Impacts of free-ranging yaks on habitat occupancy and population density of a high-mountain rare pheasant species

IF 1.6 2区 生物学 Q1 ORNITHOLOGY Avian Research Pub Date : 2025-03-08 DOI:10.1016/j.avrs.2025.100238
Gaqie E , Yuehong Cheng , Panyan Yang , Luhong Wang , Mei Xiao , Long Zhang , Caiquan Zhou , Pinjia Que , Bin Wang
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Abstract

Free-ranging yak grazing is a regime specially adapted to high-elevation environments across the Pan-Tibetan Highlands, yet its impacts on alpine birds remain poorly understood. The Chinese Monal (Lophophorus lhuysii) is a rare pheasant species that serves as a representative and umbrella species for alpine meadow ecosystems in the mountains of Southwest China, and has long been regarded as threatened by free-ranging yaks. However, the actual impacts and specific mechanisms through which yak grazing influences Chinese Monal have not been empirically tested. Here, we conducted infrared camera monitoring in alpine meadows within the Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan, China, from 2019 to 2022. We analyzed the effects of free-ranging yaks on habitat occupancy, activity pattern, and population density of the Chinese Monal using multispecies occupancy models, kernel density estimations, avoidance attraction ratios, and random encounter models. We found that interactions with yaks affect monal habitat occupancy in conjunction with other ecological factors. Specifically, the presence of yaks alters monals’ occupancy responses to variations in grass cover and elevation, causing monals to use habitats with lower grass cover and elevation more frequently. Additionally, the activity patterns of the Chinese Monal and yaks are significantly different, and the presence of yaks significantly prolongs the time until monals re-occupy the same habitats. As an outcome of the cumulative effects of spatial and temporal avoidance, the population density of the Chinese Monal negatively correlated with increasing grazing intensity. This study provides the first empirical evidence of the negative impacts of free-ranging yaks on the Chinese Monal and elucidates the underlying mechanisms, highlighting great risks to conservation of this vulnerable species. Our findings inform the optimization of grazing management that balances production with conservation. Strict control over yak numbers and grazing areas in critical habitats for Chinese Monal and other threatened species could be a feasible compromise to mitigate these pressures.
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自由放养牦牛是一种特别适应泛西藏高原高海拔环境的放牧方式,但它对高山鸟类的影响却鲜为人知。中华秋沙鸭(Lophophorus lhuysii)是一种稀有雉科鸟类,是中国西南山区高山草甸生态系统的代表物种和保护伞物种,长期以来一直被认为受到放养牦牛的威胁。然而,牦牛放牧对莫纳尔的实际影响和具体机制尚未得到实证检验。在此,我们于2019年至2022年对中国四川卧龙国家级自然保护区内的高山草甸进行了红外相机监测。我们利用多物种占据模型、核密度估计、回避吸引比和随机相遇模型,分析了放养牦牛对中国摩纳尔栖息地占据、活动模式和种群密度的影响。我们发现,与牦牛的相互作用会与其他生态因素共同影响莫纳尔的栖息地占有率。具体来说,牦牛的存在改变了金钱豹对草覆盖率和海拔变化的占用反应,使金钱豹更频繁地使用草覆盖率和海拔较低的栖息地。此外,蒙牛和牦牛的活动模式存在显著差异,牦牛的存在大大延长了蒙牛重新占领相同栖息地的时间。作为空间和时间回避累积效应的结果,中国莫纳尔的种群密度与放牧强度的增加呈负相关。这项研究首次提供了自由放牧的牦牛对莫纳尔造成负面影响的实证证据,并阐明了其潜在机制,凸显了保护这一脆弱物种的巨大风险。我们的研究结果为优化放牧管理、平衡生产与保护提供了依据。严格控制牦牛数量和中国莫纳尔及其他濒危物种重要栖息地的放牧区,可能是减轻这些压力的可行折中方案。
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来源期刊
Avian Research
Avian Research ORNITHOLOGY-
CiteScore
2.90
自引率
16.70%
发文量
456
审稿时长
46 days
期刊介绍: Avian Research is an open access, peer-reviewed journal publishing high quality research and review articles on all aspects of ornithology from all over the world. It aims to report the latest and most significant progress in ornithology and to encourage exchange of ideas among international ornithologists. As an open access journal, Avian Research provides a unique opportunity to publish high quality contents that will be internationally accessible to any reader at no cost.
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