Home Range Patterns And Habitat Selection Of Rewild Pere David's Deer(Elaphurus Davidianus)in Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve

The ultimate aim of reintroduction of Pere David's deer is to set up retaining population and to ensure the population of Pere David's deer surviving and developing in the wild.It is important to known the home range patterns and habitat selection of rewild Pere David's deer.In this study,the GPS collars were used to monitor the movement of three released female Pere David's deer in Jiangsu Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve from 2012 to 2013.Home ranges were estimated through GPS fixes with different temporal scales including seasons,months and days,and habitat characteristics of released area were analyzed through the wild survey and remote sensing pictures interpreting.Also,the habitat selections of rewild female Pere David's deer were investigated and the effected factors which influencing the home ranges of rewild female Pere David's deer were screened in the nature reserve.The problems of habitat management and corresponding protection suggestions were referred in this paper.The results were demonstrated as follows.1.Variation in seasonal home range size was found using KDE estimations with different isopleths.Using 95%Kernel estimation,the home range size of collared deer during spring(15.72km2,SE=0.62)and winter(9.99 km2,SE=1.46)was significantly larger than in autumn(4.20 km2,SE=0.78)and summer(2.38 km2).At 75,50 and 25 kernels,differences among seasons were all significant.These comparable results demonstrated that home range sizes of deer varied seasonally with consistency among individuals and differences in the seasonal home ranges of the collared Pere David's deer were significant.2.There were significant differences in home range size of collared Pere David's deer in different months.Home range size in March ranged largest,February and April followed,and June ranged smallest in the monitoring months.The results showed that home range sizes of deer varied with consistency among individuals under the same isopleth and with significant differences in different months.3.Home range sizes of collared Pere David's deer varied among individuals,and there are no significant differences between daytime and nighttime.The distances from the center points of home ranges to roads showed no significant difference between daytime and nighttime.The spatial distribution of home ranges with daytime and nighttime showed that center points of home ranges were in the nature reserve.Rewild female Pere David's deer preferred to move in the northwest part of the study area.4.There was a certain spatial distribution pattern in the activity of collared Pere David's deer.The deer remainly stayed at study areas and rarely moved to the other parts during summer and autumn,and enlarged their activity area from northwest to southeast during spring and winter.They never inhabited inshore parts of the wetland,including the tidal creeks.The northwest part of nature reserve was the primarily activity sites of collared Pere David's deer.5.The collared Pere David 's deer used spartina habitat frequently,preferred to select spartina areas and reed areas,and avoided salsa areas.Referring to the vegetation height,collared Pere David's deer used above 1.0 m high of vegetation height types,preferred to select below 1.0 m of vegetation height types,and avoided above 1.0 m high of vegetation height types.Collared Pere David's deer preferred to use middle vegetation coverage ranks,and avoided high or low vegetation coverage ranks.As to the ranks of aboveground biomass,the deer used middle ranks frequently,high ranks rarely,preferred low ranks and avoid high ranks in the released area of Jiangsu Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve.6.The collared Pere David's deer aggregated in 200 m away from water,rarely used the areas over 200m.Collared Pere David's deer used the areas in 1000m away from roads,and don't use the areas over 1400m.They preferred the areas from 300m to 700m,and avoided the areas over 1100m.There were differences of preferences among seasons.They preferred or randomly selected the areas in the range of 0 to 1000m in spring,500m to 1100m in summer,200m to 900m in autumn,and while 100m to 900m in winter.In summer and autumn,they all avoided the areas distance to roads in the range of 0 to 100m.7.Different factors made different effects in the home range sizes of collared Pere David's deer with different kernels.At 95,75 and 50 kernels,vegetation coverage was the primary factors influencing the home range sizes.Vegetation coverage negatively related to the home range sizes with the 95 and 75 kernels,while positively related with the 50 kernel.There were no significant differences among the vegetation coverage,distance to water,distance to road and home range sizes with the 25 kernel.8.It is important to improve the habitats managements for Pere David's deer.We suggested to make some technique measures of improving environments what released Pere David's deer need in according to the habitat preferences of Pere David's deer in Jiangsu Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve.Controls on the spartina,water quality and disturbances were also suggested to some extend in the released area of Jiangsu Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve.