基于红外相机调查上海市区小灵猫的活动节律、栖息地利用及其对人类活动的响应

Diel activity,habitat utilization,and response to anthropogenic interference of small Indian civets(Viverricula indica)in Shanghai urban areas based on camera trapping

快速的城市化进程使城市生物多样性保护面临巨大挑战。小灵猫(Viverricula indica)作为国家一级重点保护野生动物,对其在城市环境下分布和栖息地的研究存在显著空缺。本研究基于红外相机监测技术,在2020年6月至2021年10月调查了上海新江湾区域25个位点,累计总有效红外相机工作日1,581 d,在9个位点独立探测到小灵猫65次。基于红外相机影像完成了对小灵猫初步的个体识别,探明了上海市新江湾区域存在一个至少包含5只小灵猫个体的极小种群。研究发现,小灵猫的活动节律呈严格夜行性,日活动曲线呈双峰分布,活动高峰分别出现在夜间21:00和凌晨02:00前后。小灵猫对于人类活动和流浪猫呈现不同程度的时间和空间回避,与人类活动时间重叠度指数低(?=0.15),并显著回避人类相对活动高的区域;与流浪猫活动空间回避不显著,但在时间上显著回避。在栖息地利用上,小灵猫多分布在新江湾区域靠近水域的林灌丛生境中,其适宜生境在城市环境中很可能处于快速退缩中,具有独特的研究和保护价值。研究结果初步填补了国内相关研究空缺,能够为推动以小灵猫为代表的城市生物多样性的保护和管理提供科学支持。

Aims:Rapid urbanization processes have brought great challenges to the conservation of urban biodiversity.The small Indian civet(Viverricula indica)is a national first-class key protected wild animal,yet ecological research about its wild populations in urban environments is rare.The aims of this study are to:(1)understand how small Indian civets respond to stray cats and human activities in time and space in urban landscapes;(2)investigate the habitat characteristics of small Indian civets in a human-dominated landscape;and(3)evaluate habitat changes of small Indian civets during the time period of 2000-2020.Methods:We used infrared camera traps to investigate the small Indian civets in the urban environment.From June2020 to October 2021,we conducted camera trap surveys at 25 sites in the Xinjiangwan area,Yangpu District,Shanghai.We conducted individual identification,and then analyzed species diel activity pattern and measured the overlapping index and calculated the avoidance-attraction ratios between small Indian civets and stray cats and humans,respectively.In addition,we calculated the relative abundance index(RAI)of humans,stray cats,and birds,and used an independent sample t-test to test the site differences where small Indian civets were detected and not detected.Lastly,we utilized remote sensing data to analyze the landscape changes of small Indian civet habitat during the time period of2000-2020.Results:We have achieved a sampling effort of 1,581 camera days,and obtained 65 independent small Indian civet detections at night sites.We identified 5 small Indian civet individuals.The diel activity pattern of small Indian civet was strictly nocturnal,with two nighttime activity peaks around 21:00 and 02:00.The temporal overlap index of small Indian civet and human activities was 0.15,and that of stray cats was 0.66.The avoidance-attractive ratio between small Indian civet and stray cats was 9.94±7.84.Human activity at sites where small Indian civets were detected was significantly less than that of the sites where the species was not undetected(t=-2.539,P=0.021).Landscape analysis results indicated that most of the green space was replaced by artificial landscapes,and the degree of fragmentation and isolation increased during the past two decades.Conclusion:Small Indian civets demonstrate spatial and temporal avoidance to human activities and stray cats.The existing landscapes that are potentially suitable for small Indian civet are fragmented,and immediate actions are needed to conserve the remaining small Indian civet population in urban landscapes.