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Temporal and Spatial Activity Patterns of Sympatric Wild Ungulates in Qinling Mountains, China.

ABSTRACT: Dramatic increases in populations of wild ungulates have brought a new ecological issue in the Qinling mountains. Information on species' niche differentiation will contribute to a greater understanding of the mechanisms of coexistence, so as to ultimately benefit the conservation and management of ecological communities. In this study, camera trapping was used to investigate spatial and temporal activity patterns of sympatric wild ungulates in the Qinling Mountains of China, where top predators were virtually absent. We obtained 15,584 independent detections of seven wild ungulate species during 93,606 camera-trap days from April 2014 to October 2017. Results showed that (i) the capture rate differed significantly across species, with the capture rate of reeve muntjac being significantly higher than that of other species; (ii) the wild boar had a higher occupancy rates (ψ = 0.888) than other six ungulates, and distance to settlements had a negative relationship with wild boar (β = -0.24 ± 0.17); (iii) the forest musk deer and mainland serow had low spatial overlaps with other five wild ungulates, while spatial overlap indices of any two given pairs of wild ungulates were relatively high; (iv) all wild ungulates species (expect wild boar) were mainly active during crepuscular and diurnal periods, and showed bimodal activity peaks at around 05:00-07:00 and 17:00-19:00; and finally, (v) all wild ungulates showed moderate to high temporal overlaps. The results provided detailed information of the spatial and temporal ecology of wild ungulate communities in forest ecosystems of China, which also would be a guide to establish conservation priorities as well as efficient management programs.

SUBMITTER: Li J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9264793 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundHaemonchus contortus is known among parasitic nematodes as one of the major veterinary pathogens of small ruminants and results in great economic losses worldwide. Human activities, such as the sympatric grazing of wild with domestic animals, may place susceptible wildlife hosts at risk of increased prevalence and infection intensity with this common small ruminant parasite. Studies on phylogenetic factors of H. contortus should assist in defining the amount of the impact of anthropogenic factors on the extent of sharing of agents such as this nematode between domestic animals and wildlife.MethodsH. contortus specimens (n = 57) were isolated from wild blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) inhabiting Helan Mountains (HM), China and additional H. contortus specimens (n = 20) were isolated from domestic sheep that were grazed near the natural habitat of the blue sheep. Complete ITS2 (second internal transcribed spacer) sequences and partial sequences of the nad4 (nicotinamide dehydrogenase subunit 4 gene) gene were amplified to determine the sequence variations and population genetic diversities between these two populations. Also, 142 nad4 haplotype sequences of H. contortus from seven other geographical regions of China were retrieved from database to further examine the H. contortus population structure.ResultsSequence analysis revealed 10 genotypes (ITS2) and 73 haplotypes (nad4) among the 77 specimens, with nucleotide diversities of 0.007 and 0.021, respectively, similar to previous studies in other countries, such as Pakistan, Malaysia and Yemen. Phylogenetic analyses (BI, MP, NJ) of nad4 sequences showed that there were no noticeable boundaries among H. contortus populations from different geographical origin and population genetic analyses revealed that most of the variation (94.21%) occurred within H. contortus populations. All phylogenetic analyses indicated that there was little genetic differentiation but a high degree of gene flow among the H. contortus populations among wild blue sheep and domestic ruminants in China.ConclusionsThe current work is the first genetic characterization of H. contortus isolated from wild blue sheep in the Helan Mountains region. The results revealed a low genetic differentiation and high degree of gene flow between the H. contortus populations from sympatric wild blue sheep and domestic sheep, indicating regular cross-infection between the sympatrically reared ruminants.

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Temporal and Spatial Activity Patterns of Sympatric Wild Ungulates in Qinling Mountains, China.

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