基于分子宏条形码分析四川卧龙国家级自然保护区雪豹的食性

作为中亚和青藏高原山地生态系统中的顶级捕食者, 雪豹(Panthera uncia)对于维持食物网结构和生态系统稳定性有重要作用。了解雪豹的食性组成和变化对于理解其生态系统功能和物种间相互作用有重要意义。以往的雪豹食性分析多基于对其粪便中食物残渣的形态学鉴定, 但准确度受人员经验和主观因素影响较大。邛崃山脉位于雪豹分布区东南缘, 该区域的雪豹种群规模小且相对孤立, 研究匮乏。本研究基于非损伤性取样, 在邛崃山脉的卧龙国家级保护区采集疑似雪豹粪便样品38份, 首先提取粪便DNA, 并扩增线粒体DNA 16S rRNA基因片段进行分子物种鉴定, 确定其中22份为雪豹粪便样品。随后, 利用脊椎动物通用引物和雪豹特异性阻抑引物扩增粪便DNA中的食物成分, 并进行高通量测序, 分析雪豹食性构成。食性分析结果显示岩羊(Pseudois nayaur)是卧龙地区雪豹最主要的食物, 在67%的样品中均有检出。家牦牛(Bos grunniens)在33%的样品中出现, 也在雪豹食性中占较高比例。此外, 鼠兔(Ochotona spp.)和鸟类也在少量样品中发现。可见, 野生猎物是卧龙地区雪豹的主要食物资源; 与大世界大多数其他地区的雪豹食性相同, 野生大型有蹄类是雪豹最重要的食物。然而家畜(牦牛)在卧龙雪豹食谱中有相当高的占比, 显示该区域内可能存在较为严重的由雪豹捕食散养家畜引起的人兽冲突问题。     

四川邛崃山脉雪豹与赤狐时空生态位关系

食肉动物是生态系统中关键的功能类群,探究顶级捕食者和次级捕食者的种间作用和共存机制有助于我们深入理解生态系统变化和物种种群动态变化的驱动机制,是目前全球大型兽类种群衰退背景下的重要议题。在动物物种生态位的诸多维度中,空间与时间生态位是其中最为关键的两个维度,了解同域分布物种之间在时、空生态位上的相互关系是探究物种共存机制的基础。本研究以邛崃山脉中部的卧龙国家级自然保护区为研究区域,使用红外相机技术与粪便DNA技术在区内的高山生境开展野外调查,收集雪豹（Panthera uncia,分布点数量n=198）与赤狐（Vulpes vulpes,n=68）的分布数据,分别使用MaxEnt物种分布模型和日活动模式分析来探究区内雪豹和赤狐在时、空生态位上的相互作用关系。结果显示,在空间上,研究区域内雪豹和赤狐的潜在适宜分布区重叠面积404.08 km²,主要集中在保护区西北部的高海拔区域,分别占二者适宜栖息地总面积的77.74%和80.79%,重叠程度较高;在垂直分布上,区内雪豹分布的平均海拔较赤狐稍高,赤狐的海拔分布范围较雪豹稍广,但两物种在垂直方向上的重叠程度也较高,均在海拔4 300 m左右出现分布高峰。在时间生态位上,雪豹（独立探测数n=351）与赤狐（n=155）的日活动模式均为双峰型,雪豹偏向晨昏性而赤狐更偏向夜行性,整体上二者日活动节律重叠度较高（Δ=0.68）;在有雪豹活动的位点上以及两周内曾有雪豹活动的情况下,赤狐会加强夜间活动,降低其日活动节律与雪豹之间的重叠程度,但其日活动模式未有显著改变。本研究的结果初步揭示了雪豹与赤狐的时空生态位关系,将为深入理解高山生态系统中顶级捕食者与次级捕食者的共存机制提供实例与基础信息,同时也将为保护区针对这些食肉动物种群的精细化管理提供支持。     

