Species Composition of a Small Mammal Community and Prevalence of Echinococcus spp. in the Alpine Pastoral Area of the Eastern Tibetan Plateau.

We aimed to investigate the species composition of a small mammal community and the prevalence of Echinococcus spp. in a typical endemic area of the Tibetan Plateau. One pika and five rodent species were identified based on the morphological characteristics of 1278 small mammal specimens collected during 2014-2019. Detection of Echinococcus DNA in tissue samples from small mammal specimens revealed that Ochotona curzoniae (pika, total prevalence: 6.02%, 26/432), Neodon fuscus (5.91%, 38/643), N. leucurus (2.50%, 3/120), and Alexandromys limnophilus (21.74%, 10/46) were infected by both E. multilocularis and E. shiquicus; Cricetulus longicaudatus (16.67%, 1/6) was infected by E. shiquicus; and no infection was detected in N. irene (0/15). Neodon fuscus and O. curzoniae were the two most abundant small mammal species. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of pika and the overall rodent species assemblage (6.26%, 53/846); however, the larger rodent populations suggested that more attention should be paid to their role in the transmission of echinococcosis in the wildlife reservoir, which has long been underestimated. Moreover, although DNA barcoding provides a more efficient method than traditional morphological methods for identifying large numbers of small mammal samples, commonly used barcodes failed to distinguish the three Neodon species in this study. The close genetic relationships between these species suggest the need to develop more powerful molecular taxonomic tools.

[Group differences in responses of Pseudois naynaur to human disturbance in Helan Mountain, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region].

Wild animals respond differently to nonconsumptive human activity and such variation depends on multiple factors. We explored the behaviors of Pseudois naynaur and recorded the distance of their responses in Suyu Kou National Forest Park, Helan Mountain, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. We categorized their behavioural responses as no response, vigilance and flight and recorded the response initiation distance. We compared distances according to disturbance source, group size, group type and sex. Our results showed that Pseudois naynaur showed stronger responses to humans than vehicles. The distance at which the subject of the group was vigilant in small group (group size less than three) was significantly more than that of larger groups (group size more than three). The flight initiation distance in small groups (less than five) was significantly more than bigger groups. The distance of no response behavior did not vary between all male, female or mixed groups. The distance of vigilance behavior when the subject of the group first encountered the disturbance in male groups was significantly greater for female and mix groups, flight initiation distance in female groups was greater than that of mixed groups. In the mixed group, no significant variation on sex was found among all three types of behaviors.