Effects Of Different Land Use Patterns And Vegetation Characteristics On The Behavior Of Plateau Pikas

The trade-offs between predator pressure and food requirements can be viewed as the optimal foraging theory which is animals’ need to be gain the most energy for the lowest cost during foraging in terms of maximized animal fitness.The behavior of animals is adjusted to the animals’ physiological states and habitat changes.Based on other research results,the colonization gender,and predation risk are possibly the key factors determining the activity rhythm and time budgets of the plateau pika.However,research on how different land-use types and vegetation characteristics affect pika behavior is rare.This study focuses on the effects of different land-use type and vegetation characteristics on foraging and vigilance behaviors of Ochotona curzoniae.The study was conducted from March to July 2015,in the NianValley Rotok Township,Mozhu Gonggar County,Lhasa Prefecture,Tibet Autonomous Region.We used the focal animal sampling based on the capture-mark approach for gender identification and Poisson regression to determine if the behavioral frequencies of free-ranging Plateau Pikas were affected by vegetation characteristics and land-use type.We used the simple liner model to test the effect of land-use type on behavior and we conducted the normality and variance tests.To estimate effects on the behaviors of plateau pika as functions of different land-use types,vegetation cover,vegetation types,and dominant species of vegetation,we applied the GLM models.The aim was to provide references to the interaction between the gender of Plateau Pika with land-use type and vegetation characteristics in terms of the rational utilization of ecological fragile areas at the plateau.The main results revealed that the vigilance behavior showed a descending trend(β =﹣0.112,SE = 0.048,P <0.05)in bedding areas,while the foraging behavior showed an increasing trend(β =0.176,SE = 0.042,P <0.001).With increasing dicotyledons in the vegetation(β = 0.009,SE = 0.004,P < 0.05),the foraging behavior showed a descending trend,whereas with increasing monocotyledons(β = 0.009,SE= 0.004,P < 0.05),forage behavior showed an increasing trend.At grazing areas(β = 0.007,SE = 0.003,P < 0.05)and habitats with a higher vegetation cover(β = 0.007,SE = 0.003,P < 0.05),the vigilance behavior showed an increasing trend.Cover of Carex spp.had a positive trend with forage behavior(β = 0.023,SE = 0.006,P < 0.001),but a negative correlation with vigilance behavior(β =-0.018,SE = 0.007,P < 0.05).Suggestion: Settled grazing has had great negative impact on the alpine grassland ecosystem.It may seem that the traditional nomadic pattern is the best way to adapt to sustainable development of the alpine grassland ecosystem.