Monitoring Of Mammals And Birds In Guizhou Dashahe National Nature Reserve By Infrared Camera Method

In order to monitor the species diversity,spatial distribution and activity rhythms of terrestrial mammals and ground-dwelling birds in the Dashahe National Nature Reserve in Guizhou,this article uses infrared cameras to record the data from January 8,2016 to April 25,2020.114 monitoring sites were set up in the Dashahe Nature Reserve,the camera working days totaled 26,251 days,and a total of 9,859 independent valid photos were obtained,including 6,716 independent valid photos of mammals and 3,143 independent valid photos of birds.Using mathematical statistics,the relative abundance index,nocturnal index,daily activity rhythm of birds and mammals,daily activity rhythm under different altitude gradients,and selection of vegetation types were statistically analyzed.The main findings are as follows:(1)A total of 25 species of mammals have been recorded,belonging to 5 orders and 11 families.Among them,Trachypithecus francoisi and Viverricula indica are national first-class key protected wild animals,and Macaca mulatta,Prionailurus bengalensis,and Elaphodus cephalophus are national second-class key protected wild animals.A total of 68 species of birds were recorded,belonging to 7 orders and 20 families.Among them,Syrmaticus reevesii is national first-class key protected wild animal,Spilornis cheela,Accipiter trivirgatus,Tragopan temminckii,Chrysolophus pictus,Strix aluco,Garrulax ocellatus,Garrulax poecilorhynchus,Garrulax canorus,Garrulax ellioti,Garrulax milnei,Leiothrix lutea,and Latoucheornis siemsseni are the second-class national key protected wild animal.Compared with the list of scientific research conducted by the reserve using traditional survey methods,3 species of mammals and 32 species of birds are newly recorded in this reserve.Among them,4 species of birds are national second-class key protected wild animals.(2)Among the 25 species of mammals,the top 5 mammals with independent effective photos and relative abundance index are Muntiacus reevesi,Dremomys pyrrhomerus,Sus scrofa,Paguma larvata and Macaca mulatta.,and the number of independent effective photos and relative richness index ranks the top 5 birds are Chrysolophus pictus,Tragopan temminckii,Myophonus caeruleus,Leiothrix lutea and Turdus boulboul.(3)Temperature and human activities are important factors that affect wildlife activities.Muntiacus reevesi,Sus scrofa,Macaca mulatta,Leiothrix lutea and Garrulax milnei are diurnal animals.Paguma larvata and Prionailurus bengalensis are nocturnal animals.The Muntiacus reevesi will obviously reduce the activity frequency between 10:00 to 16:00,Leiothrix lutea and Garrulax milnei between 10:00 to 12:00,indicating that these animals may avoid the noon high temperature to prevent water loss,or certain human activities in the reserve during the period of 10:00 to 14:00 cause the reduction of the frequency of wildlife activities.Or they have the habit of taking a lunch break.(4)The same species has different activity frequencies at different altitude gradients.The Muntiacus reevesi,Sus scrofa and Paguma larvata all reach the maximum number of independent effective photos(No.independent photography,NI)value of each camera at an altitude gradient of 1 400-1 600 m.Above this altitude range,the average NI value of each camera of these three animals reduce significantly,which indicates that these three species may be more inclined to be active in the above-mentioned altitude range.(5)The difference in habitat may be an important reason for the different distribution of birds and mammals.The habitat relative abundance index HRAI under different vegetation types shows that mammals prefer to choose coniferous forest,and birds prefer to choose bamboo.The reason may be that the habitats of coniferous forests and bamboo forests are more concealed,and the food composition is more diverse,which can provide habitat and food for more mammals and birds,making the relative abundance index of mammals and birds differs.Through this investigation,3 species of mammals and 32 species of birds were newly recorded in the nature reserve.The remaining 23 species of mammals accounted for 38.60%of the original list of mammals(57 species)in the reserve,and 36 species of birds accounted for 20.69%of the the original list of birds(174 species).The research results provide a reliable basis for the formulation and implementation of protection plans in the reserve.