The distribution and behavioral characteristics of plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae)

Abstract

Plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) are regarded as one of the main causes of the degradation of alpine meadows in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). The population density of plateau pikas is directly related to the degree of grassland damage. In this study, field observation was conducted for one week in the southeastern QTP in August 2019. A random encounter model (REM) was used to estimate the population density of plateau pikas from photographs and videos, and the frequencies of different behaviors were calculated. In addition, the effects of water-source distance and terrain on the distribution of plateau pikas and the frequencies of different pika behaviors under different population densities were explored. The observations and knowledge derived from this study provide a reference for the population control of plateau pikas.

Letter for Qiu et al. (2021) regarding ‘The distribution and behavioral characteristics of plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae)’

“…and the values shown for the temperature gradient in figure 6 of Qiu et al (2021) were out of the range of the normal air temperature conditions. Therefore, their conclusion that the preferable temperature for pikas may be around 31~35 °C was incorrect.…”

“…There was no shelter provided for the field infrared camera in alpine meadow grasslands and the temperature of the camera increased rapidly under direct sunshine. However, the authors in this study incorrectly used the temperature recorded by the camera directly and the values shown for the temperature gradient in figure 6 of Qiu et al (2021) were out of the range of the normal air temperature conditions. Therefore, their conclusion that the preferable temperature for pikas may be around 31~35 °C was incorrect.…”

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While reading the paper 'The distribution and behavioral characteristics of plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae)' (Qiu et al 2021), I found that the authors of this paper appear to have made a mistake in reporting the surface temperature of their research area. The reasons are as follows:The study was carried out in August 2019 in Dari County of Qinghai Province, China (Qiu et al 2021).

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“…The altitude of the distribution areas of plateau pikas is more than 3,000 m, and cool condition are preferred by the pikas; if the temperature is more than 25 °C, the pikas will die. Therefore, I suggest that the authors of Qiu et al (2021) provide a statement of their results about temperature and behavior, or re-analyze of the data according to the temperature from the Meteorological Bureau of Dari County. This is a common problem in research projects that use temperature recordings recorded directly from images from field infrared cameras, which often produce incorrect air temperature readings when the cameras are under direct sunshine.…”

“…The study was carried out in August 2019 in Dari County of Qinghai Province, China ( Qiu et al 2021 ). I would like to point out that the historic high air temperature in Dari County was 23.2 °C ( Wang et al 2018 ), but in the paper by Qiu et al (2021) , the highest surface temperature was reported as 48 °C, and was more than twice the historic high temperature recorded for their research area. The reason for this discrepancy was that the surface temperature recorded in images was the temperature that was detected by the temperature receptors of the field infrared camera.…”