Bird-animal Diversity And Interspecific Spatial And Temporal Interactions In The Range Of Hainan Gibbons

Food,temporal and spatial ecological niche differentiation are the main strategies for coexistence of co-dominant species.The coexistence mechanisms of co-distributed species have been studied in terms of individual dimensions such as habitat selection,activity rhythms,and food resource use.Few studies,however,have addressed the ecological niche differentiation of co-distributed species along multiple ecological dimensions at the same time.In order to better understand the coexistence mechanisms between these sympatric species with similar ecological niches,a comparative analysis of ecological niches at smaller scales and in multiple dimensions is necessary.Therefore,this paper provides an important theoretical basis and support for the establishment of sound conservation and management measures for Hainan gibbons by studying the ecological niche coexistence mechanisms between Hainan gibbons and sympatric species.From 2019 to 2022,46 infrared cameras were installed in the ground and canopy layers of Hainan gibbons,and the relative abundance index of species in the range,the time allocation of Hainan gibbon activities,and the daily activity rhythm were derived from the infrared camera data.The main findings are as follows.(1)In this study,a total of 3,433 independent effective photographs were obtained,including 2,200 independent effective photographs of mammals,1,233 independent effective photographs of birds,16 species of mammals and 31 species of birds could be identified.The top three relative abundance of birds are: Lophura nycthemera,Gallus and Garrulax castanoti,and the top three relative abundance of mammals are: Atherurus macrourus,Sus scrofa and Nomascus hainanus.Among the wild animals recorded,3species belong to the first-class key protected wild animals and 17 kinds of national second-class key protected wild animals.(2)The most time allocated to climbing in Hainan gibbon activities,and far exceeded other behaviours,accounting for 78.09% of the time spent on climbing;the proportion of time spent on vigilance,foraging,resting and other behaviours were 9.13%,7.02%,2.67%and 3.09% respectively.At the same time,the daily activity rhythm of Hainan gibbons is significantly bimodal,with a peak in the morning and a peak in the afternoon,and a significant decrease in activity intensity at midday,which is typical of diurnal animals.The peak activity times were 8:00-11:00 and 15:30-16:30,with the peak activity in the afternoon being significantly lower than that in the morning.The activity rhythms of Hainan gibbons vary significantly from season to season,mainly in the dry season when the peak of activity occurs about 2 hours earlier and 1 hour later in the evening compared to the rainy season.(3)Hainan gibbons and sympatric species reduce inter-species competition and achieve regional coexistence through spatial and temporal ecological niche differentiation.In terms of spatial ecological niche differentiation,Hainan gibbons and macaques co-exist through habitat differentiation,while species such as red-cheeked long-nosed parthenogenetic squirrels,red-bellied squirrels and civets achieve spatial ecological niche differentiation through differences in forest layer use.In terms of temporal ecological niche differentiation,the daily activity rhythms between Hainan gibbons and macaques,redbellied squirrels,Hainan flying squirrels,coconut civets,civets and wild boars showed significant temporal ecological niche differentiation,while those with red-cheeked longnosed squirrels did not show significant temporal ecological niche differentiation.