小兴安岭马鹿粪便的分解速率

The pellet-decay rate of red deer(Cervus elaphus)in the Lesser Xing’an Mountains

粪便分解速率是粪便堆在自然条件下消失所用的时间,利用粪便距离取样法估算鹿科动物种群数量,是种群数量管理研究的重要基础。为揭示高纬度温带大陆性气候条件下的鹿科动物粪便分解速率,解决在我国普遍存在的目标种相对隐蔽、种群密度低、粪便分散导致的原地回访观测耗时耗力难以完成的问题,本研究在温带大陆性气候的小兴安岭范围内,选择铁力林业局建设林场为研究区,于2015年1月收集38堆马鹿(Cervus elaphus)的新鲜粪便,将这些粪便堆集中移至方便回访的一处马鹿代表性生境——阳坡针阔混交林,记录每堆粪便的原始粪粒数,之后间隔一定时间进行回访并记录每堆粪便剩余的粪粒数和各粪便堆是否分解完全,共回访8次。利用R 4.1.2中的逻辑斯蒂回归得出回归方程的截距b0和斜率b1,再利用MATLAB R2020b计算粪便分解速率。结果表明,马鹿粪便的平均分解速率为(646±53)d。本研究将粪便人工移动集中放置于一处进行观测实验,为研究低种群密度的动物粪便分解速率提供了可行途径,丰富了我国鹿科动物粪便分解速率研究,从而减小了利用粪便距离取样法估算种群数量的阻碍。

The pellet-decay rate is the time period during which pellet piles disappeared under natural conditions.Pellet-decay rate is a significant parameter for estimating the population size of deer by using the method of pellet distance sampling,providing the foundation for research on population size.In this study,we aim to answer the question of what is the pellet-decay rate of deer under continental climates in high-latitude temperate zones and solve the time-consuming and labor-consuming problem of revisiting each pellet group at their original positions when pellet piles are scattered due to low density and hidden behavior of those species in China.Within the Lesser Xing’an Mountains(46°28′−49°21′N)located in the temperate continental climate zone,we selected the Jianshe forest farm in Tieli Forestry Bureau as study area.In January 2015,we collected 38 groups of fresh pellets from red deer(Cervus elaphus)and moved them to a typical conveniently-revisited red deer habitat characterized by coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest and sunny slope,and recorded the original number of pellets in each pile.After that,we made eight visits at certain intervals to record the remaining pellets in each pile and whether each pile was completely decayed.Then,we used logistic binary regression using the R 4.1.2 software to calculate the intercept b0 and slope b1 of the model and the MATLAB R2020b software to calculate the pellet-decay rate.The result showed that the average pellet-decay rate of red deer was 646±53 days.In this study,pellet piles were manually moved and set in one place for observation,which provided a feasible way to study the pellet-decay rate in areas with low density of the target population.This study enriched the research on the pellet-de‐cay rate of deer in China,thus alleviating the obstacle of using the pellet-based distance sampling method to estimate the population size.