两种分析方法在豹猫食物构成中的应用比较

豹猫(Prionailurus bengalensis)作为北京地区的顶级食肉动物,对于维持食物网结构和生态系统稳定性起到重要的生态作用。对于捕食动物食物构成研究,较为简便的方法是粪样内容物检视法,而粪样残余物DNA鉴定技术具有更为准确细致的优势,但也存在不足,探索不同方法的优势互补,将有助于提高技术应用成效。本研究利用DNA宏条形码技术与粪样内容物分析法,对采集自北京市4个自然保护区的71份豹猫粪样进行食物构成分析,比较两种分析方法的特点,了解豹猫的食物资源利用状况。结果显示,DNA宏条形码技术共鉴别出36种猎物,来自10目22科,4个保护区的豹猫食性具有显著差异,百花山、松山、云蒙山保护区的豹猫食物种类的出现比率均以小型哺乳类为主,其中对鼠类的捕食比例最高,对鸟类的捕食次之,而分布于云峰山保护区的豹猫对鸟类捕食比例最高,对鼠类的捕食次之。粪样内容物分析法鉴别出9类猎物,其中包括昆虫和植物两种DNA宏条形码技术未检出的食物,4个保护区的豹猫食物均以鼠类和鸟类为主,且最多检测出鼠类数量为3只、鸟类2只,次要食物则为植物和昆虫。两种方法均显示北社鼠(Niviventer confucia...     

内蒙古赛罕乌拉自然保护区4 种小型食肉目动物的食性构成的初步分析

为了解同域分布动物的食物竞争关系,采用样线法收集粪便样品,依据残遗物鉴别物种的方法,于2007年8 ～12 月对赛罕乌拉国家级自然保护区的赤狐、狗獾、香鼬和豹猫的食物构成进行比较。结果表明:赤狐取食所有15 类食物,并捕食小型鼬类;在赤狐粪样(n =70) 中出现率较大的植物(32.6% )以重量比率计算时其贡献极大下降(0.02% ),而出现率较低的草兔和鸟类重量比率较高(草兔65.4% , 鸟类22.9% ), 相对重要值的计算表示,赤狐的食物构成均一。狗獾(n = 64)以取食昆虫和植物果实为主(出现率29.3% 和57.8% )。香鼬(n =14)集中取食鼠类(出现率73.7% ,相对重量99.8% ),豹猫(n = 11) 则以鸟类居多(出现率27.8% ,相对重量69.0% )。食物生态位的宽度以赤狐最大(0.2),其次为豹猫(0.07)。根据食物生态位的重
叠度分析,赤狐与狗獾(O = 0.99)和豹猫(O = 0.7)以及狗獾与豹猫(O = 0.6)的种间竞争较强, 但在主要食物上出现分离,实现捕食者之间的共存。赤狐对香鼬的捕食可能限制了其种群的发展。     

北京市三个区域食肉类动物食性的比较分析

为了解北京地区捕食性动物的生存竞争关系,于2002年采用样线法收集北京松山、云蒙山、雾灵山3个区域的食肉动物粪便样品85份,并以食物残留物出现频率法进行了食性分析。粪样主要属于犬科的貉和赤狐、鼬科的黄鼬和猪獾、猫科的豹猫。粪样内容物的鉴定发现,此类动物的食物构成以小型哺乳类为主,鼠类的出现频率为82.4%,植物的出现率(54.1%)列为第二位,鸟类的出现率为31.8%,大型猎物的出现率仅为8.3%。犬科动物赤狐和貉的食物构成以棕背(50%)、植物(42.9%)和鼠科动物(40.5%)为主;猫科豹猫的食物构成中植物的出现率为72.4%,其次为鸟类(62.1%)和鼠科动物(48.3%),在生态旅游开发强度较大的区域塑料制品的出现率较高。通过对犬科动物和豹猫的食物生态位重叠度和生态位宽度的比较,讨论了捕食性动物的共存与竞争关系。     

