Effects of body size on the diurnal activity budgets of African browsing ruminants

We compared the diurnal activity budgets of four syntopic species of African browsing ruminant that differ widely in body size. These were concurrently studied through all phases of the seasonal cycle, in the same area, using the same methods. We tested five predictions from the literature on how body size is expected to influence the behaviour of tropical ungulates: the smallest members of the browsing ruminant guild exhibit (1) the lowest allocation of diurnal time to activity; (2) the greatest hour-to-hour variation in activity and resting time; (3) the greatest reduction in activity time during the hottest days; (4) the least change between wet and the dry seasons in the ratio of feeding: ruminating time; and (5) the greatest time budget allocation to vigilance. Prediction 1 was supported in that the smaller species spent less time being active during the day. Prediction 2 was also supported in that the smaller species were more variable in their relative allocations of time to activity and resting through successive hours of the day. Contrary to Prediction 3, however, the greatest reduction in activity with increasing temperature was found for the largest guild member. The smaller species can achieve their daily food intake requirements by feeding at night and in the cool hours of the day, while the larger species have to feed during all hours of the day and are thus more susceptible to thermoregulatory constraints on foraging. Prediction 4 was partially upheld in that the largest species (giraffe) displayed the widest variation in feeding: ruminating time through the seasonal cycle. Prediction 5 was not supported, indicating that multiple factors interact with body size in determining vigilance behaviour.     

Landscape structure affects food quality of sika deer (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cervus nippon</Emphasis>) evidenced by fecal nitrogen levels

Evaluating the quality of wildlife habitat is essential for understanding and predicting population dynamics in heterogeneous environments. We used fecal nitrogen levels as an indicator of habitat quality of sika deer (Cervus nippon) and explored important landscape elements influencing nitrogen levels, taking deer density into account. We established 92 plots differing in deer density and landscape structure on the Boso Peninsula, central Japan, and collected fecal samples along a 1-km transect at each plot. The regression models involving two independent variables, i.e., deer density and the length of forest edge within an area of 100 or 200 m from the transect, were selected based on the Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC). Levels of fecal nitrogen were positively correlated with the length of the forest edge and negatively correlated with population density of deer. The area of 100 or 200 m from the transect most likely reflected the behavioral scale of the deer. Coverage of palatable understory vegetation increased with proximity to forest edge and decreased with deer density. Variability in the level of fecal nitrogen could thus be explained by food availability in the landscape. These results suggest that landscape alterations increase the carrying capacity of sika deer and thereby increase impacts upon the ecosystem.     

卡拉麦里山有蹄类自然保护区水源地野放普氏野马的活动节律：基于红外相机监测数据

2014年4月至11月,在卡拉麦里山有蹄类自然保护区的22个水源地安放66台红外相机,其中在8个野放普式野马(Equus przewalskii)利用的水源地放置了16台红外相机,对野放普氏野马在水源地的活动节律和时间分配进行了研究。16台相机累计工作1 068 d,获得野放普氏野马有效照片2 051张。研究发现,野放普氏野马在水源地不同时段的有效照片数量符合正态分布,且季节间存在极显著差异。野放普氏野马在水源地不同时段的有效照片数量,春季远低于夏季和秋季(P0.05),而夏季与秋季差异不显著(P0.05)。野放普氏野马饮水频次春季极显著低于夏季和秋季(P0.01),夏季与秋季差异不显著(P0.05)。普氏野马在水源地具有稳定的日活动节律,时间分配上呈典型的钟形,13:00~17:00时达到高峰,20:00~次日5:00时快速下降,3:00~6:00时是一天中的低谷,在5:00~13:00时快速上升。不同月份野放普氏野马的日活动差异指数α(t=8.364,df=7,P0.01)和昼行性指数β(t=19.519,df=7,P0.01)均存在极显著差异,且β值为0.660.54,表明野放普氏野马活动以昼间为主。季节间活动差异指数存在极显著差异(单样本K-S检验,t=7.851,df=23,P0.01)。独立多样本Kruskal-Wallis检验季节性活动强度指数γ值差异不显著(χ~2=0.162,df=2,P0.05)。通过在卡山保护区固定水源地的实时监测,初步明晰了野放普氏野马在水源地附近的活动节律及其季节性水源地利用,从而为野放普氏野马的生态学研究及保护措施的制定提供科学依据。     

