不同季节鹅喉羚昼间行为时间分配特征

2007 年11 月至2008 年10 月在新疆卡拉麦里山有蹄类野生动物保护区研究了鹅喉羚的昼间行为时间分配,共观察鹅喉羚有效个体1 917 只,采集行为数据时间319.5 h,将鹅喉羚的昼间行为分为采食、移动、警戒、休息和“其它”5 类。结果表明:春季雌性5 种行为分配时间所占比例分别为67.5%、2.5%、2.7%、25.9%、1.4%,雄性分别为63.5%、3.4%、4.3%、27.5%、1.3%; 夏季,雌性:43.7%、7.7%、5.6%、42.1%、1.0%; 雄性:51.9%、1.7%、3.1%、41.4%、1.9%; 秋季,雌性:66.3%、5.1%、4.3%、23.6%、0.7%;雄性:68.9%、6.0%、4.2%、20.7%、0.3%;冬季,雌性:68.0%、5.0%、7.0%、19.6%、0.4%;雄性:29.6%、20.6%、19.2%、29.3%、1.3%。采用卡方检验、秩和检验、方差分析比较同季节不同性别各自行为时间分配、同季节雌雄间行为时间分配、同性别不同季节的行为时间分配。结果表明:四季中雌雄各自5 种行为的时间分配均存在显著差异(P>0.05);比较两性间行为时间分配发现,在春夏季,雌雄间各行为时间分配无差异(P>0.05),秋季移动差异显著(P < 0. 05),而冬季5 种行为间均差异显著(P<0.05);季节因素对雌雄行为时间分配的影响显著。鹅喉羚以特定的行为时间分配模式适应季节更替或变化的生理周期,如温度、性别、水分状况、繁殖期、哺乳期等,满足能量及营养需求。     

新疆卡拉麦里山保护区鹅喉羚的社群结构

2005年11月至2007年5月,在新疆卡拉麦里山有蹄类保护区对鹅喉羚的社群结构进行了初步研究.将其集群划分为雌性群、雄性群、亚成体群、独羚、雌雄混合群和不明群6种类型.共统计鹅喉羚564群,总计3186只.春季鹅喉羚以雄性群居多(45.7%);夏秋两季则以雌性群为主(52.9%和70.4%);冬季以混合群居多(60%).卡方独立性检验表明,四个季节间三种社群类型的百分比组成差异显著(x2=68.45,P<0.01),受繁殖周期和季节变化影响.鹅喉羚集群大小范围为1～95只,其中3只群出现最多(20.0%);2～5只的群占54.3%;6～10只的群占23.1%;11～20只的群占9.2%;>20只的群占2.3%.春夏秋冬四季平均群大小分别为(4.45±4.07;4.94±4.20;6.66±10.12;6.0±5.66),其中春季平均集群大小分别与秋季和冬季差异显著.     

种内及种间干扰对围栏内花鼠分散贮藏行为的影响

2009 年9 月在黑龙江省带岭区东方红林场10 m ×10 m 半天然围栏内模拟花鼠种内(不同性别) 和种间
(大林姬鼠) 干扰竞争对花鼠分散埋藏红松种子行为的影响。实验分四个处理两个批次进行,依次为单只花鼠对
照实验(雄性7 只,雌性9 只)、种内同性干扰竞争、种内异性干扰竞争和种间干扰竞争。结果表明:(1)花鼠
雌性个体的分散埋藏强度明显高于雄性个体;(2)种间干扰竞争引起花鼠对红松分散埋藏比例明显增加,而种
内干扰对花鼠分散埋藏行为的影响不显著;(3) 种内干扰竞争条件下,同性干扰竞争和异性干扰竞争对花鼠分
散埋藏行为均无显著影响;(4)雄性个体在同性干扰下,埋藏强度不变;而在雌性个体干扰竞争下,埋藏强度
增加;(5)雌性个体在雌性和雄性干扰条件下,花鼠分散埋藏行为均无明显变化。     

