Space use by endangered giant pandas

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March 29, 2015 - <hullvane@gmail.com>, <hullvane@gmail.com>, Shiqiang Zhou, Jinyan Huang, Rengui Li, Dian Liu, Weihua Xu, Yan Huang, Zhiyun Ouyang, Hemin Zhang, and <liuji@msu.edu>

Journal or Book Title: Journal of Mammalogy

Keywords: Ailuropoda melanoleuca; biased random bridge; core area; giant panda; home range; space use; Wolong Nature Reserve

Volume/Issue: 96 (1)

Page Number(s): 230-236

Year Published: 2015

Studies on animal space use can reveal insights into how animals interact with one another and their environment. Research on the space use patterns of the endangered giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) in China has nevertheless lagged behind that of many other species, as a government moratorium prevented telemetry data collection on pandas from 1995 to 2006. We studied 5 giant pandas using GPS telemetry and estimated home ranges, core areas, and space use using model-based approaches. Home range 95% area was 6 km2 for the single male studied and averaged 4.4±1.2 (± SD) km2 for the 4 females. Pandas occupied several small core areas that they revisited after time lags of up to several months. Pandas also displayed significant space use interactions, especially among the male and 2 different females across several weeks during a fall season, a time of year not previously thought to involve extensive inter-panda interaction.

DOI: 10.1093/jmamma/gyu031

Type of Publication: Journal Article

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