Nest survival rate of Reeves's pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii) based on artificial nest experiments

To explore the nest survival rate of Reeves's pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii) and the nest-site factors that affect it, we conducted artificial nest experiments with reference to natural nests at Dongzhai National Nature Reserve (DNNR), Henan Province and Pingjingguan, Hubei Province from April to June 2014 simulating the situation in its early and later breeding season. We also determined distance characteristics of the nest sites using ArcGIS 10.0. Nest survival models were constructed in Program MARK for data analysis. Results indicated that in the early breeding season, the apparent survival rate (ASR) in DNNR (52.4%) was significantly greater than that in Pingjingguan (13.5%), and the ASR in the later breeding season in DNNR (26.7%) was not indistinctively correlated with Pingjingguan (3.2%). The daily survival rate (DSR) in the later breeding season was 93.8% in DNNR and 92.0% in Pingjingguan, respectively. The DSRs were both negatively correlated with nest distance to forest edges and settlements. The DSR in Pingjingguan was positively correlated with nest distance to paths and negatively correlated with nest distance to water sources. However, the DSR in DNNR was negatively correlated with nest distance to paths but positively correlated with nest distance to water sources.