DNA宏条形码技术在鸟类食性分析中的运用

鸟类在全球广泛分布,不同鸟类物种利用的食物类群存在很大差异,而食性研究是动物营养学和生态学领域的重要研究内容。本文对一些传统鸟类食性鉴别方式及其不足进行回顾,传统鸟类食性鉴别方式包含扎颈法、剖胃法、粪便收集法、相机记录法等。随着测序技术的高速发展,DNA宏条形码技术出现,并广泛应用于动物食性研究。近些年来,该技术也被应用于鸟类食性研究中。本文综述了DNA条形码和DNA宏条形码的操作原理和条件,对鸟类食性研究中的DNA条形码与引物的选择做了详细介绍。对比传统鉴别方法,DNA宏条形码技术降低了物种鉴定难度,减少了人为影响因素,提高了目标样本中物种的鉴定效率,能对粪便、胃容物等混合或不成型样本进行分析。另一方面,在扩增多物种混合的DNA样品中的目标片段时,可能出现偏离,造成结果的不确定性,并且难以根据结果得出较准确各食物组分的比例。未来在使用宏条形码技术对鸟类食性的分析中,可结合其他方法改善对食物的量化以及食物属性的判断。     

大熊猫国家公园的地栖大中型鸟兽多样性现状: 基于红外相机数据的分析

生物多样性监测是国家公园保护的核心基础。大熊猫国家公园是我国首批5个国家公园之一, 系统的保护规划与有效的管理行动均有赖于对区内生物多样性本底、现状与动态的深入了解。为了解大熊猫国家公园范围内兽类与鸟类多样性本底与现状, 本研究系统检索了该区域内2005-2020年基于红外相机调查技术的野生动物研究论文、项目报告以及新闻报道, 并对区内原有保护地的红外相机监测历史与结果进行了问卷调查。结果表明, 2005-2020年期间, 在大熊猫国家公园范围内51个保护地的红外相机调查与监测中, 共记录到分属6目22科55属的71种野生兽类与分属13目45科132属的232种野生鸟类。在国家公园所覆盖的秦岭、岷山、邛崃山、相岭4大山系中, 邛崃和岷山记录到的大中型地栖鸟兽物种多样性最高(均为兽类40种, 鸟类12种), 相岭最低(兽类25种, 鸟类7种)。单个保护地中记录到的大中型地栖鸟兽物种数量与保护地面积、红外相机有效工作日及相机位点的海拔跨度均呈正相关, 国家级保护地中记录到的物种数(28 ± 8.3, mean ± SD)显著高于省级保护地(19 ± 8.9)。在大熊猫国家公园内共记录到猫科与犬科的4种大型食肉动物, 即豹(Panthera pardus)、雪豹(P. uncia)、狼(Canis lupus)和豺(Cuon alpinus), 主要来自于秦岭山系和邛崃山系, 而国家公园内的岷山山系则没有记录到大型食肉动物, 相岭山系中仅有1次狼的记录。本研究结果显示, 大熊猫国家公园内前期已经建立起的自然保护地网络与红外相机监测体系已积累大量区内野生兽类与鸟类的基础数据, 为国家公园的试点与建设提供了生物多样性编目与监测方面的可靠本底。在这些前期工作的基础上, 大熊猫国家公园应进一步规划、建设标准化的野生动物监测体系, 为今后国家公园的管理决策、成效评估提供坚实的科学支撑。     

中国菌食性管蓟马物种多样性及分布格局

菌食性管蓟马是土壤动物的重要组分, 它们在生物多样性保护与利用、植物保护、动物地理等领域具有重要的研究价值, 但在我国其分类和物种多样性研究仍有较大不足, 大尺度分布格局形成原因也不清楚。本文基于对我国大部分地区广泛的野外采集调查和国内外多家研究机构馆藏标本的检视, 整理了我国菌食性管蓟马物种名录和地理分布信息, 总结了我国菌食性管蓟马的分类研究现状与简史, 分析了菌食性管蓟马物种多样性的分布格局并探讨了该格局形成原因。目前我国记录菌食性管蓟马237种, 其中管蓟马亚科39属156种, 灵管蓟马亚科22属81种; 竹管蓟马属(Bamboosiella)、剪管蓟马属(Psalidothrips)、网管蓟马属(Apelaunothrips)和全管蓟马属(Holothrips)是物种较多的属, 包含物种数均超过10种; 中国特有73种; 广东、台湾、海南和云南是物种最丰富的省份, 均超过60种, 这些省份都具热带和亚热带气候特征, 适合其生存; 相对多度分析结果表明在热带和亚热带地区森林凋落物层菌食性管蓟马是土壤动物的常见类群; 气温、降水量、食物等是限制其分布的主要因素。本结果丰富了土壤生物多样性的研究内容, 为菌食性管蓟马多样性大尺度空间格局研究提供了数据支持。     