Presence of moose (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Alces alces</Emphasis>) in Southeastern Germany

Germany is situated on the western border of the distribution area of moose (Alces alces) in Europe. In the past, the number of moose sightings has been very limited and irregular in the state of Bavaria (SE Germany). Nearby populations of moose are located in neighboring countries to the east of Germany, in the Czech Republic, and Poland. A monitoring system for moose was established following a considerable increase in moose observations in Bavaria in 2007. As no reproduction has yet been recorded, moose observation has so far been attributed only to migrating individuals. Cows are more often registered than bulls (27 of 35 observations between 2004 and 2008). The reasons for the increase in migratory activities of moose have not yet been identified.     

Serological survey of selected infectious diseases in mouflon (Ovis aries musimon) from south-central Spain

Serum samples from 101 mouflons (Ovis aries musimon) collected from July 2002 to January 2006 were tested for antibodies against Anaplasma spp., Brucella spp., bovine viral diarrhea virus, Chlamydophila abortus, Coxiella burnetii, Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis, and Maedi-Visna virus. Mouflon came either from extensive farms or high ungulate density fenced hunting estates. Antibodies were detected against Anaplasma spp. (22.2%), C. burnetii (4.0%), M. avium ssp. paratuberculosis (1.0%) and C. abortus (1.0%). According to our results, mouflons could participate as a wild reservoir in the epidemiology of Anaplasma spp. infection and maybe Q fever, but they do not seem to contribute in the epidemiology of the rest of the studied infectious diseases in south-central Spain.     

Scale and system dependencies of indirect effects of large herbivores on phytophagous insects: a meta-analysis

An increasing number of studies are being conducted to examine the density- or trait-mediated indirect effects of large herbivores on phytophagous insects. However, these effects are highly context dependent and no general trends have been made clear. We conducted a meta-analysis focusing on three factors capable of affecting detection of the indirect effects of large herbivores on phytophagous insects: type of response variable, experimental scale, and characteristics of study organisms. Overall, large herbivores exerted a negative effect on insects, a trend that was prominent in studies using insect abundance as a response variable. No particular trends were observed in studies using herbivory rate as a variable, and these studies often focused on plant trait-mediated effects more than density-mediated ones. Experimental scale affected the strength of indirect effects: within-year or individual tree level experiments did not follow any trends, whereas 1–10 year experiments or 0–10 ha scale experiments show a negative impact on insects. Characteristics of large herbivores and growth forms of transmitter plants also contributed to variations in the observed effect size; negative effects were reported in livestock-grassland ecosystems and neutral effects in tree-dominated systems. There was a close association between response variable, experimental scale, and characteristics of study organisms, and these effects jointly contributed to the apparent trends. To predict the impacts of large herbivores at ecosystem level, it is necessary to eliminate these biases arising from study design and to evaluate the effect on insect densities at large spatial and temporal scales.     

Ungulate bocaparvovirus 4 and rodent bocavirus are different genotypes of the same species of virus

