| Gansu zokor(Myospalax cansus Lyon) named “xia xia” or “ xia hui”, which lives on the Loess Plateau in our country. Gansu zokor is a kind of the mainly farmland underground rodents, belonging to the Cricetidae, Myospalacinae. Gansu zokor is the small mammal which lives alone strictly in its own burrow throughout its life. To maintain life, Gansu zokor mainly by browsing plant roots, stems, leaves or other plant organs. Gansu zokor eats a lot, which brings about great difficulties for the famers and forestry workers on their work. Because of living in the underground, it is very difficult to get the law of life about Gansu zokor or to control them. This study simulated the living environment of Gansu zokor in the laboratory from April 2014 to September 2015, meanwhile explored the daily activity rhythm of Gansu zokor, diet selection and the prevention methods of Gansu zokor. This research aimed at understanding the daily activity rhythm of Gansu zokor better, putting forward the more suitable, simpler and more efficient methods of prevention on Gansu zokor. The results showed that: 1. Research on the daily activity rhythm of the cub of Gansu zokor.This research presented a study of the daily activity rhythm of the cub of Gansu zokor before ablactation in the laboratory condition. The research showed that: there were obvious periodicities of the types of behaviors of the cub of Gansu zokor. These types would increase stage by stage. The major behaviors were sucking, sleeping and smelling during the first stage. Creeping was arisen in the second stage. The digging behavior was emerged in the third stage then playing and walking behavior were arisen in the fourth stage. There were some other behaviors in the fifth stage, such as garnering food, browsing, peeking and grooming. There were different daily activity rhythms of the cubs among stages. Among the five stages within 24 h, the duration of sleeping and eating(including sucking and grooming) was higher than the duration of the other behavior’s, they were 96.12%, 82.41%, 73.35%, 66.24%, 47.57% successively. The kinds of behaviors of the cubs during the fifth stage were similar to the kinds of the adult Gansu zokor.There was a peak of activity as well as two secondary peak, followed by 7:00, 12:30, 19:00.The major behaviors in the activity peak were digging, walking, eating, garnering food and playing etc. 2. Research on the daily activity rhythm of the adult Gansu zokor.This study explored the daily activity rhythm of the adult Gansu zokor which seized in the local farmland and forestry. This research compared the differences between male and female. The results showed that the Gansu zokor had obvious daily activity rhythms, whose diurnal activities were less than nocturnal activities. Gansu zokor always sleeps in the daytime. The percentage of sleeping during 24 hours was the highest, which was 67.96% in total. There were some differences between male and female about activity about daily activities. The percentage of sleeping, walking, digging, peeking on female was lower than the male’s in a day. The percentages of these activities were 67.03%, 4.20%, 6.93%, 1.65% successively. While the percentage of browsing, smelling, grooming, scratching, garnering food, nesting, defecation on female was higher than that on male in a day. The percentages were 11.91%, 2.74%, 1.84%, 0.90%, 1.09%, 1.13%, 0.57% successively. There were some differences between female and male about the types of reproductive behavior. The female’s reproductive behaviors mainly include empathema, copulation, fostering(including breast-feeding, taking care of cubs, reprehension and demonstrating).While the male’s reproductive behaviors only include empathema and copulation. 3. Analyzed the contents of plants browsed by Gansu zokor and significant differences between the plants which Gansu zokor like to browse.This experiment analyzed the contents of plants which were browsed by Gansu zokor, meanwhile compared the otherness between the plants which Gansu zokor like to browse or not by artificial feeding and direct observation. The results showed that Gansu zokor eats all the plants which are nontoxic. There were more than thirty families, seventy species of local plants for statistical analysis. There were differences between the preferences of plants. And there were significant differences between the consumptions of alfalfa palatability(Medicago sativa L.) and the 9 kinds of plants which Gansu zokor like to browse both in 0.01 and 0.05. The mostly plants which Gansu zokor browsed have medicinal values, which may result in the medicinal value of Gansu zokor. 4. The feeding coefficient of common crops.In order to effectively explore the degree of harm which results from the Gansu zokor on crops, this paper compared 6 kinds of crops which were sweet potato(Ipomoea batatas L.), potato(Solanum tuberosum L.), foxtail millet seedlings(Setaria italic L.), buckwheat seedlings(Fagopyrum esculentum Moench), corn seedlings(Zea mays L.) and alfalfa palatability(Medicago sativa L.) in the simulation of the natural environment of gansu zokor by indoor breeding artificially. The results showed that the feeding coefficient of Gansu zokor on sweet potato was much higher than the other five kinds of crops, palatability was the best; The difference between potato and alfalfa was not significant, but the feeding coefficient between potato and alfalfa was higher than that of millet seedlings and corn seedlings; The minimum of buckwheat seedlings feeding coefficient, palatability was the worst. This will help the famers and the forestry workers to prevent or cure the zokor extensively by selecting the low cost, strong palatability of crops as baits, then improve the efficiency of prevention. 5. A device for controlling of Gansu zokor.A simple and efficient device was explored for controlling of Gansu zokor from July 2014 to September 2015. This device was installed in the ditch around two farmlands interplanted apple trees(Malus pumila Mill) which were encroached continually by Gansu zokors. From the device installed completely on July fifth, 2014 to April 2015, there were 35 zokors captured by the device. From then on, there was no zokor in the farmland and the next year there was no crop found to be browsed. That was to say the device on the control of zokors got significant effects. |
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