DNA条形码及其在植食性昆虫食性鉴定中的应用

近年来DNA条形码的广泛应用推动了包括分类学在内的多学科的发展,促进了进化生物学及生态学的研究,受到高度关注。DNA条形码不仅能够简单地用于物种识别,还可以用于动物食性、食物链及食物网的研究,主要通过提取粪便及肠道内容物的短片段DNA来得到实现。本文阐述了DNA条形码的研究概况及其在植食性昆虫食性鉴定中的应用,并详细介绍了用于植食性昆虫食性鉴定的DNA条形码的选择,最后针对鳞翅目幼虫食性相关研究予以综述。植食性鳞翅目幼虫对农林业有着严重的为害,其营养关系的研究对有害生物防治具有重要意义。     

贵州坡岗喀斯特森林自然保护区红外相机兽类和鸟类监测及活动节律分析

本研究于2017—2020年利用红外相机对贵州兴义坡岗喀斯特森林自然保护区的兽类和鸟类进行了连续4年的监测,分析了保护区内兽类和鸟类物种组成多样性及主要地栖性物种的活动节律。本次调查共记录到兽类和鸟类物种数共72种,其中兽类13种,隶属于4目7科;鸟类59种,隶属于6目18科。国家一级重点保护野生动物有黑颈长尾雉(Syrmaticus humiae)和小灵猫(Viverricula indica);国家二级重点保护野生动物有白鹇(Lophura nycthemera)、白腹锦鸡(Chrysolophus amherstiae)、红嘴相思鸟(Leiothrix lutea)、猕猴(Macaca mulatta)、斑林狸(Prionodon pardicolor)、豹猫(Prionailurus bengalensis)等13种。Shannon-Wiener多样性指数最高的区域为保护区的核心区(H=2.76)。活动节律分析表明,白腹锦鸡为昼行性动物,花面狸(Paguma larvata)、鼬獾(Melogale moschata)等为典型的夜行性动物。白腹锦鸡和鼬獾日活动节律呈双峰趋势,花面狸和豹猫呈单峰型。本次监测结果可为进一步加强喀斯特森林鸟兽物种保护管理和生态学研究提供基础。     

Competition versus opportunism: Diet and trophic niche relationship of two sympatric apex carnivores in a tropical forest

There is a little understanding of how apex carnivores partition their diet to coexist. We studied food habit and trophic niche overlap of two apex carnivores, tiger and leopard in the tropical forest of Similipal tiger reserve, eastern India. We used line transect and scat analysis method, to estimate the prey availability and determine the diet and prey selection of two apex carnivores. Tigers consumed mostly large and medium-sized prey, whereas leopards mostly consumed medium and small-sized prey. Both carnivores were not random in their consumption of prey, sambar and wild pigs were selectively consumed by tigers, whereas leopards selectively consumed wild pigs, barking deer and mouse deer. Dietary overlap between two carnivore species was moderate (Pianka's niche overlap index: 0.55), and trophic niche breadth (Levin's standardized niche breadth) of the leopard (0.52) was greater than that of the tiger (0.37). Overall, tigers exhibited specialized feeding habits, whereas leopards showed generalist feeding habits. Our study highlights the opportunistic nature of leopards and probably a reason for the species successfully coexist with tigers.     

DNA metabarcoding reveals that African leopard diet varies between habitats

Understanding carnivores’ diet is key to understanding their adaptability in a rapidly changing world. However, studying diet of large carnivores is difficult due to their elusive nature. In this study, we performed DNA metabarcoding analyses of 82 putative leopard scats collected from two distinct, but connected, habitat types (rainforest and grassland) in the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania. Two mitochondrial markers were used to identify predator and prey. Metabarcoding confirmed that 60 of the collected scats (73%) originated from leopards, and nineteen mammalian prey DNA sequences were identified to species. Using prey size correction factors for leopards, and covariates on habitat type and prey ecology, we investigated whether differences in leopard dietary composition were detectable between habitats. We found that leopards in grassland consumed a larger mean prey size compared with leopards in rainforest. Small prey (<19 kg) constituted >70% of the biomass consumed by leopards in rainforest, while large prey (≥80 kg) were only eaten in grassland. Arboreal species constituted 50% of the biomass consumed by rainforest leopards. Our results highlight the importance of arboreal species in their diet. From a management perspective, we suggest continued protection of all prey species in the protected areas to prevent human–wildlife conflicts.     

