放牧对大熊猫影响的研究进展

大熊猫Ailuropoda melanoleuca作为我国特有的珍稀野生动物,其生存状况及栖息地的状况均受到国内外的高度关注。近年来,大熊猫保护区内放牧活动愈发普遍,其相关研究已成为大熊猫保护方面的热点。本文对已有相关研究进行梳理、总结与讨论,主要从放牧家畜对大熊猫食物资源的影响、大熊猫与放牧家畜的空间分布与利用、大熊猫与放牧家畜的生境选择、大熊猫对放牧干扰的响应以及畜牧业相关政策的影响进行总结,力图归纳已有研究发现,为制定更科学合理的保护管理建议提供依据。同时,也对已有研究存在的问题进行探讨,希望能对今后的相关研究提供参考。     

红外相机技术在珍稀兽类活动模式研究中的应用

2011年11月—2013年3月,使用40台红外相机调查卧龙自然保护区核桃坪区域的兽类物种组成及相对丰富度。重点分析相对丰富度前4位的珍稀野生兽类:水鹿Cervus unicolor、大熊猫Ailuropoda melanoleuca、小熊猫Ailurus fulgens、金丝猴Rhinopithecus roxellanae的昼夜活动规律、季节活动模式及不同生境类型的出现频率特征。通过红外相机监测数据分析发现,4种兽类昼夜活动规律特征与先前的研究结果基本一致。冬季,大熊猫和小熊猫在溪谷生境的出现频率很高,表明它们对水源的依赖程度强,而水鹿和金丝猴在冬季未表现出对水源地明显的依赖。根据具体研究目的来设置红外相机位点,可以更有效地进行相关的野生动物行为生态和保护生物学研究。     

同域分布大熊猫和水鹿生境利用分异特征

野生动物的生境利用特征研究是动物生态学核心问题之一,同域分布动物对生境的利用特征及共存机制是其重要组成部分,也是实现珍稀濒危物种保护与栖息地恢复的基础。基于空间利用和生境因子选择差异研究了卧龙自然保护区同域分布大熊猫(Ailuropoda melanoleuca)和水鹿(Rusa unicolor)的生境利用关系,探讨了同域分布野生动物在生境因子选择和空间利用的分异特征。结果表明:(1)空间利用上,大熊猫和水鹿的空间重叠系数为58.35%,其中,在原始林和次生林生境中的空间重叠系数分别为66.58%和36.64%,二者在原始林中的空间重叠较高;(2)生境因子选择上,大熊猫和水鹿对物理因子的选择有坡位、离小路距离和离水源距离3个变量有显著性差异,对生物因子的选择有乔木密度、灌木盖度、灌木密度、竹林盖度、幼竹密度、幼竹基径、幼竹高度、成竹高度和死竹密度9种变量有显著性差异;(3)大熊猫和水鹿都表现为更偏好原始林生境,但大熊猫对原始林的依赖性更强。分析同域分布动物的生境利用关系有利于深入了解不同动物对资源的空间利用特征及共存机制,可以为保护区制定珍稀野生动物保护和栖息地恢复政策提供科学依据。     

羚牛

羚牛（Buborcas taxicolor）又称扭角羚,是亚洲的特有物种,主要分布在中国。还见于缅甸、印度和不丹,有4个亚种。7—8月发情．2—4月产仔。已经被列为CTFES附录I．是我国国家I级重点保护野生动物。其中四川亚种和秦岭亚种为中国所特有,与大熊猫、金丝猴和小熊猫等众多珍稀野生动物同域分布。     

佛坪自然保护区川金丝猴种群动态

陕西佛坪国家级保护区是我国最重要的自然保护区之一,包括大熊猫、金丝猴在内的很多珍稀濒危物种分布其中。20世纪90年代后期,全国林业开始实施“天然林保护工程”,这对佛坪保护区当地的农业、工业、经济发展和生活质量产生了很大的影响。为了探究“天然林保护工程”对野生川金丝猴的保护产生何种影响,我们于2015年至2016年采用访问调查和实地踏查方法对佛坪保护区20世纪90年代至今的川金丝猴种群动态变化进行研究,结果发现不论是种群数量 (从少于500只增至671只左右) 还是栖息地面积 (从147.8 km2增至236.5 km2) 都明显增长; 家域范围随着年代的推移向低海拔位置扩大 (秋季平均海拔为1680m±304m),越来越靠近人类;川金丝猴在家域范围内,对常绿阔叶林和落叶阔叶林有明显的选择偏好,活动比例分别达到了40.11%和38.41%。实施“天然林保护工程”后,当地农业开发和经济活动在逐渐转型,减少了人类活动对野生动物栖息地的干扰,提升了栖息地保护的质量和生态环境。因此,此项工程的实施在该地区川金丝猴保护方面表现出积极的效果,促进了当地金丝猴栖息地的改善,种群数量得以增加扩大,是一个野生动物保护的成功案例。     

