Seasonal habitat use and activity patterns of blood pheasant Ithaginis cruentusbe in the presence of free-ranging livestock

Abstract

Livestock grazing has become the most prevalent human disturbance in protected areas across the range of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Previous studies have documented the impacts of livestock grazing on habitat and food resources of giant panda, however, little is known about how free-ranging livestock influences other sympatric species. In this study, we investigated the presence of livestock on the habitat use and activity patterns of blood pheasant (Ithaginis cruentusbe), a representative species of phasianids in China, of which more than 50% are under threats due to habitat loss and fragmentation, illegal harvest and human disturbance. We combined camera-trap and sign survey data collected within Wanglang National Nature Reserve, where the livestock population has increased by nine-fold in the past decade, and used both an occupancy modeling framework and kernel density estimation to understand blood pheasant’s recent distribution, changes in occurrences, and diel activity patterns in the presence of free-ranging livestock in different seasons (i.e., breeding [April to July], non-breeding [August to October] and winter [November to March]). For diel activity, blood pheasant overlapped highly with livestock regardless of the season, as both are primarily diurnal species. With regards to distribution, we detected a significant positive correlation between the presence of blood pheasants and livestock (P = 0.02) in breeding season which was against our expectation; no significant relationship in non-breeding season; and a significant negative correlation in winter. Besides, livestock had a significant negative correlation with blood pheasant extinction probability, and no significant impact on colonization probability. Aided by results from two-season occupancy modeling, we argued that the spatial co-occurrence in breeding season wasn’t due to causality, but similar habitat preferences between them. Our study confirms that free-ranging livestock do have the potential to impact blood pheasant due to temporal and spatial overlap, but the consequences of this overlap were unclear.