Project description:Rest contributes a large part of animals' daily life, and animals usually rest in two ways, standing or in recumbence. Small or medium sized ungulates bed to rest in most cases, and standing rest is very rare and hardly seen. Here we described a standing rest behavior of Tibetan antelopes (Pantholops hodgsonii) living on the Tibet Plateau which has not been reported before. We named the standing rest behavior Puppet behavior, since the antelope stand still for a certain time. Of the 304 individuals observed, 48.3% (98/203) of adult and sub-adult males expressed the Puppet behavior, whereas only 6.3% (6/96) of females did, indicating an obvious sexual difference. Puppet behavior occurred more frequently at noon and in the afternoon on sunny and cloudy days, meaning that daytime and weather were both influential factors. Puppet behavior was usually accompanied with rumination and sometimes ended with leg-shaking. Our results suggest that Puppet behavior may be an adaptive form of rest, which may serve a thermoregulatory and anti-predation function, and may be simpler and safer than recumbent rest.
Project description:To investigate genetic mechanisms of high altitude adaptations of native mammals on the Tibetan Plateau, we compared mitochondrial sequences of the endangered Pantholops hodgsonii with its lowland distant relatives Ovis aries and Capra hircus, as well as other mammals. The complete mitochondrial genome of P. hodgsonii (16,498 bp) revealed a similar gene order as of other mammals. Because of tandem duplications, the control region of P. hodgsonii mitochondrial genome is shorter than those of O. aries and C. hircus, but longer than those of Bos species. Phylogenetic analysis based on alignments of the entire cytochrome b genes suggested that P. hodgsonii is more closely related to O. aries and C. hircus, rather than to species of the Antilopinae subfamily. The estimated divergence time between P. hodgsonii and O. aries is about 2.25 million years ago. Further analysis on natural selection indicated that the COXI (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) gene was under positive selection in P. hodgsonii and Bos grunniens. Considering the same climates and environments shared by these two mammalian species, we proposed that the mitochondrial COXI gene is probably relevant for these native mammals to adapt the high altitude environment unique to the Tibetan Plateau.
Project description:Wildlife crossings are designed to mitigate barrier effects of transportation infrastructure on wildlife movement. Most efforts in evaluating crossing efficiency focus on counting animal use. However, crossings placed at suboptimal locations may alter animals' natural movement pattern and decrease population fitness, which cannot be reflected solely by counts of animal use. The long-distance migration of Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii) is directly affected by the Qinghai-Tibet Railway (QTR). Using the Wubei wildlife underpass along the QTR, we evaluated how underpass placement affects migration routes and decreases movement efficiency. We calculated the net-squared displacement of each animal to identify migration segments (wintering, calving, and migrating) based on Argos tracking data. We used two corridor modeling methods to identify optimal routes that theoretically require less energy to travel between seasonal habitats. We calculated the distance from actual migration routes recorded by Argos to the modelled optimal routes. We found that antelopes stray farther away from the optimal routes as they approach Wubei, indicating that animals have to deviate from their optimal migration pathway to access the railway underpass. On average, antelopes prolong their migration distance by 86.19 km (SEM = 17.29 km) in order to access the underpass. Our study suggests crossing location can affect animal migrations even if structures facilitate animal crossing. To better conserve long-distance migrations, long-term studies using tracking data which evaluate optimal migration routes are needed. We suggest considering the location and structural characteristics in designing and improving wildlife crossings, which do not only facilitate utilization, but also optimize animal movement processes such as migration.
Project description:Blastocystis is a protozoan that parasitizes the intestines. A number of hosts of Blastocystis have been found, including human and animals. However, there has been no research on the prevalence of Blastocystis in Tibetan antelope. Here, a molecular test was performed using 627 Tibetan antelope fecal samples collected on Tibet in China from 2019 to 2020. The result showed that 30 (4.8%) samples were Blastocystis positive. The highest prevalence of Blastocystis was in Shuanghu County (25/209, 12.0%), followed by Shenza County (2/103, 1.9%), Nyima County (3/182, 1.6%), and Baigoin County (0/133, 0.0%). In addition, logistic regression analysis showed that the gender, sampling year, and area of Tibetan antelope were risk factors for Blastocystis prevalence. Three subtypes (ST10, ST13, and ST14) of Blastocystis were found in Tibetan antelope through a subtype sequence analysis, and ST13 was identified to be the dominant subtype. This is the first investigation for the infection of Blastocystis in Tibetan antelope. Collectively, the data in this study have expanded the host range of Blastocystis and provided basic information for the distribution of Blastocystis subtypes, which could support the prevention of Blastocystis infection in wild animals.
Project description:Cryptosporidium is an enteric apicomplexan parasite, which can infect multiple mammals including livestock and wildlife. Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii) is one of the most famous wildlife species, that belongs to the first class protected wild animals in China. However, it has not been known whether Tibetan Antelope is infected with Cryptosporidium so far. The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence and characterization of Cryptosporidium species infection in Tibetan Antelope and the corresponding species by using molecular biological method. In the current study, a total of 627 fecal samples were randomly collected from Tibetan Antelope in the Tibet Autonomous Region (2019-2020), and were examined by PCR amplification of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene. Among 627 samples, 19 (3.03%, 19/627) were examined as Cryptosporidium-positive, with 7 (2.33%, 7/300) in females and 12 (3.67%, 12/327) in males. The analysis of SSU rRNA gene sequence suggested that only two Cryptosporidium species, namely, C. xiaoi and C. ubiquitum, were identified in this study. This is the first evidence for an existence of Cryptosporidium in Tibetan Antelope. These findings extend the host range for Cryptosporidium spp. and also provide important data support for prevention and control of Cryptosporidium infection in Tibetan Antelope.
Project description:Lirianthe hodgsonii is a tree species of Magnoliaceae as least concern. In the present paper, the complete chloroplast genome (cpDNA) and basic annotated information of L. hodgsonii were reported and its phylogenetic relationship with other species in Magnoliaceae was analyzed. The size of its complete cpDNA is 159,693 bp, with a typical quadripartite structure comprising a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions of 26,546 bp, a large single-copy (LSC) region of 87,848 bp and a small single-copy (SSC) region of 18,753 bp. The genome contains 131 unique genes, including 86 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis showed that L. hodgsonii is affinal to Lirianthe bidoupensis and they form a monophyletic group with other seven Lirianthe species. This Lirianthe clade is sister to the Dugandiodendron and Talauma clade with high support. All genera mentioned in this analysis are monophyletic under the system of Magnoliaceae by Sima and Lu.