应用卫星GPS跟踪器研究猎隼在三江源地区的运动模式

There are a certain number of animals occurring in the Three River Source Region on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. They have attracted much attention in the past decades, yet their ecology is still largely unknown because of the low accessibility to their habitat. The saker falcon (Falco cherrug) is one of the animals. The saker falcon is the largest falcon. Its population is declining over the world. There still remain a large population of saker falcon on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with several thousand breeding pairs. We plan to capture 20 individuals, and attach GPS satellite trackers on the back of the birds. The time series locations of the birds can help us to know their migration timing and routes, their territory, and their suitable habitat. The major content of this project is to derive movement parameters based on the tracking data. The parameters include speed, moving direction, changes in direction, the overlap of the movement trajectory, as well as the variance and autocorrelation coefficients of these parameters. The combination of movement parameters corresponds to certain movement patterns, such as foraging, roosting, dispersal, and migration. We will develop a R package, AnimalMove, to distinguish the movement patterns on the basis of satellite telemetry data. This tool can enable people to define and quantify movement patterns, and further detect deeper movement characteristics such as the strength of personality, or the specific forage patterns (extensive search or intensive search). The output of this project will be great helpful in planning and zoning of the Three River Source National Park. For example, the extensive search mode of the saker falcon is related to the strategy of maintaining a certain amount of suitable forage area; whereas the intensive search mode is corresponding to the strategy of protecting the current foraging sites.

三江源地区的濒危动物，是令人瞩目然而又了解不多的，因为当地严酷的环境限制了调查研究的开展。猎隼是一种大型猛禽，正在全球退缩，在青藏高原依旧保留较大的群体，有几千个繁殖对。我们计划在三江源捕获20只猎隼，佩戴卫星GPS跟踪器，获取其时间序列的定位信息。该项目将首次揭示猎隼在三江源的适宜生境、领域面积和迁徙规律。本项目核心内容是依据卫星遥测数据，建立算法，提取运动参数，包括每一组定位点的速度、方向、方向偏转、轨迹的折叠等，以及上述参数的方差和自相关系数。运动参数的不同组合对应着不同的运动模式，如觅食、夜宿、扩散和迁徙。我们将构建R软件包，应用遥测数据，自动判别猎隼的运动模式。该工具可以帮助人们了解动物的运动特征，如个性的强弱；判定行为的模式，如觅食行为是广泛搜索还是深度搜索。研究结果将有助于三江源国家公园的规划，如广泛搜索模式对应着觅食区总面积的维持，深度搜索模式对应着对特定区域的重点保护。

猎隼（Falco cherrug）是受到国际关注的猛禽，其IUCN的受威胁级别是濒危。然而目前对其空间分布、种群大小和活动规律的了解还很少。三江源是猎隼在全球分布的一个核心区。我们在三江源国家公园捕获了31只猎隼并佩戴了卫星跟踪发射器，四年累计获得135,998有效定位点。我们通过物种分布模型计算了猎隼在三江源的空间分布，这个结果可以为国家公园的详细规划提供依据。我们设计了R语言包birdmigtools，用一系列描述猎隼运动状态的变量来确定其四种生活模式：繁殖、迁徙、游荡或越冬。目前我们考虑的变量是运动速度、运动方向、运动方向的偏转度、运动状态的周期性、运动轨迹的重叠程度、飞行行为的持续时间、每天累计飞行距离、定位点的重复率这8个变量，来自动判断猎隼个体的生活状态。另外，birdmigtools包可以直接利用卫星跟踪数据计算猎隼个体的巢址位置、迁徙开始和结束的时间，以及领域面积。我们发现三江源的猎隼分为迁徙型和留居型的两个种群，其中留居型的占大多数，>80%的个体是留居型的。迁徙型的个体是在蒙古进行繁殖，然后到三江源进行越冬的。三江源区域留居型猎隼的运动模式，表现出强烈的随机性，个体间差距极大，而且没有季节节律。猎隼在春夏秋冬都会长距离（>500 km）游荡，有的个体越冬区仅有2平方公里，有的几千至几万平方公里。