Niche breadth and overlap of spotted deer and domestic cattle with swamp deer in tropical region of Nepal

Background:Knowledge about the niche overlap among wild species and domestic cattle is helpful to conserve and manage wildlife.We assessed the habitat niche breadth and overlap of sympatrically living spotted deer(Axis axis)and domestic cattle with swamp deer(Cervus duvaucelii)in Shuklaphanta National Park,Nepal during the dry season to explore the possibility of interspecific competition by studying the habitat use by these species.The assumption was made that the presence of pellets is proof of habitat used by species.Methods:Grids of 2 km×2 km have four subgrids,each with four sample plots,making a total of 16 plots(20 m×20 m)in each grid.The size of each sub-grid was 200 m×200 m and they were placed randomly inside the grid but at least 1 km apart from one another.The data was collected in a 96 plots in total.Levin’s niche breadth and Morisita’s overlap index were calculated to determine the niche breadth and the habitat overlap,respectively.Results:The Levin’s measure of niche breadth suggested that spotted deer had the highest acclimatization with an index value of 0.94,followed by domestic cattle at 0.50,and swamp deer at 0.33 in our study area.Thus,our findings supported the evidence that spotted deer are habitat generalists,whereas swamp deer are habitat specialists.The swamp deer had lower niche breadth and more overlap with domestic cattle.Conclusion:Our study showed the least niche breadth of swamp deer in comparison to spotted deer and domestic cattle.The domestic cattle had the highest and least niche overlap with spotted deer and swamp deer,respectively,in terms of habitat use.Our study suggests that domestic cattle grazing should be stopped,and grassland management should be carried out for the benefit of ungulates.Similar studies should be conducted,including different seasons and places,prior to appropriate habitat management.In addition,further studies are needed to quantify the extent of interspecific competition by incorporating more species.

缙云山特有植物缙云黄芩种群生态位研究

采用Levins生态位宽度、Hurlbert生态位宽度及Pianka生态位重叠等计算公式,测定了缙云黄芩(ScutellariatsinyunensisC Y WuetS Chow)所在群落中草本层物种的生态位宽度和生态位重叠.结果显示:缙云黄芩的生态位宽度较大,说明该种生态适应幅度较大;与其主要伴生物种间的生态位重叠也较大,表明它们对资源利用的相似程度较高.

民间信仰地域分异的微观分析——泉州三个村庄神祇生态位宽度测量和比较

民间信仰区域分异,前人的研究多数定位于有方言差异的大尺度区域。但无方言差异的小尺度区域内,人们对神祇的信仰和供奉也存在一定的差异。本文利用生态位理论及生态位宽度测度模型对泉州市东海镇三个不同村落(蟳埔、宝山和法石)的民间神祇信仰情况进行微观分析。结果显示,在无方言差异的小尺度区域内,影响神祇在区域内生态位宽度的最主要因素是神祇功能与这个区域产业类型的相关程度。神祇的功能与区域内产业类型的相关程度是影响民间信仰神祇区域分异的重要因素。区域间产业类型的分异受自然地理条件的影响。因此,特定功能神祇的区域分异与自然地理环境有密切关系。由生态位宽度测度模型计算出的民间信仰神祇生态位数据与神祇在三个村落的分布及影响的实际情况比较契合,生态位理论应用于民间信仰神祇的区域研究是可行的。