野生大熊猫与放牧家畜的活动格局比较

活动格局是动物内在机制和环境作用所表现出来的昼夜活动节律及其活动水平的行为生态特征,影响着动物的能量代谢能力、觅食行为策略和进化适应。通过内置活动传感器的GPS颈圈,于2010—2012年在四川卧龙国家级自然保护区的"核桃坪"及其毗邻区域,采集了野生大熊猫和放牧家畜的大量活动数据。分别选择3只成年大熊猫和3个马群的代表性个体作为样本,引入活动强度、活动时间百分率、活动时间片段率和活动片段时长等指标进行了两者之间的比较,以揭示大熊猫和放牧家畜在时间利用方面的内在特征。结果表明:野生大熊猫和放牧家畜在活动强度、活动时间百分率和活动时间片段率等方面都具有极显著性差异(P0.0001),仅两者之间的活动片段时长无明显的统计学意义(P=0.4107)。野生大熊猫表现为活动水平低、活动时间少、活动片段率高和活动片段时长短等特征的活动格局,且不同月份(季度)之间变化较大(P0.0001);放牧家畜则呈现出相异的时间利用规律,即活动水平高、活动时间多、活动时间片段率稍低和活动片段时长略长等特性。不同的时间利用规律和不同的空间利用模式,造成动物之间对栖息地、食物资源和伴生动物的利用方式、影响强度和空间分布的截然不同。因而,合理规划和管控放牧家畜的散养区域与数量,是自然保护管理与社区经济发展相协调的有效途径之一。     

野生大熊猫与放牧家畜的空间利用格局比较

空间利用是野生动物对环境资源的利用模式和活动格局,影响着种群之间的基因交流和生存发展。我们于2010～2012年在四川卧龙国家级自然保护区的“核桃坪”及其附近区域,采用GPS颈圈跟踪技术对分布和放养于该区域的野生大熊猫和放牧家畜—马群进行了定位监测和样地调查。分别选择了3只大熊猫和3个马群的代表性个体的GPS颈圈数据,在地理信息系统（GIS）中通过数字高程模型（DEM）、动物移动模块等工具提取和计算了它们活动区域的地形地势、巢域大小、日移动距离和核域数量,并检验了野生大熊猫和放牧家畜空间利用的差异性。结果表明：野生大熊猫和放牧家畜不同月份和整体之间在海拔高度、坡度坡向、巢域面积、日移动距离和核域数量等方面都具有显著性的差异。野生大熊猫表现为随季节和食物类型（竹笋、竹秆、枝叶）丰度的变化分别活动于拐棍竹林、短锥玉山竹林和冷箭竹林中,活动空间较大（海拔范围、巢域大小）、日移动距离较短和核域数量多等特征的随机扩散模式,且不同个体和月份之间波动性较大;放牧家畜则因初始放养于不同区域的竹林（拐棍竹林、冷箭竹林）和人为干涉程度的大小差异,显示出不同的空间利用格局,但与大熊猫相比,总体而言都具有巢域面积小、日移动距离略大、核域数量极少等“步步为营”空间利用模式的特征,且不同畜群和不同时间之间的变化幅度也小于大熊猫。不同的空间利用格局对环境资源的影响强度截然不同,大熊猫的利用模式有利于竹子资源的更新恢复和生境结构的持续发展,而放牧家畜的利用模式将造成竹子资源的死亡衰败和生境结构的破坏退化。因此,加强放牧家畜的管控,有效协调社区经济发展和生物多样性保护成为卧龙自然保护区（特区）今后工作和管理的当务之急。     

