重引入对麋鹿种群分娩定时及同步化的影响

种群持续繁殖是重引入物种对原灭绝地气候成功恢复适应的重要标志,研究重引入前后种群的繁殖波动规律,可为重引入管理者提供精准的繁殖预测信息和科学依据。本文整理北京重引入麋鹿种群后的1987年、1997年、2007年和2017年的总分娩数据,以每年最早分娩日作参照基准,统计个体分娩距此的天数,计算同步化率,并用ANOVA分析气温、降水、空气湿度、光照等变量对麋鹿分娩定时格局的影响。结果表明：(1) 引入后麋鹿种群年分娩节律呈“钟摆样”前后摆动,后逐渐回调,并最终处于相对稳定状态：时隔85年 (从灭绝至重引入) 后,北京麋鹿种群首次分娩时间较乌邦寺种群推迟35 ~ 42 d;重引入定植阶段：分娩节律逐年提前;种群扩繁阶段：分娩节律逐年向后推迟;种群复壮阶段：分娩节律又逐年微回调并最终处于稳定状态。(2) 北京麋鹿种群分娩有较强光周期定时和同步化：在重引入的第一年,分娩同步化率达到0 ~ 25%、25% ~ 50%、50% ~ 75%,分别用时18 d、14 d、5 d;重引入定植阶段分别用时41 d、19 d、11 d;种群扩繁阶段分别用时45 d、10 d、9 d;种群复壮阶段分别用时34 d、20 d和11 d。(3) 累积光照和积温,对北京麋鹿种群正常分娩启动影响差异极显著,对同步化分娩没有影响：妊娠期积温达到 (2748.34 ± 157.69)℃,累计光照达到 (3684.77 ± 514.26) h可启动正常分娩。(4) 北京麋鹿种群的分娩峰期与地上生物量峰期相关;从分娩时间来看,北京麋鹿种群已经恢复了对原灭绝地气候的适应。(5) 随时间增长,北京麋鹿种群非同步化分娩的个体数量逐年增加,分娩期总跨度并未延长。1997年以来,平均每年有30%左右的非同步化分娩现象。因此,基于分娩数据分析表明,麋鹿引入北京37年后,种群已经恢复对原灭绝地环境的重适应。     

内蒙古森林—草原交错带中野生东北马鹿冬季食物组成模式

分布于内蒙古森林—草原交错带的东北马鹿(Cervus elaphus xanthopygus)种群,受冬季低温和雪被的影响,对营养和能量的需求发生变化,同时,交错带内植物区系复杂,草本植物覆盖率高,而野生东北马鹿冬季主要以木本植物的嫩枝为食,因此分布于该地区的野生东北马鹿种群将面临食物资源短缺、营养缺乏的潜在威胁。本研究于2019年和2020年冬季,在内蒙古高格斯台罕乌拉国家级自然保护区内,采集野生东北马鹿粪便样本共98份。采用粪便显微分析法了解内蒙古森林—草原交错带中东北马鹿冬季的食物组成,结合去趋势分析法揭示了东北马鹿冬季食物组成模式。对东北马鹿粪便残渣分析发现,东北马鹿冬季共采食22种(科)植物,其中2020年冬季发现东北马鹿大量采食云杉(Picea asperata,9.88%)为其新食物。对东北马鹿食物组成进行去趋势分析发现,两年冬季中多数东北马鹿呈现出以蒙古栎(Quercus mongolica)、山杏(Armeniaca sibirica)、细叶沼柳(Salix rosmarin? ifolia)和家榆(Ulmus pumila)等落叶乔木和灌木为主要食物,同时采食高比例禾本科(Poaceae spp.)植物的食物组成模式;少数个体因食物短缺而呈现出以云杉为主要食物的特殊组成模式。禾本科和云杉是引起东北马鹿冬季食物组成变化的主因。本研究揭示了内蒙古森林—草原交错带中东北马鹿冬季的食物组成模式,为该地区东北马鹿营养生态学的进一步研究与保护管理提供参考依据。     

四川围栏养殖林麝采食植物种类调查

对四川都江堰人工养殖围栏内林麝采食的野生及栽种植物种类进行调查.结果表明,围栏内共有林麝采食植物64种,隶属于31科,多属于农田野草、野菜,少数是栽种的饲草、树木.分析了林麝采食利用植物的特点及这些植物作为饲料在生产中的潜在应用价值.     

