Suitable Habitat Distribution and Niche Overlap of the Sable (Martes zibellina) and Yellow-Throated Marten (Martes flavigula) in Taipinggou National Nature Reserve, Heilongjiang Province, China
by
, ,
Yang Hong
1,†,
Xinxin Liu
1,†,
Ning Zhang
1,
Ziwen Wang
1,
Changzhi Zhang
2,* and
Minghai Zhang
1,* 1
College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
2
Jiangxi Environmental Engineering Vocational College, Ganzhou 341000, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Biology 2024, 13(8), 594; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology13080594
Submission received: 10 July 2024
/
Revised: 28 July 2024
/
Accepted: 5 August 2024
/
Published: 7 August 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conservation and Evolution of Wildlife in the Context of Climate Change and Human Population Growth)
Simple Summary
We used the line transect method and infrared camera traps to research the sable and yellow-throated marten in Taipinggou National Nature Reserve, Heilongjiang, China, to understand the distribution and overlap of their habitats and niches. In our study, the results showed that the habitat suitable for sables was larger than that for yellow-throated martens and that there is a partial overlap in terms of the suitable habitat for both species. There was a high degree of niche overlap between the sable and yellow-throated marten, primarily influenced by four environmental variables, i.e., “Distance from Settlements”, “Distance from Roads”, “Slope”, and “Distance from Coniferous and Broadleaved Mixed Forest”. This study can offer valuable insights for the development of policies aimed at conserving and managing sables and yellow-throated martens.
Abstract
The global focus on fostering harmonious interactions and promoting rational coexistence among wildlife species to uphold or reinstate biodiversity remains a prominent area of interest. We conducted a study on the sable and yellow-throated marten in Taipinggou National Nature Reserve, Heilongjiang, China, using the line transect method and infrared camera traps from 2022 to 2023. We then analyzed the overlap of their suitable habitats and niches with the aim of gaining insight into the interspecific competition between these two species. We found that the suitable habitat areas for the sable and yellow-throated marten were 55.20 km2 and 23.28 km2, accounting for 24.86% and 10.48% of the total area of this study, respectively. The overlap between the suitable habitats for the sable and yellow-throated marten was 15.73 km2, accounting for 28.5% and 67.6% of their suitable habitat, supporting our Hypothesis 1. The first principal component (Dim1) of the niche explained 35.4% of the overall variability, which is mainly related to the environmental variables “Distance from Settlements” and “Distance from Roads”. Overall, 25.5% of the total variability was explained by the second principal component (Dim2), associated with “Slope” and “Distance from Coniferous and Broadleaved Mixed Forest”. The niches occupied by the sable and yellow-throated marten were both off-center of the environmental background space, with the niches of the sable being larger than those of the yellow-throated marten. Schoener’s D index was 0.56, indicating a high degree of niche overlap between the sable and yellow-throated marten, supporting our Hypothesis 2. Our study is helpful in terms of formulating conservation and management policies for the sable and yellow-throated marten.
