菲律宾Boracay岛和Mambukal岛三种共栖狐蝠对人类活动的行为和激素反应(英文)

The hormonal and behavioral response to the presence and activities of humans in three co-roosting flying fox species (Acerodon jubatus, Pteropus vampyrus and P.hypomelanus) in Boracay and Mambukal in the Philippines

栖息地丧失和捕猎导致许多大型狐蝠濒危。尽管在东半球热带地区已经禁止捕猎和采伐,狐蝠的数量仍然在下降。既能维护当地居民利益又能保护狐蝠的折衷对策是生态旅游。然而,人类活动对狐蝠的影响还是未知的。菲律宾Boracay和Mambukal都是旅游区,前者游人少而稳定,后者游人密集且变异较大。我们用非损伤取样法研究了这两个旅游区三种狐蝠的生理紧张情况。在Mambukal,当狐蝠外出采食时,采集狐蝠的粪样,实验室分析粪样肾上腺皮质激素代谢物(GCM)浓度。我们观察记录了紧张反应等一些行为,同时记录了环境因素和人类活动情况。结果表明狐蝠已经习惯了游人的活动,表现在:(1)我们发现两个旅游区游人数量和活动强度差异显著,但是两地狐蝠的行为没有明显的差异;并且在有干扰和无干扰的日期之间,狐蝠的行为也无显著差异;两个旅游区的狐蝠行为表达一致;(2)各种行为与测定的粪样GCM浓度都不相关;(3)尽管在不同研究地点人类活动变异很大,我们发现人类活动并未影响粪样GCM浓度;不过,栖息在狐蝠群中心位置个体的粪样GCM浓度低于在群外围个体的GCM浓度;(4)一些环境因素(如干扰以及与栖息群的距离)影响狐蝠一些行为(如不安、身体护理和哈欠)的表达。如果干扰没有造成狐蝠紧张反应,那么生态旅游将不失为一种保护濒危狐蝠栖息地的理想方案。不过,我们还应认识到,人类干扰对狐蝠行为的影响可能比本研究观察到的更加复杂。因此,对于保护濒危狐蝠,时刻保持干扰最小是最好的选择。

Many species of large flying foxes are endangered, mainly due to habitat loss and hunting. Although hunting and logging are prohibited in many areas in the Old World Tropics, numbers of flying foxes are still decreasing. The best compromise for the welfare of both local residents and flying foxes in many areas would be ecotourism. However, the effect of human activities on the welfare of flying foxes is unknown and needs to be investigated. Using non-invasive methods, stress levels of three species of flying foxes （Pteropus vampyrus, Pteropus hypomelanus and the endangered Acerodon jubatus） in two tourist areas in the Philippines were investigated, Boracay with little human activity, and Mambukal with intense and large variations in human activities. Fecal samples were collected in the most disturbed area, Mambukal, while the flying foxes were out foraging and concentrations of glucocorticoid metabolites （GCM） were measured. Stress-related as well as other types of behavior, environmental conditions and human activities were measured. The results suggest that flying foxes have habituated to the presence of humans. （ 1 ） We found no overall differences in behaviors between both study sites, which differed significantly in human numbers and activities, and during days with disturbance and days without disturbance. Flying foxes behaved identical in both study sites. （2） No behavior correlated with measured GCM. （3） Despite the large variation in human activities in the study site, we found no effect of human activities on glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations. However, GCM was lower in the center of the colony than in the periphery. （4） Some environmental factors like disturbance and distance from the colony center had an effect on behavioral factors like ＇uneasiness＇, ＇body care＇ and yawning. If disturbance has no effect on flying fox stress levels, ecotourism would be a good solution to preserve the habitat of endangered flying foxes. However, one has to realize that the influence of human presence on bat behavior might be more complex than outlined in this study which is based on visible bahaviors, and that disturbance should always be kept at a minimum .