Time allocations of the group-living Tibetan eared pheasants Crossoptilon harmani with and without supplementary food were investigated by full-day sampling from winter through spring in an alpine scrub zone, south Ti...Time allocations of the group-living Tibetan eared pheasants Crossoptilon harmani with and without supplementary food were investigated by full-day sampling from winter through spring in an alpine scrub zone, south Tibet. At a flock scale, both the different food-supply flocks displayed similar daily patterns of activity, foraging in the morning and evening, and resting around midday. In terms of individual activity, either foraging or resting was highly synchronous with the flock＇s. Non-provisioned birds spent more time feeding and less resting in midwinter than in late autumn. In early spring as climates became warmer and day longer, however, non-provisioned birds did not decrease their feeding efforts significantly but the provisioned birds did. Across the non-breeding seasons, the provisioned birds （relying on nutrition-rich artificial food） devoted less time to feeding and more to resting than did the non-provisioned ones （relying on nutrition-poor plant roots）. Multivariate analysis showed increased food supply and ambient temperature resulted in a reduced foraging effort. However, the fact that the non-provisioned birds can save daily time for resting even in the cold short-day length mid-winter indicated that they faced no energetic constraint. Thus, protecting shelter vegetation rather than providing extra food is suggested to be important for long-term survival of the endangered galliform birds [ Current Zoology 55 （3） ： 193 - 199, 2009] .展开更多
The Tibetan Eared-pheasant Crossoptilon harmani is a rare species native to China.A captive population has been established in the Beijing Zoo since 1999.In order to determine the kinship of the offsprings in 2001,ran...The Tibetan Eared-pheasant Crossoptilon harmani is a rare species native to China.A captive population has been established in the Beijing Zoo since 1999.In order to determine the kinship of the offsprings in 2001,randomly amplified polymorphic DNA(RAPD)was used to examine the parenthood of seven Tibetan Eared-pheasants in the Beijing Zoo.To amplify the genomic DNA of each individual,53 arbitrary primers were selected.The results of amplifications showed that 14 primers had clear and distinct RAPD patterns.Totally,226 amplified fragments were generated by RAPD in this study.Cluster analysis of the seven Tibetan Eared-pheasants indicated that all the four young birds had the same father(No.5 male).This study provides a practical method to determine the relationship of offsprings whose parents are unknown in birds.展开更多
基金support was provided by National Sciences Foundation of China(grants 30330050 and 30425036)
文摘Time allocations of the group-living Tibetan eared pheasants Crossoptilon harmani with and without supplementary food were investigated by full-day sampling from winter through spring in an alpine scrub zone, south Tibet. At a flock scale, both the different food-supply flocks displayed similar daily patterns of activity, foraging in the morning and evening, and resting around midday. In terms of individual activity, either foraging or resting was highly synchronous with the flock＇s. Non-provisioned birds spent more time feeding and less resting in midwinter than in late autumn. In early spring as climates became warmer and day longer, however, non-provisioned birds did not decrease their feeding efforts significantly but the provisioned birds did. Across the non-breeding seasons, the provisioned birds （relying on nutrition-rich artificial food） devoted less time to feeding and more to resting than did the non-provisioned ones （relying on nutrition-poor plant roots）. Multivariate analysis showed increased food supply and ambient temperature resulted in a reduced foraging effort. However, the fact that the non-provisioned birds can save daily time for resting even in the cold short-day length mid-winter indicated that they faced no energetic constraint. Thus, protecting shelter vegetation rather than providing extra food is suggested to be important for long-term survival of the endangered galliform birds [ Current Zoology 55 （3） ： 193 - 199, 2009] .
基金This study was funded by the Key Grant of Chinese Ministry of Education(No.03012).
文摘The Tibetan Eared-pheasant Crossoptilon harmani is a rare species native to China.A captive population has been established in the Beijing Zoo since 1999.In order to determine the kinship of the offsprings in 2001,randomly amplified polymorphic DNA(RAPD)was used to examine the parenthood of seven Tibetan Eared-pheasants in the Beijing Zoo.To amplify the genomic DNA of each individual,53 arbitrary primers were selected.The results of amplifications showed that 14 primers had clear and distinct RAPD patterns.Totally,226 amplified fragments were generated by RAPD in this study.Cluster analysis of the seven Tibetan Eared-pheasants indicated that all the four young birds had the same father(No.5 male).This study provides a practical method to determine the relationship of offsprings whose parents are unknown in birds.
