Alpine Musk Deer (Moschus chrysogaster) Adjusts to a Human-Dominated Semi-Arid Mountain Ecosystem

Abstract

Comprehension of whether human and livestock presence affects wildlife activity is a prerequisite for the planning and management of humans and livestock in protected areas. Xinglong Mountain Nature Reserve (XMNNR) in northwest China, as a green island in a semi-arid mountain ecosystem, is one of the scattered and isolated areas for Alpine musk deer (AMD), an endangered species. AMD cohabits their latent habitat area with foraging livestock and humans. Hence, habitat management within and outside the distribution areas is crucial for the effective conservation of AMD. We applied camera traps to a dataset of 2 years (September 2018–August 2020) to explore seasonal activity patterns and habitat use and assess the impacts of AMD habits in XMNNR. We investigated AMD responses to livestock grazing and human activities and provided effective strategies for AMD conservation. We applied MaxENT modeling to predict the distribution size under current conditions. The activity patterns of the AMD vary among seasons. The optimum habitat average distance to cultivated land ranges of AMD (150~3300 m during grass period/100~3200 m during withered grass period), distances to the residential area ranges (500~5700 m during the grass period/1000~5300 m during the withered grass period), elevation ranges (2350~3400 m during the grass period/2360~3170 m during the withered grass period), aspect ranges (0~50° and 270~360°), normalized vegetation index ranges (0.64~0.72 during the grass period/0.14~0.60 during the withered grass period), and land cover types (forest, shrub, and grassland). Results present that the predicted distributions of AMD were not confined to the areas reported but also covered other potential areas. The results provide evidence of strong spatial-temporal avoidance of AMD in livestock, but gradually adjusting to human activities. These camera trap datasets may open new opportunities for species conservation in much wider tracts, such as human-dominated landscapes, and may offer guidance and mitigate impacts from livestock, as well as increase artificial forest planting and strengthen the investigation of the potential population resources of AMD.