Siberian Ibex ( Capra sibirica ) Home Ranges in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia: Preliminary Findings
Siberian ibex ( Capra sibirica ) remain poorly understood, as little is known about their ecology . W e began studying ibex in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Dornogobi Aimag, Mongolia to better understand the species’ ecological needs and threats. In this paper we report on home range and core...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
National University of Mongolia
2007-05-01
|
| Series: | Mongolian Journal of Biological Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://mjbs.num.edu.mn/uploads/files/MJBS%20Volume%205%20Number%201-2%20December%202007/pdf/mjbs005-01-02-05.pdf |
| Summary: | Siberian ibex (
Capra sibirica
) remain poorly understood, as little is known about their ecology
. W
e
began studying ibex in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Dornogobi
Aimag, Mongolia to better understand the
species’
ecological needs and threats. In this paper we report on home range and core range sizes.
We
captured 27 ibex and fi
t them with radio telemetry collars using drive nets for adults and juveniles (
n
= 22) and hand captures for neonatal kids (
n
= 5
). W
e collected 1,029 locations from September 2003
to February 2007. Throughout the study, 9 ibex with 40+ fi
xe
s used mean, annual home range sizes of
3,115.5 ± 504.2 ha using the Minimum Convex Polygon method. Home ranges calculated using the fi
xe
d
kernel method were smaller: 475.9 ± 14.7 ha for 50% kernel and 1,808.0 ± 88.1 ha for 95% kernel. Ibex
from different demographic groups (males vs. females and juveniles vs. adults) used remarkably similar
home and core ranges; we found no signifi
ca
nt differences among any demographic groups.
Although
not quantifi
ed
, ibex mostly restricted their activities to areas with steep cliffs and rocky outcrops and
home ranges overlapped extensively. |
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| ISSN: | 1684-3908 2225-4994 |