Plateau pikas near roads are bold and silent when facing a potential predator  

作　　者：Bicheng Zhua Jiapeng Qu Jianguo Cui 

机构地区：[1]CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization&Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province,Chengdu Institute of Biology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Chengdu 610041,Sichuan,China [2]Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota,Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Qinghai 810008,China [3]Qinghai Haibei National Field Research Station of Alpine Grassland Ecosystem,Qinghai 810008,China

出　　处：《Current Zoology》2023年第5期552-558,共7页动物学报（英文版）

基　　金：supported by Sichuan Science and Technology Program(2022JDTD0026);National Natural Science Foundation of China(31772464,32001095);Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS(2012274).

摘　　要：Human disturbance,particularly road traffic,is one of the greatest threats to wildlife.Considering the association between alerting behavior and the survival of animals,it is important to study the effects of road traffic on alerting behavior of wildlife.Previous studies assessing the shortterm impact of road traffic on alerting behavior of wildlife have focused on vigilance distances.However,studies on the use of alarm calls are scarce,and it is unclear whether such behavioral responses change after repeated exposure to road traffic.We assessed the alerting behavior of plateau pikas(Ochotona curzoniae)who were near or far from roads when facing a potential predator.We found that pikas near roads exhibited shorter vigilance and tolerance distances,and produced fewer alarm calls than those relatively far away from roads.Furthermore,both vigilance and tolerance distances of plateau pikas were significantly positively correlated with the distance from the burrow to the road.Road traffic reduced antipredator responses and shaped alerting behavior;that is,pikas near roads were bolder and more silent compared to those far away from roads.Our findings suggest that increasing urbanization will have corresponding effects on animal behavior,which may have significant fitness effects in the future.

关 键 词：alarm call flight initiation distance plateau pika Qinghai-Tibet Plateau road traffic vigilant behavior 

分 类 号：Q95[生物学—动物学]