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Identifying priority protection areas of key food resources of the giant panda

Animals that live in seasonal environments adjust their reproduction cycle to optimize seasonal forage quality. Giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) are seasonal altitudinal migrants that feed on bamboo shoots and leaves with different nutritional quality. However, the importance of bamboo shoots t...

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Autores principales: Ma, Ying-Jie, Wang, Meng, Hu, Xiao-Yu, Gu, Xiao-Dong, Li, Yu-Mei, Wei, Fu-Wen, Nie, Yong-Gang
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Science Press 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10559099/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37537140
http://dx.doi.org/10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2022.526
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author Ma, Ying-Jie
Wang, Meng
Hu, Xiao-Yu
Gu, Xiao-Dong
Li, Yu-Mei
Wei, Fu-Wen
Nie, Yong-Gang
author_facet Ma, Ying-Jie
Wang, Meng
Hu, Xiao-Yu
Gu, Xiao-Dong
Li, Yu-Mei
Wei, Fu-Wen
Nie, Yong-Gang
author_sort Ma, Ying-Jie
collection PubMed
description Animals that live in seasonal environments adjust their reproduction cycle to optimize seasonal forage quality. Giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) are seasonal altitudinal migrants that feed on bamboo shoots and leaves with different nutritional quality. However, the importance of bamboo shoots to giant pandas, especially small and isolated populations, is not fully appreciated. Here, we explored whether mating time of giant pandas is shaped by bamboo shoot phenology. We also assessed the intensity of ongoing bamboo shoot harvesting by local communities in 42 giant panda reserves based on questionnaire surveys. Varying intensity and protection levels of bamboo shoot harvesting were found. From these data, we developed a priority ranking scheme of protection areas for this key food resource. Our study showed that pandas time their mating behavior to coincide with bamboo shoot phenology due to the high nutritional demands associated with mating and pregnancy. We also found that bamboo shoots were not well protected in many places. Liangshan, Daxiangling, and Xiaoxiangling, containing the most isolated panda populations, were identified as the areas with the most urgent need of protection. Furthermore, equal attention should be paid to the QiongL-B population, as this region holds considerable potential to serve as a corridor between the Minshan and Qionglai populations. To address the challenges posed by bamboo shoot harvesting, we recommend establishing more practical bamboo shoot management policies, increasing public awareness of bamboo shoot protection, and providing alternative sources of income for local communities.
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spelling pubmed-105590992023-10-08 Identifying priority protection areas of key food resources of the giant panda Ma, Ying-Jie Wang, Meng Hu, Xiao-Yu Gu, Xiao-Dong Li, Yu-Mei Wei, Fu-Wen Nie, Yong-Gang Zool Res Article Animals that live in seasonal environments adjust their reproduction cycle to optimize seasonal forage quality. Giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) are seasonal altitudinal migrants that feed on bamboo shoots and leaves with different nutritional quality. However, the importance of bamboo shoots to giant pandas, especially small and isolated populations, is not fully appreciated. Here, we explored whether mating time of giant pandas is shaped by bamboo shoot phenology. We also assessed the intensity of ongoing bamboo shoot harvesting by local communities in 42 giant panda reserves based on questionnaire surveys. Varying intensity and protection levels of bamboo shoot harvesting were found. From these data, we developed a priority ranking scheme of protection areas for this key food resource. Our study showed that pandas time their mating behavior to coincide with bamboo shoot phenology due to the high nutritional demands associated with mating and pregnancy. We also found that bamboo shoots were not well protected in many places. Liangshan, Daxiangling, and Xiaoxiangling, containing the most isolated panda populations, were identified as the areas with the most urgent need of protection. Furthermore, equal attention should be paid to the QiongL-B population, as this region holds considerable potential to serve as a corridor between the Minshan and Qionglai populations. To address the challenges posed by bamboo shoot harvesting, we recommend establishing more practical bamboo shoot management policies, increasing public awareness of bamboo shoot protection, and providing alternative sources of income for local communities. Science Press 2023-09-18 /pmc/articles/PMC10559099/ /pubmed/37537140 http://dx.doi.org/10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2022.526 Text en Copyright © 2023 Editorial Office of Zoological Research, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) ), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Article
Ma, Ying-Jie
Wang, Meng
Hu, Xiao-Yu
Gu, Xiao-Dong
Li, Yu-Mei
Wei, Fu-Wen
Nie, Yong-Gang
Identifying priority protection areas of key food resources of the giant panda
title Identifying priority protection areas of key food resources of the giant panda
title_full Identifying priority protection areas of key food resources of the giant panda
title_fullStr Identifying priority protection areas of key food resources of the giant panda
title_full_unstemmed Identifying priority protection areas of key food resources of the giant panda
title_short Identifying priority protection areas of key food resources of the giant panda
title_sort identifying priority protection areas of key food resources of the giant panda
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10559099/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37537140
http://dx.doi.org/10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2022.526
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