Studies On Spatial Distribution Pattern, Habitats Selection And Dynamic Of Rhombomys Opimus Population

Great Gerbil(Rhombomys opimus) is a typical desert rodent species in the desert and semi-desert habitats in central Asia, so it is regarded as one of the indicator species of Palaearctic desert and semi-desert. It is found in Russia, Kazakhstan, Kirghiz Tanzania, Tadzhikistan, Mongolia, Iran and Afghanistan and so on, and in China its ditribution range covers Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Gansu. Great Gerbil does a lot of damage. For example, it prefers to eat dune-fixing plants such as Haloxylon ammodendron, Kalidium foliatum, Nitraria sibirica, Tamarix juniperina and so on and theirs seeds. therefore, it is easy to make the dune-fixing vegetation degrade. Meanwhile, Great Gerbil is also a main host of many kinds of natural focal diseases like plague, Cutaneous Leishmaniasis etc., and does great harm to the human beings. It is one of the main rodent pests for animal husbandry, forestry, prairie as well as public health. Therefore, it is very significant to research Great Gerbil for the development of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry as well as public health and protection of entironment. This article lucubrate about spatial distribution pattern, habitat selection and population dynamic of Great Gerbil, and it is also provided some basic data for furture study of Great Gerbil, and pest prevention for agriculture, forestry and public health. This study draw the following conclusions.1. Studies on spatial distribution pattern of Great Gerbil1.1 The "family" behaviour of Great Gerbil results in the population clumped distribution, and caused the noremarkable season difference. Every "family" occupied one burrow group, and those "families" assumed an obvious regular distribution pattern in their most suitable habitats. In the early period of reproduction, the repellency of the male was more notble in order to get a female, but in the last stage conflict tended to relaxes. The female had a great attraction for the male in the entire reproduction. Both males and females appeared in clumped distribution. The spread trend was notble when winter comes. The spatial pattern of the male was influenced...