环境因子对新疆鹅喉羚群体遗传多样性的影响

环境因素在物种进化和遗传变异过程中起着非常重要的作用。为探讨新疆鹅喉羚遗传多样性与环境因子的关系,本研究采用聚合酶链式反应（PCR）和直接测序的方法,测定了新疆鹅喉羚11个群体84份样本的线粒体DNA Cyt b基因（1140 bp）和D-loop区（1100 bp）序列,分析各群体遗传多样性及环境因子对遗传多样性的影响。结果显示新疆鹅喉羚具有较高的单倍型多样性,较低的核苷酸多样性,表明其遗传多样性处于较低水平。环境因子与群体遗传多样性的相关性分析结果表明,海拔、年均降水量、年均气温、人口数量是影响新疆鹅喉羚遗传多样性的主要环境因子,其中海拔是最关键的环境因子。本研究结论为新疆鹅喉羚群体有效合理的保护与管理提供理论依据。     

雄性短尾猴个体特征与临时配偶关系研究

多雄多雌的灵长类社会群体中,性成熟的雄性和雌性形成临时性的配偶关系（Consortship）是极其显著特征,但这种关系对个体的交配和繁殖成功作用缺少深入研究。本研究以栖息于安徽黄山的短尾猴YA1群为研究对象,采用全事件取样法（All occurrences recording）、目标动物取样法（Focal animal sampling）以及行为取样法（Behavioral sampling method）记录个体间的社会行为、雄性的配偶数量和临时配偶关系的持续时间,对雄性短尾猴临时配偶关系的基本特征与适应策略进行了初步探讨。研究期间,雄性个体的顺位发生替换,在替换前后,处于高顺位的雄性个体始终拥有最多的配偶数量以及形成的临时配偶关系的持续时间最长,并且雄性个体的顺位与临时配偶关系呈正相关关系（顺位变化前：配偶数量：P = 0.010;持续时间：P = 0.014;顺位变化后：配偶数量：P = 0.032;持续时间：P = 0.035）;雄性个体的年龄与临时配偶关系无显著相关性（配偶关系：P = 0.150;持续时间：P = 0.511）;雄性个体在群体中生活的时间与临时配偶关系呈显著正相关（配偶数量：P = 0.034;持续时间：P = 0.023）;雄性个体的社会关系与临时配偶关系呈显著正相关（顺位变化前：配偶数量,P = 0.013;持续时间,P = 0.001;顺位变化后：配偶数量,P < 0.001;持续时间,P = 0.003）。研究结果表明：雄性个体的顺位、在群体中生活时间以及社会关系对临时配偶的形成起主要作用,这为进一步阐明雄性行为策略与临时配偶关系提供新的科学依据。     

道路交通对鹅喉羚昼间集群特征和警戒行为的影响

分析道路交通对濒危有蹄类动物行为模式的影响,阐明其行为反馈与适应机制,对制定道路工程干扰下濒危物种的保护方案具有重要意义。2015年和2016年6-8月,调查了国道216线白昼运营对新疆卡拉麦里山有蹄类野生动物自然保护区鹅喉羚(Gazella subgutturosa)集群特征和警戒行为的影响。研究发现,国道216线的扰动导致鹅喉羚集群规模显著增加;随着距国道216线距离越近,鹅喉羚警戒行为投入时间越多,距离道路500m可能是国道216线对鹅喉羚集群和警戒行为影响的阈值。本研究结果表明,道路带来的人为干扰与捕食风险相似,迫使鹅喉羚调节其集群规模和警戒水平。未来应加强道路等交通工程影响下保护区内野生动物的行为反馈和适应机制研究,据此提出减缓措施,降低道路对野生动物的负面影响。     

