Habitat use by giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) in relation to roads in the Wanglang Nature Reserve, People’s Republic of China

2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (8) ◽  
pp. 715-719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongwei Kang ◽  
Xiaorong Wang ◽  
Hongwei Yang ◽  
Lijuan Duan ◽  
Junqing Li
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Giant Panda ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
People’S Republic Of China ◽  
Ailuropoda Melanoleuca ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Giant Pandas ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Wanglang Nature Reserve

The impacts of roads on wildlife and their habitats have been widely recognized. To assess the effects of roads on habitat use of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca (David, 1869)), we investigated the giant panda habitats and the roadside habitats in Wanglang Nature Reserve, People’s Republic of China. We found that giant pandas did not use the road-affected habitats, and compared with giant panda habitats, road-affected habitats were characterized by lower bamboo density and grazing disturbances. Therefore, our study demonstrated that roads negatively affected the habitat use of giant pandas, and such affected habitats could not meet the needs of these animals. These results suggest that to minimize the negative effects of roads on the conservation of species, a full evaluation of the effects of roads on wildlife and their habitats should be conducted before road construction, and effective protection measures should be taken to control for these negative effects.

scholarly journals Habitat use by giant pandas Ailuropoda melanoleuca in the Wanglang Nature Reserve, Sichuan, China

2013 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong-Wei Kang ◽  
Hong-Wei Yang ◽  
Jun-Qing Li ◽  
You-Ping Chen ◽  
Lian-Jun Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Ailuropoda Melanoleuca ◽  
Giant Pandas ◽  
Wanglang Nature Reserve

Microhabitat separation during winter among sympatric giant pandas, red pandas, and tufted deer: the effects of diet, body size, and energy metabolism

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (9) ◽  
pp. 1451-1458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zejun Zhang ◽  
Fuwen Wei ◽  
Ming Li ◽  
Baowei Zhang ◽  
Xuehua Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Energy Metabolism ◽  
Giant Panda ◽  
Sichuan Province ◽  
Ailuropoda Melanoleuca ◽  
Giant Pandas ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Red Panda ◽  
Open Land ◽  
Selection Of

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca (David, 1869)), red panda (Ailurus fulgens F.G. Cuvier, 1825), and tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus Milne-Edwards, 1872) are endemic to the Himalayan Hengduan Mountains; the red panda extends into India, Burma, Bhutan, and Nepal, and the tufted deer extends marginally into Burma, while the giant panda is endemic to China. In Sichuan Province, uniquely, all three species occur sympatrically. We investigated microhabitat characteristics at 150 fecal-group sites from November 2002 to March 2003 to improve understanding of microhabitat separation among the three species at the Fengtongzhai Nature Reserve, Baoxing County, Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China. Density and height of bamboo were greater in the giant and red pandas' micro habitats than in those of the tufted deer. The red panda preferred microhabitats with greater tree-stump density, smaller trees, and shorter fallen log dispersion distance than the other two species. Tufted deer often occurred at sites with greater shrub density and herb cover and more open land with poorer concealment conditions than sites where the two panda species occurred. Both pandas' microhabitats were mostly concentrated on the upper hillside, unlike those of the tufted deer. The giant panda preferred microhabitats with a gentler slope and lower density of fallen logs. Selection of specific microhabitats by each species is an ecological adaptation dependent on behavior linked to its diet, body size, energy metabolism, and other factors. Microhabitat separation among these species reflects the integrated effects of their differences in diet, body size, and energy metabolism, which could facilitate their successful coexistence.

scholarly journals Relationship between human disturbance and Endangered giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca habitat use in the Daxiangling Mountains

Oryx ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Zhao ◽  
Bisong Yue ◽  
Jianghong Ran ◽  
Timothy Moermond ◽  
Ning Hou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Giant Panda ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Information Criteria ◽  
Ailuropoda Melanoleuca ◽  
Human Disturbances ◽  
Giant Pandas ◽  
The Road ◽  
Hydropower Stations