Tiger and leopard co-occurrence: intraguild interactions in response to human and livestock disturbance

Intraguild interactions have important implications for carnivore demography and conservation. Differences in how predators respond to different forms of disturbance might alter their interaction patterns. We sought to understand how human and livestock disturbance impact co-occurrence of sympatric large carnivores such as tiger (Panthera tigris) and leopard (P. pardus) and thereby mediate the intraguild interaction pattern to enable coexistence of the species in a human-dominated landscape. We surveyed 361 locations in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, to examine how prey abundance and disturbance factors such as human and livestock presence might influence habitat use by tigers and leopards independently and when co-occurring. Single-species single-season models and two-species single-season models were developed to examine hypotheses on unconditional detection and occupancy and species interaction respectively. Pervasive human use of the park had negative impacts on tiger occupancy while the abundance of prey had a positive influence. Despite significant prey overlap between tigers and leopards, none of the native prey species predicted leopard habitat occupancy. However, habitats used extensively by livestock were also used by leopards. Further, we found strong evidence of intraguild competition. For instance tiger occupancy was higher in prey-rich areas and leopard occupancy was low in the sites where tigers were present. These findings, and a species interaction factor of < 1 clearly indicate that leopards avoid tigers, but their use of areas of disturbance enables them to persist in fringe habitats. We provide empirical evidence of how intraguild interaction may result in habitat segregation between competing carnivores, while also showing that human and livestock use of the landscape create disturbance patterns that facilitate co-occurrence of the predators. Thus, because large carnivores compete, some disturbance may mediate coexistence in small protected areas. Understanding such interactions can help address important conservation challenges associated with maintaining diverse carnivore communities in small or disturbed landscapes.     

Effects of temporary closure of a national park on leopard movement and behaviour in tropical Asia

Across Asia protected areas serve as refuges for carnivores inside human-dominated landscapes. However, the creation of hard edges around reserve boundaries where conflicts with humans arise and disturbance from human activities inside the reserves may affect carnivore behaviour and ecology. Thailand’s largest protected area, Kaeng Krachan National Park (2915 km²) receives >100,000 visitors annually while maintaining an intact assemblage of prey species for large carnivores, making it a potentially important site for population recovery of leopards (Panthera pardus), tigers (Panthera tigris) and dholes (Cuon alpinus). We assessed the abundance of leopards and their prey base, and their response to changes in levels of human activity after an unexpected flooding event that resulted in the park being closed to visitors for >6 months. Using camera-traps, we identified 6 individual leopards and used spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) methods, incorporating humans and prey as covariates, to test for factors affecting the detection probability of leopards before and after the park closure. Leopard density was unchanged between the two periods, however the movement and activity patterns were clearly different. In the absence of tourist activity, leopards tended to move more frequently, leopard detection rates increased by 70% and activity shifted towards being more diurnal. The consequences of these changes in behaviour may include improved health, reproduction and survival. A management strategy involving seasonal closure of parks may serve to alleviate pressure on leopards and other carnivores. We recommend using information on abundance of large carnivores and their prey species, and human disturbance as the key indicators for long-term monitoring and management of protected areas in Southeast Asia.     

