Comparison Of Locomotor Performance,Selected Body Temperature And Behavioral Rhythm Between Wild And Captive Breeding Shinisaurus Crocodilurus

Shinisaurus crocodilurus is a class I protected animal in our country.As an ancient species belonging to the monotypic genus of the Onychomyidae,S.crocodilurus has an important reference role in studying the evolutionary history of reptiles.However,in recent years,with the influence of human activities,the habitat of S.crocodilurus has been destroyed and it was illegally captured by human beings.The population of S.crocodilurus has begun to decrease sharply.In order to protect the population resources of the wild S.crocodilurus,a breeding base for captive breeding the S.crocodilurus has been established in our country.The population scale of captive breeding S.crocodilurus has been expanded,and some field release work of the S.crocodilurus has been carried out in due course.However,there is still a lack of research on the adaptability and evolutionary potential of these breeding populations.Therefore,we carries out the research work on the locomotor performance,selected body temperature and behavioral rhythm of captive breeding S.crocodilurus and wild S.crocodilurus in Daguishan Nature Reserve,Guangxi,China,aiming at providing the corresponding theoretical basis for the breeding management and scientific release of S.crocodilurus.The results were as follows:1.The comparison of locomotor performance:Two-factor analysis of variance was conducted on the running and swimming abilities of wild and captive breeding S.crocodilurus.It was found that gender factors had no significant influence on the sprint swimming speed,sprint running speed,maximum distance of continuous movement（all p>0.05）.Grouping factors（wild and captive breeding S.crocodilurus）had extremely significant effects on the sprint swimming speed(F_1,88=38.430,P<0.001)and sprint running speed(F_1,75=32.669,P<0.001).The sprint swimming speed（0.67±0.12 m/s）and sprint running speed（1.08±0.17 m/s）of wild S.crocodilurus were significantly higher than sprint swimming speed（0.51±0.10 m/s）and sprint running speed（0.83±0.16 m/s）of captive breeding S.crocodilurus.Grouping factors had no significant effect on the maximum distance of continuous movement about the two kinds of movement performance of S.crocodilurus（all P>0.05）.The interaction of gender and grouping had no significant effect on the two sports performances of S.crocodilurus（all P>0.05）.In the correlation study of the two sports performances:sprint running speed was significantly and positively correlated with the corresponding maximum continuous distance(F_1,77=6.484,R²=0.078,P=0.013);there was no significant correlation between the sprint swimming speed and the corresponding maximum distance of continuous movement(F_1,90=1.019,P=0.315);sprint swimming speed was significantly and positively correlated with sprint running speed(F_1,71=26.719,R²=0.273,P<0.001);there was no significant correlation between the maximum distance of continuous movement about the two sports performances(F_1,71=0.023,P=0.879).2.The comparison of selected body temperature:The results of two-factor analysis of variance showed that there was no significant difference in selected body temperature between the two sexes(F_1,75=1.602,P=0.209);Although the selected body temperature（27.0℃）of captive breeding S.crocodilurus is slightly higher than that of wild S.crocodilurus（26.4℃）,there is no significant difference in statistics(F_1,75=2.034,P=0.158).The interaction of sex and grouping has no significant effect on the selected body temperature of S.crocodilurus(F_1,75=0.657,P=0.42).After combining the data,the selected body temperature of S.crocodilurus was 26.74±2.08℃,and its set point temperature range was 24.00²9.30℃.Through linear regression analysis of the selected body temperature of S.crocodilurus with its snout-vent length,body weight and the exercise ability data of the corresponding individuals in the previous study,it was concluded that the selected body temperature of the experimental individuals had no significant correlation with its snout-vent length,body weight and locomotor performance（all P>0.05）.3.The comparison of summer behavioral rhythm:Through monitoring and observing the wild and captive breeding S.crocodilurus,the behavior time distribution and circadian rhythm data of the two groups of S.crocodilurus were obtained.Through analysis,it was concluded that in the allocation of behavioral time of the wild S.crocodilurus,the proportions of locomotion（1.63±0.50）,predation（0.58±0.26）,sun exposure（2.03±1.29）and other behaviors（0.65±0.20）were significantly higher than those of captive breeding S.crocodilurus locomotion（0.61±0.31）,predation（0.03±0.05）,sun exposure（0.60±1.08）and other behaviors（0.48±0.21）（all P<0.01）;There was no significant difference in resting and burrowing behaviors between wild and captive breeding S.crocodilurus populations（P>0.05）.The circadian rhythm curves of the two groups had roughly the same trend,but due to the different proportions of burrowing of the two groups at night and around 15:00 p.m.,their curves varied greatly.According to the difference of the locomotor performance and behavior rhythm between wild and captive breeding S.crocodilurus in the research results,in order to ensure the success rate of captive breeding population in the field,measures should be taken to rejuvenate the released individuals in advance,so that they can adapt to the field environment in advance and restore the required locomotor performance and behavioral rhythm in the field environment.