印度喜马拉雅山区西藏盘羊的警戒行为

在几个动物类群中开展的许多行为研究中发现,个体的警觉水平与群体大小存在着负相关关系。一般认为,这种关系是由于个体在一个较大的群体中被捕杀的概率小。在本研究中,我研究了濒危的印度喜马拉雅地区西藏盘羊(Ovis ammon hodgsoni)的警戒行为与群体大小和逃逸地形的关系。我假设小群体中的、位于悬崖旁的盘羊比那些大群体中的、开阔地带(逃逸地形)中的盘羊的警戒水平高。结果发现随着群体增大,盘羊的警戒水平下降,但是,逃逸地形与盘羊的警戒水平没有关系。盘羊的不同性别、年龄组之间的时间预算存在显著差异。与雄性和亚成年个体比较,雌性用于警觉的时间多,它们比雄性采食时间长,移动少。因此,警戒行为是是盘羊的一种重要反捕食行为     

卡拉麦里山保护区鹅喉羚卧息地特征的季节变化

于2007年对卡拉麦里山有蹄类保护区不同季节的鹅喉羚卧息地特征进行了研究。Mann-WhitneyU检验表明:春季鹅喉羚卧息地植物高度明显高于对照地(Z=2.27,P<0.05),驼绒藜密度、灌木盖度和地上生物量极显著高于对照地(Z=2.85,Z=3.29,Z=2.98,P<0.01);夏季鹅喉羚卧息地植物高度和单位面积地上生物量明显高于对照地(Z=2.06,Z=2.97,P<0.05);秋季鹅喉羚卧息地植物种数明显高于对照地(Z=2.52,P<0.05),灌木盖度和植物高度极显著高于对照地(Z=5.22,Z=4.58,P<0.01)。主成分分析表明,春夏秋3季影响鹅喉羚卧息地选择的主要环境因子是食物、隐蔽条件和环境温度。单因素方差分析表明,鹅喉羚卧息地特征在季节间有显著差异,以春季和夏季、春季和秋季最为明显。食物资源和环境温度的变化是导致鹅喉羚卧息地特征季节性变化的主要因素。鹅喉羚卧息地选择与其自身的体温调节有一定关系。     

艾比湖湿地自然保护区鹅喉羚生境适宜性评价

鹅喉羚是易危物种之一,利用现代空间分析技术快速准确评价其生境质量具有方法学意义和动物保护实际价值。以新疆艾比湖湿地自然保护区为评价区,通过全年不同季节多点野外调查,结合GIS空间分析技术,对鹅喉羚的生境影响因素进行分析并进行了适宜性评价。主要结果与结论如下:1)构建了适宜于研究区的基于植被类型和水源地为主要评价因子的鹅喉羚生境适宜性评价指标;2)通过空间数据统计分析认为水源和植被是影响保护区鹅喉羚生境质量的重要因素,距水源地2000 m以内的胡杨、梭梭、柽柳群落最适合鹅喉羚的生存,距水源2000—5500 m的区域为水源的中度适合区域,距水源5500 m以外植被稀少的地区不适宜鹅喉羚的生存;3)研究区域鹅喉羚生境面积春季为2339 km2,夏季为2880 km2,秋季为2728 km2,冬季为2862 km2,分别占研究区域总面积的61.5%、75.6%、71.7%和75.2%;4)目前在保护区内活动的人群主要为保护区的管理人员,人类活动地区与鹅喉羚生存环境空间上具有重叠性,但人类活动强度尚没有显著影响到鹅喉羚的生存,保护区的存在为鹅喉羚的生存起到了重要保护作用;5)由于保护区上中游人类的生产与开发,保护区水资源不断减少,主要表现为地表水减少,地下水位下降,这可能成为影响鹅喉羚生境质量的主要因素。今后需要优化保护区内水资源的配置,尽量减少人类活动对鹅喉羚的干扰,以有利于鹅喉羚的生存繁衍。     

