大别山鹞落坪国家级自然保护区非飞行小型兽类物种多样性及其垂直分布格局OA

Understanding diversity patterns along elevational gradients is a key focus in biogeography.To explore the di-versity and elevational patterns of small mammals in Yaoluoping National Nature Reserve,Dabie Mountains,we estab-lished seven transects at 200 m altitude intervals,covering an altitudinal range of 500 to 1 721 m,from September to Oc-tober 2021.A systematic investigation of small mammals was conducted along these transects using snap-trapping and other trapping methods.During the survey,we accumulated 4 984 trap days and captured 705 small mammals,represent-ing 2 orders,5 families,13 genera,and 15 species.The species richness of small mammals in the reserve exhibited a hump-shaped distribution pattern along the elevational gradient.Partial regression analysis revealed normalized differ-ence vegetation index(NDVI)emerged as the primary factor influencing the distribution of small mammals in the re-serve.Based on molecular and morphological data,we found that the taxon previously identified as Cricetulus in the Da-bie Mountains is actually Tscherskia ningshaanensis.The findings suggest that future biodiversity conservation efforts should focus on the mid-elevation sections of the reserve.