The Study Of The Habitat、Burrow Features And Functions Of Plateau Pika

In this paper, the habitat geomorphic features of pika, soil properties and structural characteristics of the burrow system (the number, location, orientation, pattern, structure, etc.) were investigated in11typical distribution location of plateau pika in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture from2010to2011. The results showed that:1. The Plateau pikas prefered to topography wigh flat and wide vision, and tended to select south slop (50%) or west to south and east to south slop, due to the preference for sunny plant.2. As for as water source selection, the river with plenty and permanent water source was the first choice of plateau pika, followed was streams and lakes, the pond with small area and great seasonal variation, however, was the least one. As for the distance was concerned, the space between habitat and water source was less than500m, and mostly concentrated in50～300m.3. The soil type the plateau pika choiced was mainly the light loamy, and soil water content was10～30%.4. There was significant difference between number and orientation of the burrows. There was no correlationsh between diameter and orientation of the burrows. The burrwos leaned less than55°were concentrated in the direction of SW, SE and S, which consisting of48.6%of the total number, while the burrows leaned more than55°concentrated in the direction of NW, NE and N, consisting of52.1%of the total numbers. The temperature of burrow entrance southward were higher significantly than that of burrows entrance northward. The difference in temperature of former could reach to13.2℃, while the latter could reach to6.0℃.5. The burrow architectural feature of plateau pika was one of the adaptive choice to plateau environment. Except for the basic functions of dwelling and risc-avoiding, the construction of burrow also taken into account the trade-offs between thermal insulation and ventilation.