基于红外相机技术对四川卧龙国家级自然保护区雪豹(Panthera uncia)的研究

Research on snow leopards(Panthera uncia) using camera-trapping in Wolong National Nature Reserve,China

2013年11月至2016年3月,在四川卧龙国家级自然保护区内布设20台Ltl-6210MC红外相机,对雪豹(Panthera uncia)及其同域野生动物进行研究。相机工作日7,056个,拍摄记录约12万条。雪豹的有效探测43次,相对多度指数为6.09。28个月中红外相机持续记录到雪豹,并且记录中还有幼雪豹,说明卧龙国家级自然保护区雪豹的生存状况较好。数据分析表明,雪豹年活动高峰是1月,日活动高峰为18:00–20:00,日活动节律存在季节差异。关于环境因子,雪豹偏好生境为高山流石滩,尤其常见于高山流石滩的山脊,其活动最适宜的参考温度范围为–10℃到–3℃。此外,本文提出了月相活动强度指数,用于评价夜间不同光照强度下野生动物的活动情况。结果显示,雪豹夜行能力较强,月相对其夜间活动有显著影响(P<0.01)。本研究为进一步开展雪豹及其同域野生动物的保护和研究提供了第一手资料,对全面了解雪豹的生态习性及其栖息地评价有参考意义。

Between November 2013 and March 2016, twenty Lt1-6210MC infrared-triggered camera-traps were installed in Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan, China, to monitor snow leopards（Panthera uncia） and other wildlife. A total of 7,056 camera-days of data were collected, including approximately 120,000 photos and video clips. The effective number of snow leopard samples collected by the infrared cameras was 43, and the calculated relative abundance index （RA1） for this species was 6.09. During the 28 months of continuous data collection using infrared cameras, records of snow leopards, including leopard cubs, demonstrated that Wolong National Nature Reserve is a relatively hospitable environment for this species. The analytical results indicate that the annual activity peaked in January, and the daily activity peaked between the hours of 18：00-20：00, and daily activity patterns showed seasonal variations. When considering environmental factors, the preferred habitat is the alpine scree where snow leopards appeared most in the ridge areas and the range of preferred reference temperatures for snow leopard activity was found between -10℃ and -3℃. In addition, the lunar-phase relative abundance index was originally created to assess the appearance of wildlife under different night lightness levels. It was found that the snow leopard is fairly active at night, and the lunar-phase has a significant impact on its level of nocturnal activity （P 〈 0.01）. We provided primary sources for further protection and research of snow leopards and the other wildlife. This study could be utilized to comprehensively learn the ecological characteristics and assess snow leopard habitat.