东北鼢鼠活动强度及其与土壤温度和湿度的关系

动物的活动节律是对环境条件的综合适应,营地下生活的啮齿动物常年栖息于相对低氧和黑暗的土壤环境,其活动节律及强度如何受栖息地土壤温度和湿度影响,是否具有性别差异特征,一直受到广泛关注.这种影响的结果能够较为客观地反映出地下生活啮齿动物对其栖息地长期适应的生活史策略.东北鼢鼠(Myospalax psilurus)是我国北...

Activity pattern of Transbaikal zokor(Myospalax psilurus) and its relationship with soil temperature and humidity

The activity rhythm of animals is a comprehensive adaptation to environmental conditions.Subterranean rodents live in relatively low oxygen and dark environment all year round.How their activity rhythm and intensity are affected by soil temperature and humidity of their habitat, and whether there are gender differences, has received extensive attention.The influence of these factors can objectively reflect the long-term life-history strategies of subterranean rodents to adapt to their habitats.Transbaikal zokor (Myospalax psilurus) is a dominant rodent species in the meadow steppe of northern China.It is very important to study the diurnal and seasonal activity intensity of zokor and their relationships with soil temperature and humidity for understanding its survival and reproductive strategies and ecological controlling factors.This study was conducted in May(spring), July(summer), and September(autumn) of 2016 and 2017 in the meadow grassland of Hulunbeier city, Inner Mongolia, China, using radio-tracking methods to monitor the diurnal and seasonal activity intensity of Transbaikal zokor.We analyzed the daily activity intensity and sex differences among zokor in different seasons, and the relationships between activity intensity and soil temperature and soil relative humidity were analyzed.The results showed that(1) the daily activity rhythm of zokor was unimodal.The activity peak appeared from night to morning in different seasons, and the duration of peak activity varied between seasons:12 hours in spring, 7 hours in summer and 6 hours in autumn.There was no significant difference in the daily and seasonal activity intensity between male and female individuals, which exhibited a high synchronization.(2) The activity intensity of zokor was significantly correlated with soil temperature(P<0.01).The activity intensity of zokor was highest when soil temperature was at 7℃-10℃(20:00 to 08:00 the next day) in spring, 17℃-22℃(20:00 to 03:00 the next day) in summer and 10℃-12℃(22:00 to 04:00 the next day) in autumn, and then gradually decreased with increasing soil temperature.There was no significant correlation between activity intensity and soil relative moisture.