Burrowing and Anti-Predator Requirements Determine the Microhabitat Selection of Himalayan Marmot in Zoige Wetland

Cheng, Guo; Gao, Shi; Zhou, Shuailing; Zhang, Long; Xiang, Zuofu

doi:10.2108/zs190148

Cited by 7 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Besides affecting environments on a macro level, human activities also affect aspects of wildlife interaction with those environments such as distribution, population dynamics, and ability to survive in changing conditions (Trombulak & Frissell, 2000;UNEP, 2001;Gül et al, 2013). This has a further influence on the regional community dynamic (Hebblewhite et al, 2005;Gehr et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Generally, human activities exert direct and indirect negative effects on animals. Direct and fatal disturbances include poaching (Ménard et al, 2014), road killing by vehicles (Richini-Pereira et al , 2008) and local extinction due to habitat removal (Griffin et al, 2007;Imperio et al, 2013). Indirect and less fatal effects include habitat degradation (Primack, 2008), reduced reproductive output (Safina & Burger, 1983;French et al , 2011;Webber et al, 2013) and decline in body condition (Hellgren & Polnaszek, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Direct and fatal disturbances include poaching (Ménard et al, 2014), road killing by vehicles (Richini-Pereira et al , 2008) and local extinction due to habitat removal (Griffin et al, 2007;Imperio et al, 2013). Indirect and less fatal effects include habitat degradation (Primack, 2008), reduced reproductive output (Safina & Burger, 1983;French et al , 2011;Webber et al, 2013) and decline in body condition (Hellgren & Polnaszek, 2011). To deal with human influence, animals have adopted multiple survival strategies such as adjusting time budgets (Poudel et al, 2015a), allocating more time to vigilance (Griffin et al, 2007;Poudel et al, 2015b), or using habitats farther away from human activity (Paudel & Kindlmann, 2011;Macedo et al, 2018;Pita et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indirect and less fatal effects include habitat degradation (Primack, 2008), reduced reproductive output (Safina & Burger, 1983;French et al , 2011;Webber et al, 2013) and decline in body condition (Hellgren & Polnaszek, 2011). To deal with human influence, animals have adopted multiple survival strategies such as adjusting time budgets (Poudel et al, 2015a), allocating more time to vigilance (Griffin et al, 2007;Poudel et al, 2015b), or using habitats farther away from human activity (Paudel & Kindlmann, 2011;Macedo et al, 2018;Pita et al, 2020). Furthermore, species that accompany humans, such as domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris ), also negatively impact the survival of wild animals (Mainini et al, 1993;Mori, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, highly mobile species like certain birds and ungulates may survive by exploring new habitats away from the disturbed areas (Safina & Burger, 1983;Paudel & Kindlmann, 2011;Scholten et al, 2018). However, for residential species such as some large carnivores or amphibians who cannot avoid human disturbances in the form of roads or logging through migration, their populations decline, and local extinctions are common (Hebblewhite et al, 2005;Fei et al, 2006;Griffin et al, 2007;Klaassen & Broekhuis, 2018). Nevertheless, certain other residential species, like rodents and small carnivores, are better able to adapt and survive in human-dominated habitats (Lambe, 2016;Harris & Munshi-South, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of human activity on the habitat utilization of Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana) in Zoige wetland

