Peng Dezhi, Zhang Zhirong, Chen Junda, Meng Dehuai, Liang Yongliang, Hu Tianhua, Teng Liwei, Liu Zhensheng
College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.
Helan Mountains National Nature Reserve Management Bureau of Ningxia, Yinchuan 750014, China.
Animals (Basel). 2024 Aug 14;14(16):2338. doi: 10.3390/ani14162338.
Wildlife activity patterns, which reveal the daily allocation of time and energy, are crucial for understanding survival pressures, adaptive strategies, and behavioral characteristics in different environments. Among ungulates, grouping behavior is a prevalent adaptive trait that reflects the population structure, mating systems, and life history strategies formed over long-term evolutionary processes. This study aimed to elucidate the daily activity patterns and grouping characteristics of the rare goitered gazelle () in the Helan Mountains of western China from 2022 to 2023 using camera trap monitoring. With a total of 3869 camera days of effective trapping, we recorded 442 independent detections of goitered gazelles. The results revealed the following: (1) Goitered gazelle is primarily active during the day, showing an activity pattern similar to crepuscular animals, with two activity peaks occurring after dawn and before dusk. (2) Daily activity patterns showed both seasonal and sex differences. In the warm season, morning activity peaks occurred earlier, and afternoon peaks occurred later compared to the cold season. The overlap in daily activity patterns between females and males in the warm season was lower than that in the cold season, and this trend persisted throughout the year. (3) The number of times different types of groups were observed varied significantly, with single males and single females accounting for a larger proportion of all observed groups. There was no significant difference in group size across seasons, with groups typically consisting of 1-2 individuals. Our study provides detailed insights into the temporal ecology and population structure of goitered gazelles in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. This information will guide the identification of future conservation priorities and the development of management plans for the reserve.
野生动物的活动模式揭示了时间和能量的日常分配，对于理解不同环境中的生存压力、适应策略和行为特征至关重要。在有蹄类动物中，群体行为是一种普遍的适应特征，反映了在长期进化过程中形成的种群结构、交配系统和生活史策略。本研究旨在利用相机陷阱监测，阐明2022年至2023年中国西部贺兰山地区珍稀鹅喉羚（）的日常活动模式和群体特征。通过总计3869个相机日的有效捕捉，我们记录到442次独立的鹅喉羚探测。结果表明：（1）鹅喉羚主要在白天活动，呈现出与晨昏性动物相似的活动模式，在黎明后和黄昏前出现两个活动高峰。（2）日常活动模式存在季节和性别差异。在温暖季节，与寒冷季节相比，早晨活动高峰出现得更早，下午高峰出现得更晚。温暖季节中雌性和雄性的日常活动模式重叠程度低于寒冷季节，且这一趋势全年持续。（3）观察到的不同类型群体的次数差异显著，单身雄性和单身雌性在所有观察到的群体中占比更大。各季节的群体规模没有显著差异，群体通常由1 - 2个个体组成。我们的研究为干旱和半干旱生态系统中鹅喉羚的时间生态学和种群结构提供了详细见解。这些信息将指导未来保护重点的确定以及保护区管理计划的制定。
