Wild Horse Musk Deer Habitat Selection, Functional

Musk deer (Moschus spp.) are well known for the production of musk, a widely used ingredient in traditional Asian medicine and the international perfume industry which is secreted only by the adult male. Musk deer are endangered due to historic over-utilization of musk and habitat loss and habitat protection has been identified as one of the most important ways of conserving wild musk deer. From September2009to August2011, habitat selection and use patterns of Alpine musk deer(Moschus sifanicus) were studied using both line-and strip-transect surveys in Xinglongshan National Nature Reserve in northwestern China. The results are as follows.1. Thirteen ecological factors were quantified in141random plots and67urine-marking sites (including32centralized urine-marking sites and35dispersive urine-marking sites) of alpine musk deer(Moshus sifanicus) in spring in Xinglongshan National Nature Reserve in north-western China. The ecological characteristics were compared between two types of habitats. The results showed that compared with random plots, musk deer preferred spring habitats with higher slope, higher grassland canopy, lower altitude and lower shrub height, moreover, deer tended to inhabit the mid to upper reaches of south-facing slopes with lower water dispersion and disturbance.Compared with musk deer dispersive urine-marking sites, musk deer centralized urine-marking sites were found in areas with a higher slope gradient, higher grassland cover but lower shrub height. The principal component analysis showed that such factors as "vegetation factor","altitude factor","food factor","slope gradient factor" and "disturbance factor" were the most important ecological factors influencing the habitat selection of alpine musk deer in spring.2. Summer habitat selection of musk deer was studies during July and August2011.In total,147random sites and61urine-marking sites (including30centralized urine-marking sites and31dispersive urine-marking sites; of which44were utilized by adult musk deer and17by newborns) were surveyed and the recorded habitat characteristics were compared between two habitat types. The results showed preferred summer habitats had higher slope gradient and grassland cover, lower shrub cover and height, higher food-plants abundance and lower water dispersion than randomly selected habitats. Compared with adult musk deer, newborn musk deer preferred areas with higher concealment potential, greater shrub cover and lower slope gradient. Furthermore, the PCA results showed that the factors such as "geographic factor","disturbance factor"," concealment factor" and "aspect factor" influence the summer habitat selection patterns of alpine musk deer in Xinglongshan National Nature Reserve.3. Autumn habitat selection of musk deer was surveyed during September and October2010, using twelve ecological factors recorded in121random plots and87used sites (including53centralized urine-marking sites and34dispersive urine-marking sites) to differentiate between the randomly selected plots and plots known to be used by musk deer. The results showed that musk deer preferred autumn habitats with higher altitude, lower shrub cover and shrub height, and moreover that urine-marking sites of musk deer tended to be in habitats on mid to upper slopes with lower water dispersion and no disturbance dispersion. The principal component analysis showed that the "shrub factor" is the most important factor influencing musk deer habitat selection in autumn, which was also influenced by such factors as "slope position factor" and "slope gradient factor".4. Winter habitat preferences were examined between December2010andJanuary2011, using fourteen ecological factors quantified in140random plots and68used plots (including33centralized urine-marking sites and35dispersive urine-marking sites). The results showed that in winter musk deer selected urine-marking sites with lower altitude and shrub height, and intended to select shrub habitat on south-facing, mid to lower slopeswith shallower snowand less water dispersion. The principal component analysis showed that such factors as "shrub factor","disturbance factor",'aspect factor","snow factor" and "vegetation factor" were the most important ecological factors influencing the habitat selection of alpine musk deer in winter.5. Overall,283habitat plots with known musk deer presence were sampled between2009to2011(spring,67; summer,61; autumn,87; winter,68) in Xinglongshan National Nature Reserve. Twelve ecological variables such as altitude and food abundance were measured in each season.The ecological variables were compared to determine the seasonal characteristics of habitat selection. There were significant (P<0.05) seasonal differences in such variables as slope gradient, altitude, shrub height, concealment, slope position, vegetation type, base characteristics, disturbance and water dispersion. No significant seasonal differences were found in shrub canopy, aspect or food abundance.