小相岭山系大中型兽类多样性的红外相机调查

区域的物种多样性监测和评估是制定保护和管理策略的重要基础。为评估小相岭山系大中型兽类多样性现状,于2018年1月至2020年11月,以区域内最具代表性的四川栗子坪国家级自然保护区和四川冶勒省级自然保护区为主要研究区域,采用红外相机公里网格陷阱法进行了调查 (n = 86台)。累计完成19 982个相机工作日,获得大中型兽类独立有效照片3 304张,共记录大中型野生兽类18种,隶属于4目12科。其中,国家一级重点保护野生动物有大熊猫 (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)、林麝 (Moschus berezovskii) 和金猫 (Catopuma temminckii);国家二级重点保护野生动物有亚洲黑熊 (Ursus thibetanus)、中华小熊猫 (Ailurus styani)、水鹿 (Rusa unicolor) 等10种,且水鹿为该区域的新分布记录。相对多度指数排名前五的种类分别是毛冠鹿 (Elaphodus cephalophus)、中华鬣羚 (Capricornis milneedwardsii)、野猪 (Sus scrofa)、黄喉貂 (Martes flavigula) 和猪獾 (Arctonyx collaris)。由于面积大小、海拔范围的不同,两个保护区在大中型兽类组成和相对多度方面存在一定的差异。放牧是小相岭山系两个自然保护区最主要的人为干扰。本调查为小相岭山系保护区大中型兽类及人为活动状况提供了基础数据,有助于保护区后续的保护和管理。     

川金丝猴

正川金丝猴(Rhinopithecus roxellana),旧大陆的狭鼻猴类,是我国特有的珍稀濒危灵长类,为国家Ⅰ级重点保护野生动物。川金丝猴是典型的森林树栖灵长类,常年栖息于海拔1 500~3 000 m的森林中。图中是分布在我国陕西佛坪境内的大坪峪种群的一只成年雄性(10岁以上),在2015年新组建家庭单元(OMU)。     

四川老河沟保护地2011-2015年野生动物红外相机监测数据集

红外相机技术目前已成为调查、记录陆生大中型兽类和地栖鸟类的最有效方法之一, 为自然保护地的生物多样性编目、野生动物本底调查提供了可靠的数据基础。老河沟保护地位于四川省平武县, 地处岷山山脉中段, 面积110 km², 是大熊猫(Ailuropoda melanoleuca)、川金丝猴(Rhinopithecus roxellana)、红喉雉鹑(Tetraophasis obscurus)等珍稀濒危野生动物的自然栖息地。本文汇总、整理了老河沟保护地2011-2015年的红外相机监测记录, 提供了完整的红外相机监测数据集。数据集包括红外相机有效位点130个, 海拔跨度1,317-3,265 m, 总有效相机工作日10,185 d。红外相机拍摄记录159,694条, 其中兽类记录91,839条, 独立有效照片3,017张, 包括分属5目15科的野生兽类28种; 鸟类记录37,775条, 独立有效照片1,311张, 包括分属7目19科的野生鸟类60种; 两栖类记录8条, 独立有效照片2张, 包括1目1科1种; 家畜记录47条, 独立有效照片5张。     

Impact of livestock grazing on biodiversity and giant panda habitat

Livestock grazing occurs in many protected areas for wildlife and has become a threat to wildlife worldwide. Livestock grazing within protected areas causes negative effects to rare wildlife (e.g., giant panda [Ailuropoda melanoleuca]) and their habitat. We used the 2,000-km² Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, southwestern China, to document the effects of livestock on the giant panda and its habitat. We monitored arrow bamboo (Bashania fangiana), wildlife sign (i.e., feces and tracks), and characteristics of plant communities in intact habitat (IH; limited livestock grazing) and disturbed habitat (DH; with grazing disturbance) to assess the effects of livestock grazing and the responses of giant pandas and sympatric species across spatial and temporal scales. Bamboo coverage and the height and basal diameter of bamboo in IH were greater than those in DH, whereas the number of herbaceous species and herbaceous coverage in IH were lower than those in DH. Wildlife signs in IH were greater than those in DH; specifically, giant panda and red panda (Ailurus fulgens) signs were greater, whereas signs of sambar (Rusa unicolor) and tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus) in IH were similar to those in DH. Livestock grazing reduced bamboo, which may threaten the long-term survival of the giant panda. Our results have implications for understanding and management of livestock grazing in the Wolong National Nature Reserve and elsewhere. © 2019 The Wildlife Society.     