冬季鹅喉羚昼间行为时间分配及活动节律

2007年12月,采用目标动物取样法在卡拉麦里山有蹄类自然保护区观察鹅喉羚冬季昼间行为。将鹅喉羚的行为分为采食、警戒、休息、移动和“其他”5种类型,各类行为所占比例雌羊为68.0%、7.0%、19.6%、5.0%、0.4%,采食行为消耗的时间最多,“其他”行为消耗时间最短,雄羊为29.6%、19.2%、29.3%、20.6%、1.3%,采食行为所消耗时间仍占最多,但较雌羊已大幅减少。无论雌雄,各行为在10 min观察期内所占据平均时间均存在极显著差异(P<0.01);除“其他”行为在10 min观察期内所占据平均时间性别间差异不显著外,雌雄其余4类行为间差异均极显著(P<0.01)。雌羊采食行为存在3个高峰,分别在11:00—12:00、13:00—14:00和17:00—18:00;移动高峰出现在13:00—15:00和18:00—19:00;警戒最高峰出现在13:00—14:00;休息行为表现为双峰形,分别在12:00—13:00和16:00—17:00。雄羊采食行为也有3个高峰,分别在10:00—11:00、13:00—14:00和17:00—18:00,但不如雌性明显;移动行为在13:00—14:00和18:00—19:00有2个高峰;警戒行为在13:00—14:00和18:00—19:00出现小的高峰;休息在15:00—16:00达到最高峰。雌性鹅喉羚采食、移动、警戒、休息行为在各个时段差异均显著,而雄性则是采食和警戒存在显著差异。     

Interactions among social monitoring,anti-predator vigilance and group size in eastern grey kangaroos

Group size is known to affect both the amount of time that prey animals spend in vigilance and the degree to which the vigilance of group members is synchronized. However, the variation in group-size effects reported in the literature is not yet understood. Prey animals exhibit vigilance both to protect themselves against predators and to monitor other group members, and both forms of vigilance presumably influence group-size effects on vigilance. However, our understanding of the patterns of individual investment underlying the time sharing between anti-predator and social vigilance is still limited. We studied patterns of variation in individual vigilance and the synchronization of vigilance with group size in a wild population of eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) subject to predation, in particular focusing on peripheral females because we expected that they would exhibit both social and anti-predator vigilance. There was no global effect of group size on individual vigilance. The lack of group-size effect was the result of two compensating effects. The proportion of time individuals spent looking at other group members increased, whereas the proportion of time they spent scanning the environment decreased with group size; as a result, overall vigilance levels did not change with group size. Moreover, a degree of synchrony of vigilance occurred within groups and that degree increased with the proportion of vigilance time peripheral females spent in anti-predator vigilance. Our results highlight the crucial roles of both social and anti-predator components of vigilance in the understanding of the relationship between group size and vigilance, as well as in the synchronization of vigilance among group members.     

Vigilance and Collective Detection of Predators in Degus (Octodon degus)

Individuals of social and partially social species typically reduce their vigilance activity when foraging in groups. As a result, per capita risk of predation decreases and individuals allocate more time to foraging and other fitness rewarding activities. Reduction of per capita risk is hypothesized to occur because there are more individuals to detect potential predators. If so, collective (i.e. total) vigilance is expected to increase with foraging group size. Increased surveillance during group foraging may occur if group members scan independently of one another, or sequentially to avoid the overlapping of their vigilance bouts. Intriguingly, such coordinated vigilance assumes that individuals monitor not only the presence, but the vigilance behaviour of group mates. We used seasonal records on time budget and grouping patterns of individually marked degus (Octodon degus), a social rodent, to examine if (a) individual vigilance decreases and/or foraging increases with group size, (b) collective vigilance increases with group size and (c) foraging degus coordinate their vigilance. When foraging, degus decreased their individual vigilance and increased their foraging time when in larger groups. Despite this, degus in larger groups increased their collective vigilance, supporting the hypothesis that socially foraging degus decrease predation risk through an improved ability to detect and escape potential predators. Additionally, patterns of collective vigilance suggested that degus scan independently of each other and so, they do not coordinate their vigilance to prevent its temporal overlapping. This finding does not support that foraging degus monitor the vigilance activity of group mates.     