Bocaviruses are associated with many human infectious diseases, such as respiratory tract infections, gastroenteritis, and hepatitis. Rats are known to be reservoirs of bocaviruses, including rodent bocavirus and rat bocavirus. Recently, ungulate bocaparvovirus 4, a known porcine bocavirus, has also been found in rats. Thus, investigating bocaviruses in rats is important for determining the origin of the viruses and preventing and controlling their transmission. To the best of our knowledge, no study to date has investigated bocaviruses in the livers of rats. In this report, a total of 624 rats were trapped in southern China between 2014 and 2017. Liver and serum samples from rats were tested for the prevalence of bocaviruses using PCR. Sequences related to ungulate bocaparvovirus 4 and rodent bocavirus were detected in both liver and serum samples. Interestingly, the prevalence of ungulate bocaparvovirus 4 (reference strain:KJ622366.1) was higher than that of rodent bocavirus (reference strain:KY927868.1) in both liver (2.24% and 0.64%, respectively) and serum samples (2.19% and 0.44%, respectively). The NS1 regions of ungulate bocaparvovirus 4 and rodent bocavirus related sequences displayed over 84% and 88% identity at the nucleic acid and amino acid levels, respectively. Furthermore, these sequences had similar genomic structure, genomic features, and codon usage bias, and shared a common ancestor. These viruses also displayed greater adaptability to rats than pigs. Our results suggested that ungulate bocaparvovirus 4 and rodent bocavirus may originate from rats and may be different genotypes of the same bocavirus species.     

吉林珲春自然保护区东北虎及其猎物资源调查

中国的野生东北虎(Panthera tigris altaica)数量已降到了极低的状态,及时开展有关东北虎及其猎物资源野外调查,对了解东北虎生存现状和制定保护策略都具有重大意义.吉林珲春东北虎国家级自然保护区是我国现存东北虎活动最频繁的地区之一,为了解该保护区的东北虎及其猎物资源状况,2009～2010年冬季,采用样...     

新疆卡拉麦里山有蹄类野生动物自然保护区啮齿动物群落多样性及其与环境因子的关系

啮齿动物的群落结构受生态环境特征影响,并能反映环境变化规律。为探讨啮齿动物群落多样性及其与环境因子间的关系,利用铗捕法获得了新疆卡拉麦里山有蹄类野生动物自然保护区9种生境类型的环境因子及啮齿动物群落结构数据。2019-2020年春、夏季,共布设样地291块,有效铗日55269个,调查总面积176.875 km²,记录了啮齿类分布的12个环境因子。捕获啮齿动物419只,分属1目4科10属12种,优势种为三趾跳鼠（Dipus sagitta）和五趾跳鼠（Allactaga sibirica）,分别占捕获总个体数的34.13%和27.68%。分析结果显示,卡山自然保护区啮齿类捕获率最高的生境类型为沙漠（2.18%）;捕获鼠种的主要分布型为耐旱型（98.09%）。12个环境因子在9个生境类型中均呈极显著差异（P<0.01）,说明该保护区啮齿动物分布的生境异质性高。冗余分析表明,海拔高度、植被种类、灌木盖度和灌木高度是决定啮齿动物群落结构最主要的4个环境因子,其中植被种数与啮齿类群落多样性呈正相关,随着植被种数数值的增加,除优势度指数外,其它多样性指数随之增加。     

The non-impact of hunting on moose <Emphasis Type="Italic">Alces alces</Emphasis> movement,diurnal activity,and activity range

Previous studies on moose Alces alces have suggested that interactions with humans may trigger anti-predator behaviors and generate a demographical cost. Therefore, we hypothesized that disturbances from small and big game hunting may have negative effects on moose movements, diurnal activity, and activity range. Using location data from 64 moose equipped with GPS collars from three populations (Low Alpine, Inland, Coastal) with different temporal human presence and spatial accessibility, we evaluated the impact of hunting on moose activity rhythms. On average, female moose in the low human population density (Low Alpine) area (<0.5/km²) had significantly lower movement rates during moose hunting season, but variation in movement rates among individuals were higher compared with female moose in regions with denser human populations (6–24/km²). We found no evidence that reproductive status influenced female moose sensitivity to disturbance. As expected, females used smaller activity ranges and were less active nocturnally than males. The high within-group variation suggests that current hunting disturbance levels do not alter moose population behavior in general. Our data indicate that alterations in movement were related to rutting activity, not human disturbance induced by hunting. In line with behavioral theory, our study suggests that some individuals were more sensitive to hunting disturbance than the general population. Our work suggests that individual moose may perceive human predation risk to be similar to other predation risks.