Abstract
We conducted a study of Asian badger (Meles leucurus) habitat use between April and October 2008 in the Xiaoxing’anling Mountains, Heilongjiang Province, China. Compared with habitats available in spring, Asian badgers selected broad-leaved forest dominated by Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica) with low tree density and coverage but high shrub density. In summer, badgers selected areas dominated by trees such as Amur linden (Tilia amurensis), with low tree density and coverage, low herbage coverage and high shrub density. In autumn, badgers selected habitats with relatively low tree coverage, low herbage coverage and high shrub density and plots on the upper slope when compared with available plots. Results from a Kruskal-Wallis H-test showed 15 variables that differed significantly by season. Discriminant analysis showed that, despite obvious overlaps in seasonal habitat use, habitat selection differed significantly by season. Knowledge of Asian badger habitat selection can influence wildlife habitat management and provide basic data to further guide ecological study.
Our project was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province of China (No. C200912), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (No. NCET-08-0753), the Research Funds for the Postdoctoral Scholars in Heilongjiang Province and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. DL09CA03). We also thank two anonymous reviewers and Dr. Tom Dahmer and Mark Challoner for their valuable reviews of this manuscript.
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