Study On Population Ecology And Species Protection Of Scutiger Liupanensis

Scutiger liupanensis,a new species discovered in 1985,is only distributed in and around Liupanshan National Forest Park.Due to the finite distributed region and little population number,it has been listed in IUCN-red list of IUCNs and the list of protected terrestrial wildlife in Ningxia Hui Autonomous region at provincial level,and it is located as a vulnerable species.At present,only five streams in the Forest Park have found their adult and a large number of tadpoles,which shows that the Scutiger liupanensis have a stable population distribution in Forest Park.In order to protect this rare amphibian effectively,the population dynamics and habit selection need further investigation and study,and it is of great significance for environmental monitoring in Liupanshan area of Ningxia.This paper was completed in Liupanshan National Forest Park of Ningxia Hui Autonomous region.It mainly discussed the population characteristics,habitat characteristics,biological and other related aspects.The population distribution,population quantity and population dynamics of Scutiger liupanensis were investigated by sample-band and spawn-colony method,and 9 habitat factors of Scutiger liupanensis habitat were investigated and analyzed to find out its habitat selection preference.The first part mainly studies biological characteristic of the toad,the Scutiger liupanensis is distribute only in the alpine streams of Liupanshan national Forest park,which is 1900 m above sea level.During the middle and late April to the beginning of June is their breeding period,mid-late April to early May is the peak period.After the completion of the mating,its spawns are layed in the bottom of a stone in the stream.Labial tooth row formula of Scutiger liupanensis is ?:6—6/?:5—5or?:5—1/?:6—6,it takes 3 years to complete the metamorphosis.The second part studies population quantity and dynamics,Scutiger liupanensis is a species distributed at high altitude streams and low water temperatures.The temperature gradually decreased in the middle and late October and began to hibernate.In the middle and late April of the following year,with the increase of thetemperature,the larvae were gradually awaken into the breeding season.During the middle and late April to the beginning of May,adults are hiding under rocks in streams or in dense meadows around them.According to the investigation and estimation,the population number of Scutiger liupanensis is about 5236 in the forest park,and the population number is decreasing year by year,which need to take effective protective measures immediately.The third part was on the studies the selection of its breeding habitats in spring of the toad.Scutiger liupanensis belongs to a high altitude species,which living at the environment of the average altitude of 2058.8m,the average water temperature of5.66?,atmospheric temperature of 11.42?,water temperature and atmospheric temperature are both maintained at a lower level.High-altitude areas are affected more by microclimate,the average humidity is 47.64%,vegetation coverage is over80%,and the stream is weakly acidic.The higher the elevation,the higher the acidity will be.The principal component analysis of the nine recorded habitat factors showed that the absolute value of the weight coefficient of altitude,humidity,current velocity,p H,water temperature,and vegetation coverage in the survey area was greater than0.7,which was the main factor for the selection of habitats of Scutiger liupanensis.It shows that the reliance on water is more obvious during the breeding season.The forth part was mainly about the studies its winter habitat selection of the toad.The altitude range of distribution of Scutiger liupanensis during wintering period is lower than that in spring,the average water temperature is 1.85?,and the atmospheric temperature is 6.32?.Since the September and October of each year is the local rainy season,the width,depth and velocity of the stream are significantly increased,and the humidity is also significantly increased.During the wintering period,Scutiger liupanensis are hidden under a rock in the shallow water or under the thick leaves of a stream,and at this time the p H of water is mostly acidic.Based on the principal component analysis of the recorded 9 habitat factors,the results show that the absolute value of weight coefficient of altitude,humidity,velocity and water depth in the survey area is greater than 0.7,which is the main factor of habitat selection of Scutiger liupanensis,indicating that its dependence on water is not significantly decreased during wintering period.Eventually,analyze the threat factors of Scutiger liupanensis,and put forward corresponding protection recommendations.Since the distribution range of Scutiger liupanensis is narrow and the population is scarce,and it has an important position in the biodiversity of amphibians in China and even in the world,and highly threatened,it is recommended to increase the protection level of the Scutiger liupanensis abruptly and strengthen the protection of the species.It is suggested that Forest Parks should try to reduce the damage to the Scutiger liupanensis habitat while carrying out tourism development,and try to avoid human interference during the breeding period.