The effects of flock size and human presence on vigilance and feeding behavior in the Eurasian Coot (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Fulica atra</Emphasis> L.) during breeding season

Group size influences individual vigilance in different bird species. Most studies have shown that animals spend more time for feeding and less time on vigilance when in groups. Apart from group size, additional factors, such as group density, age, sex, and season, are considered to influence vigilance behaviors. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of flock size and human presence on vigilance and feeding in the Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra) during the breeding season. This work was performed in Yorukkirka Lake (Eskisehir, Turkey) from March to August 2005. No correlation was found between flock size and vigilance rates during either human absence or presence. On the other hand, when comparing behavioral differences between human presence and absence, humans appeared to have an important negative effect on vigilance rates, vigilance duration, and feeding behavior, regardless of flock size.     

Vigilance and group size in impala (Aepyceros melampus Lichtenstein): a study in Nairobi National Park, Kenya

One of the advantages of living in groups is that individuals may need to be less vigilant, allowing them more time for other important activities, such as foraging. This relationship between group size and per cent time spent being vigilant was investigated by observing impala in Nairobi National Park, Kenya. Three types of individual were observed: females, territorial males and bachelor males. Only females showed the predicted negative relationship between per cent vigilance and herd size. Both types of male showed no significant change of vigilance with increasing group size. There was no difference in levels of vigilance in open or closed habitats and no difference in vigilance between herds ‘alone’ and herds with other species that might have provided ‘extra eyes’.     

The group size effect and synchronization of vigilance in the Tibetan wild ass

Vigilance behavior is considered as an effective strategy for prey species to detect predators.An individual benefits from living in a group by reducing the time spent being vigilant without affecting the probability of detecting a predator.However,the mechanism producing a decrease in vigilance with increasing group size is unclear.Many models of vigilance assume that group members scan independently of one another.Yet in recent studies,the other 2 patterns of vigilance,coordination and synchronization,were reported in some species.In 2 summers(2018 and 2019),we studied the group-size effect on vigilance and foraging of Tibetan wild ass in Chang Tang Nature Reserve of Tibet.We also tested whether individuals scan the environment independently,tend to coordinate their scans,or tend to synchronize their vigilance.The results showed that individuals decreased the time spent on vigilance with increasing group size,while increased the time spent foraging.Group members scanned the environment at the same time more frequently and there was a positive correlation between group members'behaviors,indicating that Tibetan wild asses tend to synchronize their vigilance.     

Effect of Group Size on Individual and Collective Vigilance in Greater Rheas

We studied the effect of group size on the proportion of time that greater rheas, Rhea americana, allocated to vigilance and feeding during the non‐breeding season. We tested whether: (1) the proportion of time that one bird allocates to vigilance (individual vigilance) decreases with group size, and (2) the proportion of time that at least one bird of the group is vigilant (collective vigilance) increases with group size. We analyzed video‐recordings of birds that were foraging alone or in groups from two to 12 birds. The proportion of time allocated to individual vigilance decreased and the proportion of time spent feeding increased with group size. In both cases the main significant difference was between birds foraging alone and in groups. Collective vigilance did not vary with group size and it was lower than expected if vigilance bouts were random or sequential. Our results indicate that rheas foraging in large groups would not receive the benefit of an increase in collective vigilance, although they could still benefit from a reduction of predation risk by the dilution effect.     

Influences of sex,group size,and spatial position on vigilance behavior of Przewalski’s gazelles

Group-living animals may need to spend less time being vigilant, consequently, having more time for other important activities such as foraging (i.e., group size effect). Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii) is a group-living social animal, and a study was conducted in Qinghai Province of China during June–August 2006 by using a continuous focal sampling method to investigate the influences of group size, sex, within-group spatial position, and nearest-neighbor distance on individual vigilance level (defined as scanning frequency per minute). Male gazelles were more vigilant than females. The gazelle’s vigilance level decreased with group size (group size effect), but only for females. The individuals at the central positions within a group were less vigilant than those at the peripheral positions, but the nearest-neighbor distance did not have any significant influence on the individual vigilance level. Our results support the hypotheses of group size effect and edge effects, but the sexual difference in vigilance level and in the response to group size effect on vigilance suggests that there may be sexual difference in the function and targets of vigilance behavior of Przewalski’s gazelles, which warrants more investigation, with incorporation of within-group spatial position, to better understand the mechanism underlying the group size effect and edge effect.     

