标准人工池塘（位于人工林区，间距4×4米，高12 - 20米，树冠覆盖率60% - 80%，水量大）和一号水槽（模仿人造草原上的天然水泉，全年可为哺乳动物供水）的相对使用率最高。在旱季，一号和二号水槽的相对使用率最高；与此同时，其他水源干涸。在研究期间，一号水槽（10种物种，多样性指数[] = 1.38）和二号水槽（11种物种， = 1.75）的哺乳动物物种数量最多。包括白肢野牛、水鹿（）、赤麂（）在内的食草动物和食叶动物、杂食动物（如野猪，）以及亚洲黑熊（），在人工草地的水槽和人工林区的标准人工池塘饮水，而非干燥常绿林中的水泉。除森林类型外，水泉的使用与水期（月份）有关，而标准人工池塘和水槽的使用与水面面积、水深、海拔、物种多样性、物种丰富度以及拍摄到的哺乳动物数量有关。结果表明，水槽比其他水源更适合哺乳动物使用。
