Temporal niche patterns of large mammals in Wanglang National Nature Reserve, China

Abstract

Understanding activity patterns of large mammals provides a lens to view potential temporal niches, while studies on daily activity patterns are helpful to understand behavioral ecology of large mammals and their conservation. We studied the seasonal daily activity patterns and effects of livestock grazing on three large mammals: giant panda, tufted deer, and Chinese serow in Wanglang National Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, China. The comparison of seasonal daily activity patterns indicated that the giant panda exhibited a single daily peak, whereas tufted deer exhibited two and Chinese serow exhibited multiple peaks. All three large mammals differed significantly in daily activity patterns, while only tufted deer and Chinese serow showed moderate overlap. Livestock grazing (an example of human disturbance) showed high overlap coefficients in daily activity patterns with three mammals, while there was no significant difference between giant pandas and livestock. These results provided a critical baseline mechanism for species coexistence that can help in applied efforts for conservation purposes such as habitat management. In addition, some suggestions for livestock management and disturbance pattern analysis may provide new insights into threatened species conservation.