Seasonal activity patterns of ungulates in Qinling Mountains based on camera-trap data

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1003.2014.140073

Abstract

Abstract:

Between August 2009 and April 2013, in the Guanyingshan Nature Reserve, Shaanxi Province, we collected photo data on six ungulates (Budorcas taxicolor, Naemorhedus griseus, Elaphodus cephalophus, Capricornis milneedwardsii, Muntiacus reevesi and Moschus berezovskii) with 18 infrared cameras. Using the relative abundance index (RAI), we analyzed activity patterns and seasonal differences of these six species. The results show that: (1) their total RAI in the study area reaches 58.71%, the RAI of B. taxicolor was 28.02%, and it was 13.24% for N. griseus, 10.08% for E. cephalophus, 4.21% for C. milneedwardsii, 2.26% for M. reevesi, and 0.90% for M. berezovskii. (2) Monthly RAIs (MRAI) of six ungulates reflected seasonal activity patterns; B. taxicolor, N. griseus, E. cephalophus, C. milneedwardsii, M. reevesi exhibited similar activity patterns. These species were most active in summer, became inactive in autumn and winter, and then gradually increased activity in spring. M. berezovskii, on the other hand, was most active in winter and least active in summer. (3) The time-period relative abundance indices (TRAI) of the six ungulates reflect their daily activity patterns. B. taxicolor and N. griseus have similar daily activity patterns with an active peak at 06:00-20:00.The daily activity pattern of E. cephalophus, M. reevesi and M. berezovskii showed obvious crepuscular habits. C. milneedwardsii also has two peaks but at 02:00-06:00 and 20:00-22:00 implying nocturnal activities. (4) Comparative analyses of daily activity patterns among the four seasons showed that B. taxicolor displayed a different pattern in spring with an activity peak at 16:00-20:00. Compared with other seasons, N. gresius, E. cephalophus and C. milneedwardsii have different patterns in winter with either a delayed or advanced activity peak. In the case of M. reevesi, spring daily activity patterns showed two peaks at 00:00-10:00 and 18:00-20:00. Due to a paucity of captures, M. berezovskii showed different activity patterns in all four seasons. (5) Analysis of the nocturnality showed that C. milneedwardsii was obviously nocturnal with a nighttime relative abundance index (NRAI) of 65.81%. Our results help us to understand the activity patterns of these ungulates in Qinling, to monitor their population dynamics, and provide a theoretical basis and data support for the nature reserves to protect the ungulate animals more efficiently.

Key words: activity patterns, camera trap, ungulates, relative abundance index (RAI), seasonal variation

Xiaodong Jia, Xuehua Liu, Xingzhong Yang, Pengfeng Wu, Melissa Songer, Qiong Cai, Xiangbo He, Yun Zhu. Seasonal activity patterns of ungulates in Qinling Mountains based on camera-trap data[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2014, 22(6): 737-745.

Add to citation manager EndNote|Ris|BibTeX

URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1003.2014.140073

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2014/V22/I6/737

Figures/Tables 6

Fig. 1 Camera trapping sites in the study area at Guanyinshan

Table 1 The number of photos of six ungulates in four seasons at Guanyinshan

物种 Species	有效照片数 Independents captures				样本量 Sample size
物种 Species	春季 Spring	夏季 Summer	秋季 Autumn	冬季 Winter	样本量 Sample size
总和 Sum	396	870	544	350	2,160
羚牛 Budorcas taxicolor	181	333	300	217	1,031
川西斑羚 Naemorhedus griseus	91	257	77	62	487
毛冠鹿 Elaphodus cephalophus	62	176	115	18	371
中华鬣羚 Capricornis milneedwardsii	27	53	43	32	155
小麂 Muntiacus reevesi	26	45	4	8	83
林麝 Moschus berezovskii	9	6	5	13	33

Fig. 2 Annual activity patterns of six ungulates at Guanyinshan. (a)Budorcas taxicolor; Naemorhedus griseus; Elaphodus cephalophus; Capricornis milneedwardsii; (b) Muntiacus reevesi and Moschus berezovskii.

Fig. 3 The daily activity patterns of six ungulates at Guanyinshan. (a) Budorcas taxicolor and Naemorhedus griseus; (b) Elaphodus cephalophus; Capricornis milneedwardsii; Muntiacus reevesi; Moschus berezovskii.

Fig. 4 Daily activity patterns of six ungulates in four seasons at Guanyinshan

Fig. 5 The norcturnal RAI of six ungulates at Guanyinshan. 1. Capricornis milneedwardsii; 2. Muntiacus reevesi; 3. Moschus berezovski; 4.Naemorhedus griseus; 5.Elaphodus cephalophus; 6. Budorcas taxicolor.

