Potential Habitat Prediction And Coexistence Mechanism Of Black Muntjac And Small Muntjac In Qingliangfeng National Nature Reserve,Zhejiang Province

Competition and coexistence among sympatric species with similar ecological niches is one of the main research contents of community ecology,and it also plays an important role in the protection of biodiversity and the maintenance of ecosystem integrity.The black muntjac and small muntjac are Muntiacus of Cervidae in China,with high ecological value and protection value.In this study,Zhejiang Qingliangfeng National Nature Reserve and its surrounding areas were used as the research area,and 52 and 110 infrared cameras were installed in the Longtangshan area and Qianqingtang area using the kilometer grid method,respectively.Similar populations of black muntjac and small muntjac were monitored.Using the effective distribution sites of species combined with variable information such as terrain,vegetation,water source and disturbance,the maximum entropy model is used to predict and evaluate the potential suitable habitats of the two,and analyze the overlapping relationship between them.Environmental factors such as elevation,vegetation type,slope position,and distance from water sources were used to analyze the selection of relevant environmental factors by black muntjac and small muntjac in Longtang Mountain Reserve,and the kernel density estimation method and overlap coefficient were used to analyze their daily activity rhythms,and degree of overlap.By studying the macro-habitat and micro-habitat and activity rhythm of black muntjac and small muntjac,the coexistence mechanism of them in the same region was discussed.The main conclusions are as follows:(1)The selection of macrohabitats for black muntjac and small muntjac is highly similar.The total potential suitable habitat areas of them are 586.66 km~2 and 661.93km~2,respectively,and the total potential suitable habitat overlap area is 435.39 km~2.The total potential suitable habitat is mainly.It is distributed in the southwest of Longtangshan area,the central part of Qianqingtang area and the northwest of Shunxiwu area,as well as the mountains between Qianqingtang and Longtangshan area,and the southern mountain area of Shunxiwu.The habitat selection of sympatric black muntjac and small muntjac is influenced by factors such as resource acquisition,interspecific competition,and human disturbance,resulting in similarities and differences in habitat selection between them.Elevation is the most important environmental factor affecting the habitat selection of them,and black muntjac and small muntjac with high dietary similarity also have similar selection for elevation,thus making their potential habitats highly overlapped in the study area.At the same time,they have certain differences in the selection of water source distance,road distance and vegetation type,which may be one of the reasons why they can coexist in the same area for a long time.(2)There are certain differences in the selection of microhabitats such as vegetation type,elevation,slope position,and water source distance between black muntjac and small muntjac.Black muntjac prefers mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests,mainly inhabiting high-altitude areas of 1301-1500 m,avoiding downslopes and valleys,and frequent activities in areas close to water sources;small muntjac prefers deciduous broad-leaved forests,mainly inhabiting in the middle-altitude area of 901-1100 m,the middle-slope position is preferred,the valley is avoided,and there is no obvious tendency to choose water sources.But in winter,the selection of various environmental factors was similar between black muntjac and small muntjac.This is due to the reduction of the suitable habitat area of them in winter when food resources are scarce,which makes the spatial niche overlap of them increased.(3)The daily activity rhythm of black muntjac and small muntjac is mainly between 5:00-20:00.Both are diurnal animals with two peaks of activity,mainly in the morning and evening.Their diurnal activity rhythms overlap higher throughout the year(Δ4=0.86),but lower only in winter(Δ1=0.65).Habitat differentiation of black muntjac and small muntjac in spring,summer and autumn is relatively large,and the degree of overlap of daily activity rhythm is high,the similarity of habitat selection in winter is high,and the degree of overlap of daily activity rhythm is reduced.Because of the rigidity of time,it is often considered to be the last coexistence mechanism to be activated.It indicated that black muntjac and small muntjac achieved coexistence by increasing the temporal niche differentiation when the spatial niche differentiation was reduced in winter.(4)The selection of macro-habitat of black muntjac and small muntjac is highly similar,but there is a certain difference in the selection of micro-habitat,indicating that the differentiation of the micro-habitat of black muntjac and small muntjac in the same domain is a key reason for enabling coexistence of them.Under conditions of sufficient food and other resources,black muntjac and small muntjac preferentially achieve coexistence through different preferences for habitats,while when food and other resources are scarce in winter,the difference between them in the selection of different environmental factors of microhabitats is narrowed.They can achieve coexistence in the same area by increasing the difference in daily activity rhythms,reducing the probability of encounter and reducing interspecific competition.Based on the conclusions of this study,it is recommended to increase the establishment of ecological corridors around Qingliangfeng Reserve and expand the monitoring range of black muntjac and small muntjac,and conduct further investigation and research on their distribution and activity patterns.Forests and other environmental conditions ensure that them have sufficient space for activities and food resources.Finally,strengthen the management and control in the protected area to reduce the impact of human interference and other.