Cheng

Zhou

Krzton

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Human activity is increasingly and persistently disturbing nature and wild animals. Affected wildlife adopts multiple strategies to deal with different human influences. To explore the effect of human activity on habitat utilization of the Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana), habitat utilization patterns of three neighboring marmot populations in habitats affected differently by human activities were recorded and compared. We found that: (1) Distance between reproductive burrows becomes shorter under the influence of human activity, and further, the more disturbance a population suffers, the more burrows were dug as temporary shelter to reduce the distance to those shelters when threatened. More burrows that are closer in the disturbed habitats improve ability to escape from threats. (2) Burrow site selection is determined by the availability of mounds in the habitat. Breeding pairs selectively build burrows on mounds to reproduce, potentially to improve surveillance and the drainage of their burrows. Human activities generally drive breeding pairs away from the road to build their reproductive burrows, likely to reduce disturbance from vehicles. However, even heavy human activity exerts no pressure on the distance of reproductive burrows from the road or the mound volume of the high disturbance population, potentially because mounds are the best burrowing site in the habitat. Marmots deal with nonlethal human disturbance by digging more burrows in the habitat to flee more effectively and building reproductive burrows on mounds to gain better vigilance and drainage efficiency.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Effects of human activity on the habitat utilization of Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana) in Zoige wetland

Cheng

Zhou

Krzton

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

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Effects of human activity on the habitat utilization of Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana) in Zoige wetland

Zhou

Krzton

Gao

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Human activity is increasingly and persistently disturbing nature and wild animals. Affected wildlife adopts multiple strategies to deal with different human influences. To explore the effect of human activity on habitat utilization of Himalayan marmot ( Marmota himalayana ), habitat utilization patterns of three neighboring marmot populations in habitats affected differently by human activities were recorded and compared. We found that (a) distance between reproductive burrows (a represent of reproductive pairs) becomes shorter under the influence of human activities, and more burrows were dug as temporary shelters, resulting in shorter distance between those shelters and shorter distance flee to those shelters and, consequently, shorter flight initiation distance when threatened. More burrows that are closer to the disturbed habitats improve the ability to escape from threats. (b) Reproductive burrow site selection of the species is determined by the availability of mounds in the habitat, and breeding pairs selectively build reproductive (also the hibernation) burrows on mounds, potentially to improve surveillance when basking and the drainage of burrows. Human activities generally drive breeding pairs away from the road to dig their reproductive burrows likely to reduce disturbance from vehicles. However, even heavy human activity exerts no pressure on the distance of reproductive burrows from the road or the mound volume of the high disturbance population, potentially because mounds are the best burrowing site to reproduce and hibernate in the habitat. Marmots deal with disturbance by digging more burrows in the habitat to flee more effectively and building reproductive burrows on mounds to gain better vigilance and drainage efficiency.

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Burrow characteristics and ecological significance of Marmota himalayana in the northeastern Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

Hou

2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Burrows provide burrowing animals with a place to hibernate, reproduce, and avoid predators and harsh weather conditions and thus have a vital impact on their survival. However, the general physical characteristics and ecological functions of Marmota himalayana burrows as well as whether there are differences in burrow traits under different terrains (e.g., sunny slopes, shady slopes, and flat areas) are not well understood. From July to August 2019 (warm season), we used unmanned aerial vehicles to fly at low altitudes and slow speeds to locate 131 M . himalayana burrows (45 on shaded slopes, 51 on sunny slopes, and 35 on flat areas) in the northeastern Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau region. We then measured the physical characteristics (burrow density, entrance size, first tunnel length, volume, orientation, and plant characteristics near the burrow entrance) of these burrows on site. We found that terrain had a substantial influence on burrow density, orientation, and entrance size and on the angle of the burrow entrance; species richness had a substantial impact on path density and tunnel volume. The physical parameters of the M. himalayana burrows showed that they function to protect the marmots from natural enemies and bad weather, provide good drainage, and maintain a stable microclimate around the entrance. We discuss the ability of burrowing animals (e.g., M. himalayana ) to adapt to the external environment based on their burrow characteristics.

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Burrowing and Anti-Predator Requirements Determine the Microhabitat Selection of Himalayan Marmot in Zoige Wetland

Cited by 7 publications

References 43 publications

Effects of human activity on the habitat utilization of Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana) in Zoige wetland

Effects of human activity on the habitat utilization of Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana) in Zoige wetland

Effects of human activity on the habitat utilization of Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana) in Zoige wetland

Burrow characteristics and ecological significance of Marmota himalayana in the northeastern Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

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