Research On The Diversity Of Birds And Mammals In Wumeng Mountain National Nature Reserve,Yunnan,Based On Infrared Camera Technique

Infrared camera technology has been widely used in wildlife survey and monitoring,and plays a key role in the field of wildlife diversity,activity rhythm and distribution research.Wumeng Mountain National Nature Reserve is located between the Sichuan Basin and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau,the easternmost section of the Wumeng Mountain System,the area where the tail of Jinsha River and the head of Yangtze River meet.The unique geographical location has nurtured numerous endemic,rare,and endangered animals.At present,there is no report on bird and animal species diversity based on infrared camera technology in the reserve.In an effort to understand the species composition,diversity,distribution and activity rhythms of birds and mammals in the reserve,a survey study was conducted from August 2019 to November 2021 using infrared camera technology.A total of 181 infrared camera sites were deployed,with a total of 37,433 camera days,and 6,517 independent and valid photographs were harvested for beasts and 4,962 for birds.A total of 105 species of birds and mammals in 12 orders and 30 families were recorded,including 27 species in 5 orders and 13 families of mammals and 78 species in 7orders and 17 families of birds.A total of three species of national Class I protected animals were recorded: Viverra zibetha,Arborophila rufipectus,and Liocichla omeiensis;The reserve has recorded 28 species of Class II protected animals,including Capricornis milneedwardsii,Naemorhedus griseus,Tragopan temminckii and Lophura nycthemera,and nine endemic species in China.Compared with the original scientific records of the reserve,19 new species of birds and mammals were added in this survey.The top five mammals in the reserve in terms of species richness are: Elaphodus cephalophus,Ursus thibetanus,Dremomys pyrrhomerus,Dremomys pernyi,and Hystrix hodgsoni;the top five birds were: Lophura nycthemera,Garrulax ocellatus,Chrysolophus amherstiae,Garrulax formosus,and Tragopan temminckii.The mammal species sorenson index was 0.63,the bird species sorenson index was 0.35,and the total species sorenson index was 0.44 for the three sections of the reserve,with higher similarity for the mammal species and lower similarity for the bird and total species.The total number of species surveyed in the Chaotianma area was the highest,with 92 species(26 species of mammals and 66 species of birds),followed by the Sanjiangkou area,with 64 species(23 species of mammals and 41 species of birds),and the Haiziping area,with 36 species(13 species of animals and 23 species of birds),the lowest;the highest number of species(75 species of mammals and 49 species of birds)was recorded in the 1800-1999 m altitude range,and the lowest number of species(6 species of mammals and 3 species of birds)was recorded in the < 1200 m altitude range.The least number of species was recorded at 1200 m with 6 species(3species of mammals and 3 species of birds);the most species of mammals were recorded in the mixed evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forests(23 species),while the most species of birds were recorded in the deciduous broad-leaved forests(45 species),and the least number of species of both mammals and birds were recorded in the mixed coniferous forests(5 species of mammals and 9 species of birds).The daily activity rhythms of the Elaphodus cephalophus and Sus scrofa,the carnivorous mammals Ursus thibetanus,Prionailurus bengalensis and Paguma larvata,and the birds of the order Galliformes like Lophura nycthemera,Chrysolophus amherstiae,Tragopan temminckii and Arborophila rufipectus were studied in the reserve.The daily activity rhythms of the Elaphodus cephalophus and Sus scrofa were highly significantly different(?=0.62,P<0.01);the daily activity rhythms of the carnivorous species of Ursus thibetanus and Prionailurus bengalensis(?=0.50,P<0.01),Ursus thibetanus and Paguma larvata(?=0.23,P<0.01),Prionailurus bengalensis and Paguma larvata(?=0.70,P<0.01)were highly significantly different;the daily activity rhythms of the chicken species of Lophura nycthemera and Chrysolophus amherstiae(?=0.85,P<0.01),Chrysolophus amherstiae and Tragopan temminckii(?=0.83,P<0.01),Lophura nycthemera and Arborophila rufipectus(?=0.79,P<0.01)were highly significantly different,Lophura nycthemera and Tragopan temminckii(?=0.93,P=0.04)were significantly different,there was no significant difference between Lophura nycthemera and Arborophila rufipectus(?=0.90,P=0.50),and between Tragopan temminckii and Arborophila rufipectus(?=0.83,P=0.47).Animals within the same order(family)with the same territorial distribution reflected different degrees of differentiation in daily activity rhythms,often by altering activity peaks to mitigate competition.By comparing the daily activity rhythms in the rainy and dry seasons of some species of Artiodactyla,Carnivora and Galliformes in the reserve,it was found that the daily activity rhythms of all species,except Paguma larvata,differed significantly in both the rainy and dry seasons.Various factors such as food resources,climatic conditions,and the degree of human disturbance in the rainy and dry seasons can lead to differences in the daily activity rhythms of animals.This study deepened the understanding of bird and mammals diversity in the Wumeng Mountains National Nature Reserve,improved species cataloging,provided reference for the reserve to develop and implement the next conservation plan,and provided solid data support for more in-depth scientific research in the future.The reserve is rich in bird and mammal species,and there are many rare animals,so the relevant departments should follow up with traditional survey methods to increase the survey efforts.