Impact of livestock on giant pandas and their habitat

Livestock production is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide. However, impacts of livestock on endangered species have been understudied, particularly across the livestock–wildlife interface in forested protected areas. We investigated the impact of an emerging livestock sector in China's renowned Wolong Nature Reserve for giant pandas. We integrated empirical data from field surveys, remotely sensed imagery, and GPS collar tracking to analyze (1) the spatial distribution of horses in giant panda habitat, (2) space use and habitat selection patterns of horses and pandas, and (3) the impact of horses on pandas and bamboo (panda's main food source). We discovered that the horse distribution overlapped with suitable giant panda habitat. Horses had smaller home ranges than pandas but both species showed similarities in habitat selection. Horses consumed considerable amounts of bamboo, and may have resulted in a decline in panda habitat use. Our study highlights the need to formulate policies to address this emerging threat to the endangered giant panda. It also has implications for understanding livestock impacts in other protected areas across the globe.     

Temporal shifts as elusive responses to anthropogenic stressors in a mammal community

Conservation decision-making often relies on species’ distribution changes in response to anthropogenic disturbances but overlook their temporal responses. Filling the knowledge gap on the temporal shifts as elusive responses of wild animals to human activity is important because this may provide information for more proactive conservation planning. In this study, we used camera traps in a field survey technique to investigate the trade-offs between spatial and temporal responses of a mammal community to major human activities in Qinling Mountains, China. We focused on five most abundant mammalian species including giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), takin (Budorcas taxicolor), wild boar (Sus scrofa), tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus), and Chinese goral (Naemorhedus griseus), and examined the drivers of, and the trade-offs between the change of their spatial distributions and daily activity patterns in response to anthropogenic disturbances. We found that in response to human interferences, giant panda and takin mainly changed their distributions, while wild boar, tufted deer and Chinese goral altered their daily activity patterns, indicating the elusive responses of the latter species under anthropogenic stressors. In addition, anthropogenic stressors such as farming and tourism have more profound impacts on mammal communities than previously revealed by species distribution modeling only. For nature reserves that aim to conserve multiple species simultaneously, a more flexible, adaptive management framework is thus needed to capture the trade-offs between multiple species’ spatial and temporal responses to anthropogenic disturbance.

     

Livestock guardian dogs as surrogate top predators? How Maremma sheepdogs affect a wildlife community

Use of livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) to reduce predation on livestock is increasing. However, how these dogs influence the activity of wildlife, including predators, is not well understood. We used pellet counts and remote cameras to investigate the effects of free ranging LGDs on four large herbivores (eastern gray kangaroo, common wombat, swamp wallaby, and sambar deer) and one mesopredator (red fox) in Victoria, Australia. Generalized mixed models and one‐ and two‐species detection models were used to assess the influence of the presence of LGDs on detection of the other species. We found avoidance of LGDs in four species. Swamp wallabies and sambar deer were excluded from areas occupied by LGDs; gray kangaroos showed strong spatial and temporal avoidance of LGD areas; foxes showed moderately strong spatial and temporal avoidance of LGD areas. The effect of LGDs on wombats was unclear. Avoidance of areas with LGDs by large herbivores can benefit livestock production by reducing competition for pasture and disease transmission from wildlife to livestock, and providing managers with better control over grazing pressure. Suppression of mesopredators could benefit the small prey of those species. Synthesis and applications: In pastoral areas, LGDs can function as a surrogate top‐order predator, controlling the local distribution and affecting behavior of large herbivores and mesopredators. LGDs may provide similar ecological functions to those that in many areas have been lost with the extirpation of native large carnivores.     

Synergistic effects of anthropogenic disturbances on giant pandas

Livestock grazing and the collection of bamboo shoots are the main threats to giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) habitat in the Liangshan Mountains in China. It is important to clarify the effect of these disturbances to the giant panda to formulate targeted management policies. Based on species distribution models and daily activity models, we investigated the effects of livestock grazing and bamboo shoot collection on giant pandas from May 2021 to July 2022. Our results indicated the giant panda's suitable habitat in the reserve covered 51.83 km² (15.02% of the reserve area). Grazing and bamboo shoot collection led to losses of 19.08 km² and 7.68 km² of suitable habitat, respectively. Together, the 2 activities resulted in a loss of 28.35 km² of suitable habitat, which was more than half of the area of panda habitat. The areas of suitable habitat for giant pandas significantly overlapped with the areas affected by both disturbances. Giant pandas did not show significant differences in daily activity rhythms under a single disturbance, but the daily activity rhythms of giant pandas differed when we compared the area combining the 2 disturbances with the undisturbed area. Our study reveals that the anthropogenic disturbances in the reserve have varying effects on the suitable habitat range and daily activity rhythm of giant pandas and evidence of a synergistic effect. Therefore, when formulating relevant conservation policies, it is important to fully evaluate the extent and characteristics of anthropogenic disturbances in shaping the population distribution and habitat preferences of the giant panda and other wildlife to enhance the efficacy of conservation management practices.     