Evaluation of 4-poster acaricide applicators to manage tick populations associated with disease risk in a Tennessee retirement community

In 1993, four residents of a retirement community in middle Tennessee were hospitalized with symptoms of ehrlichiosis causing community managers to implement mitigation methods to reduce tick numbers. For the past four years, managers have utilized 4-poster acaricide applicators that aim to reduce disease risk to residents by killing ticks that feed on deer. To determine the efficacy of this technique, we assessed Amblyomma americanum abundance in the vicinity of the devices by dragging 400 m vegetation transects once per month while ticks were active. In 2009, adult tick activity peaked in May, nymphal tick activity peaked in June, and larval activity peaked in September. Close to 4-poster devices, larval, nymphal, and adult tick abundances were reduced by 91%, 68%, and 49%, respectively (larval and nymphal p<0.001, adult p=0.005), relative to nearby untreated areas. No significant reduction in nymphal or adult A. americanum ticks was evident >300 m from 4-poster devices, however a ～90% reduction in larvae was observed to our sampling limit (400 m). At the low density at which these devices are currently being used (average distance between devices = 6.6 km), we conclude that they will have little large-scale effect on the health risk posed by ticks in this community.     

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in wild boars (Sus scrofa leucomystax) and wild sika deer (Cervus nippon) in Gunma Prefecture, Japan

The ingestion of undercooked meat from wild animals can be a source of Toxoplasma gondii infection in humans and other animals. In this study, we determined the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in 175 wild boars (Sus scrofa leucomystax) and 107 wild sika deer (Cervus nippon) hunted in 2004–2007 in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, by using a commercial latex agglutination test (LAT). Antibodies (LAT, 1:64 or higher) to T. gondii were found in 6.3% of wild boars and 1.9% of sika deer. This is the first record of T. gondii infection in wild deer in Japan, and deer and wild boar meat should be cooked well before human consumption.     

How do deer affect tree seedlings on a dwarf bamboo-dominated forest floor?

A field experiment was conducted in Mt. Ôdaigahara, west-central Japan, to reveal the effects of two herbivores, Sika deer (Cervus nippon) and mice (Apodemus spp.), on the seedlings of five cohorts of three tree species, Abies homolepis, Fraxinus lanuginosa f. serrata and Fagus crenata. The forest floor of the study site was covered with dwarf bamboo, Sasa nipponica, which would also affect the seedlings. Eight combinations of three treatments were set: exclusion of deer, exclusion of mice and removal of dwarf bamboo. Deer were expected to affect the seedlings not only negatively by foraging but also positively by browsing dwarf bamboo that overshadows seedlings. The survival of these cohorts was analyzed by survival analysis and the differences in their survival between the treatments were investigated. The results of the experiment showed that: (1) exclusion of deer increased the aboveground biomass of dwarf bamboo and made it more difficult for seedlings to survive under the regenerated dwarf bamboo stand, and (2) deer negatively affected the seedlings, but they had positive, indirect effects in some cohorts by decreasing the aboveground biomass of dwarf bamboo. However, such effects were not detected in some cohorts which were affected excessively by deer or dwarf bamboo. No clear results on the effect of mice on seedlings were obtained. We conclude that a positive, indirect effect of deer on seedling survivorship would be observable when the magnitude of a positive, indirect effect caused by decreasing dwarf bamboo is larger than that of a negative, direct effect of deer.