东北虎基础生态学研究

The Amur tiger is a wide-ranging feline predator endemic to the temperate broadleaf and mixed forest of north-east China and Russian Far East. The species has suffered dramatic decreases in population and habitat in China, with few tigers straying across the China-Russia borderlands. Currently listed as Endangered under IUCN criteria, the Amur tiger is likely to become extinct unless effective conservation measures are enacted in China. Successful conservation and management require accurate information on ecology of the species upon which decisions can be based. There is an urgent need to conserve tiger and the first step towards this is to obtain knowledge about their basic biology. Little is known about the conservation status of Amur tiger in human dominated forest landscape in China. The occupancy, distribution and tiger density are important information for management and conservation policy formulation. The study based on a field platform on Amur tiger and its prey across the border of China and Russian established in 2007. We use the survey technology of camera-trapping and transect-sampling to determine the amount and distribution of tiger and its prey and habitat associations. The objective is to investigate basic ecological aspects of tigers including the prey availability and selection, food habitats, population and survival rate, home ranges and activity patterns and interaction with Amur leopard, and developed strategies for management and restoration to improve tiger viability in China.

东北虎是温带针阔混交林的旗舰种，历史上广泛分布于中国东北和俄罗斯远东地区，仅仅经过100多年种群数量从上世纪初的2500多只骤降为500只左右，成为濒危物种，从中国东北退到俄罗斯远东锡霍特山脉。面对生境的丧失和退化，中国东北虎种群成功的恢复需要精确的生态需求信息，然而在中国东北虎的基础生态学研究非常匮乏。本研究基于 "中俄边界东北虎及有蹄类动物多样性长期监测平台"，采用红外相机陷阱网络技术，并基于标记-重捕和占据研究的统计和设计框架，全面、系统和准确地探明东北虎种群现状与趋势变化，监测东北虎种群在中国的扩散、定居和繁殖过程；确定家域大小与分析季节性活动节律；估计东北虎的猎物分布与丰富度，并根据粪便和残留食物痕迹分析东北虎的食性和猎物远择；研究东北虎与同域大型食肉动物远东豹之间的共存与竞争机制，系统地回答东北虎的基础生态学问题，为我国东北虎的保护和栖息地的恢复提供科学基础。

作为食物链顶端的旗舰物种，野生东北虎在维持亚洲温带针阔混交林生态平衡中具有极为重要的作用，所以评估中国境内东北虎的种群现状及其濒危机制具有重要的科学和保护价值。本项目依托“中国东北虎豹生物多样性长期定位监测网络（Long-term Tiger Leopard Observation Network in NE China, BNU-TLON），我们首次调查和分析了东北虎在中国境内的种群数量、分布、密度、遗传多样性和活动规律，系统评价了人类干扰对东北虎种群和猎物多度、分布和扩散的影响，结果显示东北虎豹主要分布在中俄边境区，豹的密度是虎密度的1.5-2倍，严重的放牧活动是限制东北虎豹及主要猎物（主要是梅花鹿）向中国境内扩散最主要的因素。采用粪便分析法分析了东北虎冬季食物构成和偏好，并通过分析虎与主要猎物梅花鹿、野猪和狍子的时空重叠，阐明了这一濒危物种的捕食策略。食性分析表明野猪、梅花鹿和狍是对其生物量贡献率最高的猎物，食性选择分析表明东北虎极度偏好捕食野猪。从时间、空间和食物资源三个维度上分析了东北虎和东北豹的竞争与共存机制，结果显示东北虎与东北豹之间不存在大尺度的地理空间排除，尽管二者存在食物资源竞争，但时间生态位分化是这两个濒危物种最主要的共存机制。另外东北豹偏好高海拔和山脊，虎则主要出现在低海拔和频繁利用林中土路，进一步促进了二者的共存。通过上述研究阐明了环境要素、人类活动、猎物资源等因素与东北虎种群动态之间的关系和东北虎濒危机制，并提出了科学合理的管理和保护对策，为东北虎豹国家公园的建设奠定了重要的科学基础。发表SCI论文10篇，主要论文发表在Biological Conservation，Landscape Ecology，Integrative Zoology等期刊上，1篇论文入选2017年Springer-Nature集团发布的“可以改变世界的180篇年度杰出论文”，撰写的有关东北虎豹保护的研究报告被吉林省政府采纳。