放牧对冶勒自然保护区大熊猫生境的影响

四川冶勒自然保护区周边村民的牲畜基本上都在保护区内放养。为研究放牧和大熊猫对竹类的利用及放牧强度与竹类的关系 ,利用Forageratio选择指数 ,Pearson相关分析和联列表独立性检验 ,对调查数据进行分析。结果表明 ,大熊猫活动区海拔为 2 870～ 390 0m ,并喜欢选择竹类盖度为 5 0 %～ 10 0 % ,竹类高度 2～ 3m ,竹类生长状况好的竹林。而放牧海拔为 2 70 0～ 4 0 0 0m ,放牧对竹类的盖度、高度、生长状况没有选择性 ,为随机利用。放牧海拔与大熊猫活动海拔无显著相关。大熊猫在放牧生境活动的频率较低 ;放牧生境中竹类的成竹平均密度和竹子平均密度都低于大熊猫活动生境 ,枯死竹比例高于大熊猫活动生境。放牧强度与竹类的有、无和竹类盖度是相关联的 ,大熊猫出现与否也与放牧活动相关联 (在 95 %的置信度 ,P <0 0 5 )。放牧强度强的生境没有大熊猫活动 ,竹子的盖度也较低。由于放牧活动对竹类的生长和盖度造成影响 ,从而影响大熊猫对放牧生境的利用 ,在保护区内应采取一定的措施控制放牧活动。     

An assessment of human impacts on endangered red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) living in the Himalaya

Anthropogenic factors play an important role in shaping the distribution of wildlife species and their habitats, and understanding the influence of human activities on endangered species can be key to improving conservation efforts as well as the implementation of national strategies for sustainable development. Here, we used species distribution modeling to assess human impacts on the endangered red panda (Ailurus fulgens) in high‐altitude regions of Nepal. We found that the distance to paths (tracks used by people and animals), livestock density, human population density, and annual mean temperature were the most important factors determining the habitat suitability for red pandas in Nepal. This is the first study that attempts to use comprehensive environmental and anthropogenic variables to predict habitat suitability for the red pandas at a national level. The suitable habitat identified by this study is important and could serve as a baseline for the development of conservation strategies for the red panda in Nepal.     

观音山自然保护区和佛坪自然保护区大熊猫种群的分布格局

2007年10月和2008年4月,对佛坪自然保护区和观音山自然保护区内大熊猫的活动痕迹进行了样线调查,研究了该区内大熊猫种群及其同域主要伴生动物的分布情况,并分析了影响大熊猫活动分布格局的环境因素.结果表明：观音山和佛坪自然保护区的大熊猫及同域主要伴生野生动物的分布格局基本一致,大熊猫在观音山自然保护区的活动痕迹密度、范围均小于佛坪自然保护区;研究区内2个大熊猫高密度等级的活动中心均分布在佛坪自然保护区内;观音山自然保护区内的大部分地区无大熊猫活动;羚牛、斑羚、野猪等大熊猫主要伴生动物在观音山自然保护区内的活动痕迹数量高于佛坪保护区;人类干扰可能对大熊猫种群活动的分布格局产生影响.     

Automatically detecting the wild giant panda using deep learning with context and species distribution model

The giant panda is a flagship species in ecological conservation. The infrared camera trap is an effective tool for monitoring the giant panda. Images captured by infrared camera traps must be accurately recognized before further statistical analyses can be implemented. Previous research has demonstrated that spatiotemporal and positional contextual information and the species distribution model (SDM) can improve image detection accuracy, especially for difficult-to-see images. Difficult-to-see images include those in which individual animals are only partially observed and it is challenging for the model to detect those individuals. By utilizing the attention mechanism, we developed a unique method based on deep learning that incorporates object detection, contextual information, and the SDM to achieve better detection performance in difficult-to-see images. We obtained 1169 images of the wild giant panda and divided them into a training set and a test set in a 4:1 ratio. Model assessment metrics showed that our proposed model achieved an overall performance of 98.1% in mAP_0.5 and 82.9% in recall on difficult-to-see images. Our research demonstrated that the fine-grained multimodal-fusing method applied to monitoring giant pandas in the wild can better detect the difficult-to-see panda images to enhance the wildlife monitoring system.