Human Activity Dampens the Benefits of Group Size on Vigilance in Khulan (Equus hemionus) in Western China

Animals receive anti-predator benefits from social behavior. As part of a group, individuals spend less time being vigilant, and vigilance decreases with increasing group size. This phenomenon, called “the many-eyes effect”, together with the “encounter dilution effect”, is considered among the most important factors determining individual vigilance behavior. However, in addition to group size, other social and environmental factors also influence the degree of vigilance, including disturbance from human activities. In our study, we examined vigilance behavior of Khulans (Equus hemionus) in the Xinjiang Province in western China to test whether and how human disturbance and group size affect vigilance. According to our results, Khulan showed a negative correlation between group size and the percentage time spent vigilant, although this negative correlation depended on the groups’ disturbance level. Khulan in the more disturbed area had a dampened benefit from increases in group size, compared to those in the undisturbed core areas. Provision of continuous areas of high-quality habitat for Khulans will allow them to form larger undisturbed aggregations and to gain foraging benefits through reduced individual vigilance, as well as anti-predator benefits through increased probability of predator detection.     

Vigilance Patterns of Territorial Guanacos (Lama guanicoe): The Role of Reproductive Interests and Predation Risk

We conducted focal observations of territorial guanacos, a highly polygynous and social mammal, to compare time budgets between sexes and test the hypothesis that the differences in reproductive interests are associated with differential group size effects on male and female time allocation patterns. In addition, we used group instantaneous sampling to test the hypothesis that grouping improves detection capacity through increased collective vigilance. We fit GLM to assess how group size and group composition (i.e., presence or absence of calves) affected individual time allocation of males and females, and collective vigilance. As expected from differences in reproductive interests, males in family groups devoted more time to scan the surroundings and less to feeding activities compared to females. Both sexes benefited from grouping by reducing the time invested in vigilance and increased foraging effort, according to predation risk theory, but the factors affecting time allocation differed between males and females. Group size effects were significant when females were at less than five body‐lengths from their nearest neighbour, suggesting that grouping benefits arise when females are close to each other. Female time budgets were also affected by season, topography and vegetation structure. In contrast to our expectation, males reduced the time invested in vigilance as the number of females in the group increased, supporting the predation risk theory rather the intrasexual competition hypothesis. The presence of calves was associated with an increase in male individual vigilance; and vegetation type also affected the intensity of the group size effect over male time allocation. In closed habitats, collective vigilance increased with the number of adults but decreased with the number of calves present. Although male and female guanacos differed in their time allocation patterns, our results support the hypothesis that both sexes perceive significant antipredator benefits of group living.     

Yellow-Footed Rock-Wallaby Group Size Effects Reflect A Trade-Off

As group size increases, individuals of many species modify the time allocated to anti-predator vigilance and foraging. Group size effects can result from a reduction in predation risk or from an increase in competition as a function of aggregation. Anti-predator models of vigilance and foraging group size effects both predict a non-linear relationship between group size and time allocation. Linear relationships between group size and time allocation may reflect the modification of such relationships by intraspecific interference competition for limited resources, which would reveal a fundamental cost of sociality. We studied the degree to which group size effects in the yellow-footed rock-wallaby ( Petrogale xanthopus , a macropodid marsupial) were non-linear. Like several other macropods, yellow-footed rock-wallabies foraged more and looked less as group size increased. Variation in vigilance was best explained by the number of conspecifics within 10 m–a distance substantially less than the 30–50 m often used to quantify group size in macropodids. Linear regressions explained more variation than non-linear ones, suggesting that wallabies traded-off the benefits of aggregation with the costs of competition. Moreover, dominant yellow-foots looked less and tended to forage more than subordinate animals. We hypothesize that competition may be relatively more important in the life-histories of yellow-footed rock-wallabies than those of other macropodid marsupials.