亚洲同域分布虎和豹竞争与共存关系概述

虎(Panthera tigris)和豹(P. pardus)作为食物链的顶级捕食者对维持生态系统结构与功能稳定性起到重要作用。强烈的人为干扰已导致亚洲虎和豹种群(以下简称虎豹)分布呈现破碎化状态, 探究二者之间的相互作用对缓解人类威胁和濒危物种保护具有重要意义。尽管虎豹竞争和共存研究已持续几十年, 但多局限于区域性种群, 缺乏系统性研究。本研究梳理了1976-2021年间36篇涉及虎豹竞争性相互作用研究的文献, 涵盖中国、俄罗斯、泰国、马来西亚、印度、尼泊尔、不丹共7个国家26个区域, 系统阐述了虎豹目前在亚洲的主要分布以及它们之间的干涉型和资源利用型竞争的主要表现形式, 并分析了猎物与干扰因素对虎豹竞争与共存的影响。本研究提出了5个可能影响种间作用的猎物构成情况, 强调了不同大小有蹄类猎物的丰富度和多度以及人为干扰的空间分布对虎豹区域竞争和共存的调控作用。现有研究显示虎豹的空间利用取决于本地的生境、猎物和干扰等因素。豹相对于虎具有更强的行为可塑性, 虎豹之间在空间、时间和营养生态位等维度权衡生态机会(如容易捕获的猎物)与冲突风险(人或竞争者带来的风险)来促进共存。目前虎豹相互作用研究存在严重的亚种和区域不平衡性, 未来研究重点应关注各种生物和非生物类因素对虎豹种间竞争类型和作用强度的调控方式以及调控的生态阈值效应。     

Conservation of biodiversity in Scandinavian boreal forests: large carnivores as flagships, umbrellas, indicators, or keystones?

Large carnivores are often used as focal species (indicators, umbrellas, flagships or keystones) in conservation strategies either aimed at conserving carnivores, the rest of the biodiversity that occupies their habitats, or both. We evaluate their suitability for these roles in the context of boreal forest biodiversity conservation in the muti-use landscapes of Scandinavia. The enormous conflicts, especially with livestock, that carnivores cause in these areas makes them very controversial flagships to the extent that it may affect rural people's attitudes to conservation in general. Because of the broad habitat tolerance of large carnivores and their prey, and the difficulties in surveying carnivore numbers, they are very insensitive and impractical indicators of forest biodiversity. This ability of large carnivores to thrive in industrial forests means that the many species that are sensitive to modern forestry will not fall under the umbrella of areas managed for large carnivores. If large carnivores have a keystone function with respect to affecting the density of their ungulate prey it is likely to lead to even further conflicts with hunters who gain economic benefit from harvesting wild ungulates. In other words, none of the classic `ecological' arguments are likely to help justify large carnivore conservation, and large carnivore conservation is unlikely to help conserve the rest of the boreal forest's biodiversity. Based on these arguments we recommend that (1) justification for large carnivore conservation focus on the real philosophical and value orientated reasons rather than ecological justifications, (2) that this conservation should be brought about in practice by dedicated management programs that specifically address the conflicts caused by large carnivores, and (3) that boreal forest biodiversity is best conserved by specific actions designed to establish reserves or change forestry practices.     

三江源红外相机社区监测平台概述

三江源红外相机社区监测平台以当地牧民为监测工作的主体, 开展该地区的生物多样性监测、野生动物生态学和行为学研究, 以及基于社区的自然资源管理与保护成效评估。三江源红外相机社区监测平台于2013年10月由北京大学自然保护与社会发展研究中心与山水自然保护中心联合三江源当地社区共同建立与管理。截至2019年6月, 该平台共有有效监测样区9个, 监测覆盖面积7,000多平方公里, 覆盖三江源区域的玉树州全境五县一市和果洛州班玛县, 培养了社区监测队员264名。已处理照片总数252.43万张, 动物独立探测总数12万次, 共识别出30种野生兽类和37种野生鸟类。该平台在调查野生动物多样性本底, 研究雪豹(Panthera uncia)种群密度与动态、雪豹与同域分布的其他食肉动物的关系, 总结社区监测的管理经验等方面取得部分成果。平台未来的工作重点包括总结与发表平台的研究结果、构建云端数据库实现红外相机照片数据的共享与公众参与、打造可互动数据库管理平台和相应监测队员手持客户端以及人工智能辅助下的物种与个体识别。     

甘肃祁连山脉雪豹及其同域分布大型食肉动物时间生态位关系

<正>群落内多物种如何共存是群落生态学和生物多样性研究的核心内容之一。经典物种共存理论强调物种之间的生态位分化,侧重于物种对环境的需求,Hutchinson (1957)提出超体积生态位概念,认为物种适合度是由多个因素共同决定,即物种只有在满足其生态位需求的多维空间,