Activity patterns and suitable habitat distribution of <i>Gazella subgutturosa</i> in Zhongwei Shapotou National Nature Reserve, Ningxia, China.

Understanding the activity pattern and distribution of suitable habitats of <i>Gazella subgutturosa</i> can help reveal its survival strategy under changing environments, and provide a scientific basis for formulating the conservation countermeasures. In this study, we used infrared camera technology and species distribution model to analyze the activity pattern and distribution of suitable habitats of <i>G. subgutturosa</i> in Zhongwei Shapotou National Nature Reserve and its surroundings, aiming to assess the conservation gaps. The results showed that, from October 2022 to May 2024, the 136 infrared cameras installed in the Shapotou Reserve worked for a total of 67456 camera days and recorded a total of 5520 independent photographs of <i>G. subgutturosa</i>. Among them, 1154 photographs were taken in spring, 712 in summer, 1343 in fall, and 2311 in winter. The daily activity of <i>G. subgutturosa</i> in the Shapotou Reserve showed a diurnal pattern, with activity peaks in morning and evening. Out of the six models from BIOMOD2 platform, the maxent simulation performed the best and the surface distribution differentiation chamber model performed the worst. The model provided satisfactory results, with the TSS value of 0.996, and the AUC value of 0.940. The model results showed that the total area of suitable habitat for <i>G. subgutturosa</i> was 47493 hm² in the Shapotou, of which 35751 hm² was highly suitable habitat and 11742 hm² was moderately suitable habitat. Shapotou Nature Reserve had protected 15.8% of the suitable habitat for <i>G. subgutturosa</i>, and the value would increase to 43.3% after Changliushui area being included into the reserve. This study grasped the activity pattern and distribution of suitable habitats of <i>G. subgutturosa</i> in Shapotou area, enriched the knowledge of its behavioral ecology, which would provide scientific basis for the formulation of <i>G. subgutturosa</i> conservation strategies and the adjustment of the protected area boundary in Shapotou Nature Reserve.