科研之友
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摘要
Ecological and behavioural studies of subterranean animals are challenging because their subterranean lifestyle make direct observations difficult. Effective live trapping without causing injuries to an animal and handling of captured individuals are crucial for ecological and behavioural studies. In this paper, we report the design and structure of a live trap and trapping technique for zokors. The trap is made up of a stainless steel cage with a gate, a trigger and a GSM/GPRS module, and it is installed in the tunnel of a fossorial rodent (Eospalax fontanierii). The animal gets trapped when it comes to seal the opening through the cage. Once triggered, the GSM/GPRS wireless module will send a signal to a mobile phone so that the researcher can retrieve the trapped animal with little delay. A field trial of this trap was conducted at an alpine meadow in Tianzhu, China. The successful capture rate was 76% of all traps set with no injury recorded, and the average capture time was 31.67 min (range, 21.5-46.5 min). This live trap gave good results on zokor research, and it is also potentially effective or can be modified for trapping other burrow-excavating subterranean animals.
- 出版日期2015-11
- 单位甘肃农业大学
