The effect of the Qinghai-Tibet railway on the migration of Tibetan antelope Pantholops hodgsonii in Hoh-xil National Nature Reserve, China

Abstract

AbstractThe Tibetan antelope or chiru Pantholops hodgsonii is endemic to the Tibetan plateau and was once abundant over vast areas of high elevation grassland habitat. During the 20th century, however, the population declined greatly in numbers. Hunting used to be the main threat to this species but recent actions by the government and wildlife protection organizations have brought this under control. With the development of north-west China, conflicts between development of transportation facilities and conservation have become more acute, and heavy traffic on the Golmud-Lhasa highway and the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railway across key migration corridors have disturbed the migration of Tibetan antelopes. During June to August 2003 and 2004 we monitored the movement of Tibetan antelopes across the railway and highway and recorded their passes at wildlife crossing structures, which was the first use of such structures in China. Our results show that the efficiency of passages greatly improved between 2003 and 2004, and that use of wildlife corridors was affected by the structure of the passage, presence of wolves, recovery of vegetation following damage during construction, and other factors. The disturbance to migration of Tibetan antelopes included infrastructure, human activities, road traffic, construction of the railway and so on. The impact of infrastructure, especially transportation development, on the habitat and migration of Tibetan antelopes are the main factors that threaten this species now and in the future.