Sex Ratio Effect And Behavioral Study Of Captive Silver Pheasant (Lophura Nycthemera) Before And After Wild-release In Non-breeding Period

Wild-release is an important way to protect and restore endangered wildlife.In order to make use of captive Silver pheasant to increase the number of wild Silver pheasant,a wild-release trail of Silver pheasant in non-breeding period was conducted in Guangdong Xiangtoushan National Nature Reserve from September 2006 to January 2008.The result showed:1.Behavioral comparison of captive Silver Pheasant before and after wild-release:1) In behavioral time budget,the male showed stronger significant difference in time that was spent on resting,preening,other behaviors before and after wild-release(P＜0.01).At the same time, the male spent more time on resting and other behaviors after wild-release.The female before and after wild-release showed stronger significant difference in time that was spent on foraging,resting, preening,other behaviors(P＜0.01).At the same time,the female spent more time on foraging and other behaviors after wild-release;2) After wild-release,Silver pheasant displayed more behaviors and the social behaviors which related to space increased obviously.Behavioral ethogram of Silver pheasant was richer than that before wild-release.Temperature affected behaviors to certain degree.2.Observation of a wild male Silver pheasant:Compared to the male Silver pheasant after wild-release,the wild spent more time on resting and preening and less time on feeding and walking. Alert distance of the wild male Silver pheasant became shorter along with the increase of human disturbance.3.Influence of sex and sex ratio on behaviors of captive Silver Pheasant:In behavioral time budget,the male and the female showed obvious difference at different sex ratios:at the ratio of 2:2,walking and resting were significantly different between the male and the female(P＜0.01);at the ratio of 3:1,feeding and walking were significantly different(P＜0.01). The same sex showed obvious difference in behavioral time budget at different sex ratios:walking showed significant difference between the ratio of 2:2 and the ratio of 3:1 by the male(P＜0.01);as to the female,feeding and walking showed significant difference between the ratio of 2:2 and the ratio of 3:1,feeding and walking showed significant difference between the ratio of 3:1 and the ratio of 3:0;The individuals kept intimate or aloof relations;however,two female individuals kept familiar relationship at different sex ratios.4.Influence of sex and sex ratio on habitat selection of captive Silver Pheasant:1)On habitat selection,the male and the female showed obvious difference under different sex ratios:At the ratio of 2:2,the time spent on dry soil,low grassland,and stone were significantly different between the male and the female(P＜0.01);At the ratio of 3:1,the time spent on dry soil, high grassland and low grassland were significantly different(P＜0.01).The same sex showed obvious difference at different sex ratios in habitat selection:The time spent on dry soil,high grassland,low grassland and stone showed significant difference between the ratio of 2:2 and the ratio of 3:1 by the male(P＜0.01).The time spent on dry soil and low grassland showed significant difference between the ratio of 2:2 and the ratio of 3:1 by the female(P＜0.01);The time spent on stone showed significant difference between the ratio of 3:1 and the ratio of 3:0 by the female(P＜0.01);2) Individuals of different sexual Silver pheasant kept intimate or aloof relations,but two female Silver pheasant kept familiar relationship at three different sex ratios.