Study On Diet Habit And Daytime Activity Of Semi-dispersed Saiga Tatarica In Gansu Endangered Animal Protection Center

Saiga tatarica is one of the first-class protected wildlife in China.China is one of the countries of origin of Saiga tatarica.In the 1960 s,Saiga tatarica became extinct in China.At present,there is only one reintroduced artificial population in Gansu Enda ngered Animal Protection Center,and the number fluctuates around 100.The purpose o f artificial breeding of Saiga tatarica in China is to release Saiga tatarica into the wil d at a certain time and rebuild the wild population.In this study,we went to the Gansu Endangered Animal Protection Center in April-May,June-July,and September-October 2018 to study the diet composition and behavi or of saiga tatarica.The diet composition of saiga tatarica in summer and autumn we re analyzed by fecal microscopy.The diurnal behavior of saiga tatarica in spring,sum mer and autumn was studied by scanning sampling method.Semi-distributed Saiga tatarica in Gansu Endangered Animal Protection Center are fed with 11 families and 31 species of plants in summer and autumn.Among them,Saiga tatarica are fed with 11 families and 29 species of plants in summer,mainly Medicago sativa(16.32%),Stipa glareosa(13.28%),Onobrychis viciaefolia(12.79%),Artemisia desertorum(11.87%),and Vicia villosa(7.19%)and so on.In autumn,Saiga tatarica are fed with 10 families 27 species of plants,mainly Medicago sativa(17.05%),Vicia villosa(14.41%),Atriplex sibirica(7.73%),Stipa glareosa(7.21%),Sophora alopecuroides(6.58%),Onobrychis viciaefolia(6.37%),Artemisia desertorum(5%).The proportion changed among various families of plants that Saiga tatarica consumed,but in two seasons,Saiga tatarica mainly consumes Leguminosae,Gramineae,Chenopodiaceae and Compositae,for other families the consumption is not big.The ranking of various behaviors between male and female in accordance with time tends to be consistent in the spring,summer and autumn three seasons,the proportion from The highest to the lowest is feeding activity > moving activity > standing activity > resting activity > other activity> drinking activity,but the proportion of time spent on various behaviors is different.Mann-Whitney U was used to test the seasonal differences in the time allocation of day behavior between male and female saiga tatarica in spring,summer and autumn.The results showed that there were significant differences between male and female saiga tatarica in the time allocation of drinking behavior and other behaviors in spring(P < 0.05).In addition,there were no significant differences between male and female saiga tatarica in other behaviors in each season(P > 0.05).Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to test the activity rhythm of male and female saiga tatarica in spring,summer and autumn.The results showed that other activities of female saiga tatarica have significant differences in different seasons(P<0.05),There are no significant differences in feeding activity,drinking activity,standing activity,resting activity and moving activity in different seasons(P>0.05).The moving activity of male saiga tatarica have significant differences in different seasons(P<0.05).There are no significant differences in feeding activity,drinking activity,standing activity,resting activity and other activities in different seasons(P>0.05).The research and analysis of semi-distributed Saiga tatarica on the feeding habits in summer and autumn and its diurnal behavior in spring,summer and autumn provide some references for future population division and natural site selection of Saiga tatarica,and fill in the blank.