Avian diversity and spatial-temporal distribution pattern of dominant species in Baqing County, Tibet

By

Xie, Jielei
Cao, Zhiming
Wang, Dandan
Liu, Yuqin
Huang, Fuxing
Cui, Yuanzhen
Zhu, Xuntao
Hu, Xiaolong
Wang, Yan
Xu, Yongtao

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-7-23

Original Publication

Biodiversity data journal

Volume

13

Pages

1--21

Subjects

bird resources , dominant species , relative abundance index , Spatial-temporal distribution , Species diversity

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia Pensoft Publishers [2013]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e163095

 

Abstract

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, called the “Third Pole of the Earth”, is a typical region with rich avian resources due to its unique geographical environment and climatic characteristics. From August 2023 to May 2024, avian diversity was monitored with infrared camera trapping and transect surveys in Baqing County of the Three-River-Source National Park. A total of 81 bird species in 14 orders and 32 families were surveyed. Four and twelve species were respectively recorded as Class I and Class II nationally key protected animals of China. Based on the relative abundance index (RAI), the most dominant species was Phoenicurus ochruros (RAI = 2.226), followed by Prunella rubeculoides, Pyrgilauda ruficollis, Perdix hodgsoniae and Pseudopodoces humilis, which all exhibited unimodal diurnal activity peaks. Behaviour rhythm analysis showed daily activity peaks for Pseudopodoces humilis (10:00–15:00 h) and Phoenicurus ochruros (11:00–16:00 h). Other species with narrower peaks included Perdix hodgsoniae (12:00–14:00 h), Prunella rubeculoides (13:00–14:00 h) and Pyrgilauda ruficollis (11:00–12:00 h). The bird life of Baqing County is primarily dominated by highland elements, Holarctic elements, Palaearctic elements and Himalayan-Hengduan Mountains elements. The highest species richness occurs in habitats exhibiting the species-area effect and edge effect, particularly in grass-shrub ecotones and grass-rock mosaic habitats. This study provides essential baseline data to support avian conservation strategies in the Sanjiangyuan ecosystem.