AbstractThe Endangered giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca is one of the most threatened mammals. The species has experienced declines in its population and habitat as a result of human disturbance. We investigated the influence of human disturbance on habitat use by giant pandas in the Daxiangling Mountains, in China's Sichuan Province. We mapped all signs of giant panda and all locations of seven types of human disturbance in the study area. We used correlation analysis, generalized linear models, and Akaike information criteria to analyse the influence of the various types of human disturbances on habitat use by the giant panda. Our results showed that habitat use was positively correlated with elevation and distance from roads, residences, hydropower stations and logging or tree-felling sites, but negatively correlated with distance from bamboo shoot collection sites and trap sites. We found that the road-effect zone spanned a distance of c. 1,200 m and that human residence could affect the intensity of habitat use by giant pandas at distances > 2,500 m. The effect of roads on habitat use was probably influenced by the association of roads with residences, hydropower stations and mines. In the area occupied by giant pandas, we recommend increased regulation to minimize the expansion and impact of roads, residences, hydropower stations and logging activities.

scholarly journals Integrating Livestock Grazing and Sympatric Takin to Evaluate the Habitat Suitability of Giant Panda in the Wanglang Nature Reserve

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2469
Author(s):  
Xiaoyu Chen ◽  
Xiaorong Wang ◽  
Junqing Li ◽  
Dongwei Kang
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Suitability ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Giant Panda ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Giant Pandas ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Habitat Overlap ◽  
Panda Habitat ◽  
Wanglang Nature Reserve

Habitat suitability provides essential information for the management of protected species. However, studies that jointly consider the impacts of human disturbance and sympatric animals in habitat suitability assessments of giant panda are limited, which may overestimate the habitat status. To address this issue, we evaluated the habitat suitability of giant panda in Wanglang Nature Reserve by simultaneously investigating livestock grazing and sympatric takin via MAXENT, a new attempt at the assessment of the habitat suitability of giant panda. We focused on describing the habitat suitability of giant panda and determining the habitat overlap between livestock, takin, and panda to evaluate the impacts of livestock grazing and sympatric takin on the suitable giant panda habitat. Results revealed that only 16.33% of the area in Wanglang was suitable giant panda habitat, of which 67.66% was shared by livestock, and 97.99% of the remaining suitable panda habitat not shared by livestock was revealed to be shared by takin. The results indicate an unfavorable habitat status of giant panda in Wanglang, with the potential extensive habitat overlap between livestock, takin and panda exerting further pressure. Thus, to effectively protect giant pandas and their habitats, grazing activity should be controlled. Furthermore, to accurately protect sympatric animals, the monitoring of panda and takin activities in the overlapping areas must be maintained.

Habitat use by giant panda in relation to man-made forest in Wanglang Nature Reserve of China

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (23) ◽  
pp. 13440-13445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongwei Kang ◽  
Xiaorong Wang ◽  
Hongwei Yang ◽  
Lijuan Duan ◽  
Junqing Li
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Giant Panda ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Wanglang Nature Reserve

scholarly journals Atmospheric deposition exposes pandas to toxic pollutants

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-ping Chen ◽  
Ying-juan Zheng ◽  
Qiang Liu ◽  
Yi Song ◽  
Zhi-sheng An ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Atmospheric Deposition ◽  
Giant Panda ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Wild Animal ◽  
Ailuropoda Melanoleuca ◽  
Giant Pandas ◽  
Toxic Emissions ◽  
The World ◽  
Endangered Animals

AbstractThe giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is one of the most endangered animals in the world, and it is recognized worldwide as a symbol for conservation. A previous study showed that wild and captive pandas were exposed to toxins in their diet of bamboo, but the ultimate origin of these toxins is unknown. Here we show that atmospheric deposition is the origin of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the diets of captive and wild Qinling giant pandas. Atmospheric deposition averaged 115 and 49 g⋅m−2⋅yr−1 at China’s Shaanxi Wild Animal Research Center (SWARC) and Foping National Nature Reserve (FNNR), respectively. Atmospheric deposition of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Pb, Hg, Co, Cu, Zn, Mn and Ni) and POPs at SWARC was higher than at FNNR. Soil concentrations of the aforementioned heavy metals other than As and Zn also were significantly higher at SWARC than at FNNR. We conclude that efforts to conserve the Qinling subspecies of panda may be compromised by air pollution attendant to China’s economic development. Improvement of air quality and reductions of toxic emissions are urgently required to protect China’s iconic species.

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