北京近郊浅山地区的野生豹猫分布及环境影响因素

Distribution of leopard cats in the nearest mountains to urban Beijing and its affecting environmental factors

豹猫(Prionailurus bengalensis)是亚洲特有的小型野生猫科动物,当华北豹(Panthera pardus japonensis)等大型食肉类绝迹后,成为北京地区温带森林生态系统的主要捕食者,是衡量其所在生态网络完整性的底线。本研究自2022年10月至2023年6月在北京西部一段环绕北京城区的马蹄形山地(定名为“京西半月湾”),沿百望山–香山–西山–鹫峰–阳台山–妙峰山–凤凰岭–白虎涧一线共计开展16次徒步调查,总路线覆盖180 km,通过粪便样品的非损伤性采样和DNA分子遗传学物种鉴定,获得258个豹猫分布位点,确定了距离北京城区最近的浅山地区豹猫种群的广泛存在。本研究基于豹猫分布位点和选取的8个环境变量,构建了豹猫物种分布的集合模型。结果显示,在栖息地完整的情况下,豹猫的分布主要受人为干扰因素影响,其中到道路、不透水层等人类设施的距离对豹猫分布的解释率最高,为42.71%;其次是徒步强度,解释率为20.12%。人类设施作为一种较强程度的人为干扰,到此类生境的距离与豹猫的分布概率呈正相关,豹猫的适宜栖息地与城市环境中的人类设施保持1,000 m以上的缓冲距离。徒步强度作为相对温和的人为干扰与豹猫的分布呈负相关,但总体影响有限,豹猫对于适度的人类活动表现出一定的生态可塑性和耐受能力。本研究结果表明,在确保栖息地连续和食物链完整的前提下,将人类干扰控制在适度范围内,华北温带森林生态系统中以豹猫为代表的捕食者野生动物,即便在毗邻北京城区的近郊浅山地区也有续存的希望。

Aims:The leopard cat(Prionailurus bengalensis)is a small felid widespread in Asia and serves as a primary predator in North China’s temperate forest ecosystem,after the mega-carnivores such as the leopard went extinct from the region.Despite its ecological resilience and adaptivity,whether the leopard cat can survive in nearest proximity to urban Beijing remains unknown.Field surveys of the presence of leopard cats in the suburban Beijing and evaluation of the environmental factors associated with its distribution will set the stage for elucidating the pattern of human-wildlife coexistence around a megacity of China like Beijing.Methods:From October 2022 to June 2023,we conducted 16 transect line surveys in search of leopard cats in the nearest mountainous area west of urban Beijing.The region refers to the Western Beijing Crescent Bay Mountains that covers the wilderness landmarks of Mt.Baiwang-Fragrant Hills-West Mountains-Mt.Jiufeng-Mt.Yangtai-Mt.Miaofeng-Mt.Fenghuangling-Baihujian.The presence of leopard cats was examined through non-invasive sampling of scat samples,DNA extraction,and species identification based on DNA barcoding analysis.By integrating species presence information and eight selected environmental variables,we constructed an ensemble model to assess the impact of various environmental factors on the species distribution.Results:We validated 258 sites of leopard cat presence from cumulative 180 km trails in the Western Beijing Crescent Bay Mountains survey area.For a relatively continuous habitat,the occurrence of leopard cats was primarily influenced by anthropogenic variables,with the distance to artificial infrastructure(42.71%)and hiking intensity(20.12%)being the two primary factors.A buffer distance of at least 1,000 m from major human facility was required for a habitat to be considered suitable for leopard cats around Beijing.While the distance to artificial infrastructure displayed a positive correlation with the presence of leopard cats,hiking intensity exerted relatively little impact,suggesting the leopard cat’s tolerance to moderate human activities to certain extent.Conclusions:The existence of a wild leopard cat population is confirmed in the mountainous area on the outskirts of Beijing,illustrating the prospect for human-wildlife co-existence around China’s capital city.This preliminary survey suggests that as far as relatively intact habitat could be preserved on a landscape scale with minimum anthropogenic disturbance,a generalist species such as the leopard cat may be ecologically resilient enough to survive in nearest proximity to an urban region.