Primary Research On Behavior And Food Habits Of Mongolian Gazelle Around Dalai Lake

Mongolian gazelle(Procapra gutturosa) is the most abundant herbivorous species and the endemic species on Asia-European steppe.A primaryresearch on the diet and behavior of Mongolian Gazelle have been carried out using the methods of group-scan-sampling and fecal microscopic alanalysis from November 2007 to September 2008 around DaLai Lake area inner Mongolian.The results show that:Two feeding peaks followed Mongolian Gazelle appear around morning and dusk,one to two lower peaks were around noon.The activity budgets of Mongolian gazelle on feeding, standing,moving,lying,rutting,others change significantly among the four season(P＜0.05); The activity budgets of Mongolian gazelle on feeding,standing,moving,lying,rutting,change significantly between two coterminous season(P＜0.05).The mostly reason of the different between male and female is their difference survival strategy in the rut.We identified 48 plant species in the feces of Mongolian Gazelle in the experiments, representing 33 genera and 14 families,and 35 plant species in the feces of sympatric sheep/goats in the experiments,representing 26 genera and 12 families.Seven families Gramineae Compositae Chenopodiaceae Rodaceae Leguminosae Cyperaceae and Liliaceae, were mainly foraged by Mongolian Gazelle.Food from above seven families made up about 95%of the diet of Mongolian Gazelle.Gramineae were the largest part of the diet,comprising 88.8±19.3%of the diet of Mongolian Gazelle during Spring and 45.7±10.9%during early Winter.Leguminosae constituted 9.7±6.2%of the diet of Mongolian Gazelle during Autumn,10.7±3.6%during early Winter,less during other seasons.Mongolian Gazelle gazed Compositae and Liliaceae more during winter than other seasons.Seven families Gramineae Compositae Chenopodiaceae Rodaceae Leguminosae Cyperaceae and Liliaceae, were all changen significantly during season changing(P＜0.05).Trophic niche overlap was great between Mongolian Gazelle and sheep/goats.Although interspecific competition cannot be inferred from a mere food overlap,our analyses suggest that sheep/goats are potential competitors for Mongolian gazelles.Therefore,the increase in the numbers of domestic sheep/goats might pose a risk for Mongolian gazelle populations.