References 26

[1]	Champion FW (1927) With a Camera in Tiger Land. Chatto &Windus, London.
[2]	Chen W (陈伟), Hu JC (胡锦矗) (2012) Seasonal differences in microhabitat use by tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus) in Tangjiahe Nature Reserve.Acta Theriologica Sinica(兽类学报), 32, 188-192. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[3]	Chen W, Hu JC, Lu X (2009) Microhabitat use and separation between the serow (Capricornis sumatraensis) and the Chinese goral (Naemorhedus griseus) in winter.Mammalia, 73, 249-252.
[4]	Chen W, Wu QG, Hu JC, Lu X, You ZQ (2012) Seasonal habitat use of Chinese goral (Naemorhedus griseus) in a subtropical forest.Russian Journal of Ecology, 43, 256-260.
[5]	Gysel LW, Davis EM (1956) A simple automatic photographic unit for wildlife research.Journal of Wildlife Management, 20, 451-453.
[6]	Han LX (韩联宪), Liu SL (刘尚莲), Liang HM (梁惠媚), Yang XX (杨秀熙), Yang GS (杨光姒) (1999) A preliminary observation on behavior and activity circadian rhythms of Muntiacus reevesi in captivity.Journal of Southwest Forestry College(西南林学院学报), 19, 192-195. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[7]	Hu TH (胡天华), Li YG (李元刚) (2013) Application of infrared triggered cameras to monitoring of wild animal in Helan Mountain Nature Reserve.Ningxia Journal of Agriculture and Forest Science and Technology(宁夏农林科技), 54, 57-59. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[8]	Karanth KU (1995) Estimating tiger Panthera tigris populations from camera-trap data using capture-recapture models.Biological Conservation, 71, 333-338.
[9]	Kong F (孔飞), Zhu Y (朱云), Chang BH (常保华), Cai Q (蔡琼), Zhang HF (张洪峰), Li P (李鹏), Wu XM (吴晓民) (2013) Research on the habitats selection by mainland serow (Capricornis sunatraensis) in winter in Guanyin Mountain. Shaanxi Forest Science and Technology(陕西林业科技),27, 56. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[10]	Liu XH, Wu PF, Songer M, Cai Q, He XB, Zhu Y, Shao XM (2013) Monitoring wildlife abundance and diversity with infra-red camera traps in Guanyinshan Nature Reserve of Shaanxi Province, China.Ecological Indicators, 33, 121-128.
[11]	Lu XL (卢学理), Jiang ZG (蒋志刚), Tang JR (唐继荣), Wang XJ (王学杰), Xiang DQ (向定乾), Zhang JP (张建平) (2005) Auto-trigger camera traps for studying giant panda and its sympatric wildlife species.Acta Zoologica Sinica(动物学报), 51, 495-500. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[12]	Ma SL (马世来), Harris RB (1996) Use of auto-trigger camera system in wildlife survey.Zoological Research(动物学研究), 17, 360-370. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[13]	Rovero F, Marshall AR (2009) Camera trapping photographic rate as an index of density in forest ungulates.Journal of Applied Ecology, 46, 1011-1017.
[14]	Tape KD, Gustine DD (2014) Capturing migration phenology of terrestrial wildlife using camera traps.BioScience, 64, 117-124.
[15]	Wallace RB, Gomez H, Ayala G, Espinoza F (2003) Camera trapping for jaguar (Panthera onca) in the Tuichi Valley, Bolivia.Mastozoologia Neotropical, 10, 133-139.
[16]	Wan XR (宛新荣), Wang MJ (王梦军), Wang GH (王广和), Liu W (刘伟), Zhong WQ (钟文勤) (2002) Numerical indices for evaluating the activity patterns of rodent species.Acta Theriologica Sinica(兽类学报), 22, 211-217. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[17]	Wang T, Skidmore AK, Zeng Z, Beck PSA, Si Y, Song Y, Liu X, Prins HHT (2010) Migration patterns of two endangered sympatric species from a remote sensing perspective.Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 76, 1343-1352.
[18]	Wu H (吴华), Hu JC (胡锦矗) (2001) A comparison in spring and winter habitat selection of takin, serow and groal in Tangjiahe, Sichuan.Acta Ecologica Sinica(生态学报), 21, 1627-1633. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[19]	Wu PF (武鹏峰), Liu XH (刘雪华), Cai Q (蔡琼), He XB (何祥博), Melissa S, Zhu Y (朱云), Shao XM (邵小明) (2012) The application of infrared camera in mammal research in Guanyinshan Nature Reserve, Shaanxi.Acta Theriologica Sinica(兽类学报), 32, 67-71. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[20]	Xue H (薛辉), Li YM (李永民), Wu XB (吴孝兵), Gu CM (顾长明), Chen WH (陈文豪), Wu JZ (吴建中) (2013) Application of the passive infrared sensor camera in the survey of pheasants and beasts in Guniujiang National Nature Reserve.Anhui Forestry Science and Technology(安徽林业科技), 39, 36-38. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[21]	Yu LG (余梁哥), Chen MJ (陈敏杰), Yang SJ (杨士剑), Li XY (李学友), Shi L (师蕾) (2013) Camera trapping survey of Nyticebus pygmaeus, Nyticebus coucang and other sympatric mammals at Dawei Mountain,Yunnan.Sichuan Journal of Zoology(四川动物), 32, 814-818. (in Chinese)
[22]	Zhang SS (章书声), Bao YY (鲍毅新), Wang YN (王艳妮), Fang PF (方平福), Ye B (叶彬) (2012) Activity rhythms of black muntjac (Muntiacus crinifron) revealed with infrared camera.Acta Theriologica Sinica(兽类学报), 32, 368-372. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[23]	Zheng JQ (郑建清) (2011) Time budgets and behavior of captive red goral (Nemorhaedus cranbrooki) in summer.Chinese Journal of Wildlife(野生动物), 32, 249-251. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[24]	Zheng X (郑祥), Bao YY (鲍毅新), Ge BM (葛宝明), Zheng RQ (郑荣泉) (2006) Seasonal changes in habitat use of black muntjac (Muntiacus crinifrons) in Zhejiang.Acta Theriologica Sinica(兽类学报), 26, 201-205. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[25]	Zheng LB (张履冰), Xu HF (徐宏发), Xue WJ (薛文杰), Jiang HR (姜海瑞), Meng XX (孟秀祥) (2008) Winter and spring diet composition of musk deer in Feng County, Shaanxi.Sichuan Journal of Zoology(四川动物), 27, 110-114. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[26]	Zeng ZG (曾治高), Song YL (宋延龄) (2001) Daily activity rhythm and time budget of golden takin in spring and summer.Acta Theriologica Sinica(兽类学报), 21, 7-13. (in Chinese with English abstract)