AsianScientist (Jul. 20, 2011) – Male and female giant pandas prefer to use different habitats, say scientists from the Institute for Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.
In the July 2011 issue of the Journal of Zoology, Dunwu Qi and colleagues studied the movements of giant pandas within the Liangshan Mountains of south central China.
Using a combination of field surveys and sex identification through fecal DNA, the researchers investigated gender differences in habitat use in wild giant pandas through ecological niche factor analysis modeling.
Their research agreed with previous knowledge that the basic type of habit for pandas are forests above 1,500 meters that were rich in bamboo, with high forest cover, and where fewer people live.
However, significant sexual differences in habitat selection were also observed, with female pandas in general more picky than males.
Females have a stronger association with high altitude conifer forests, mixed forests, historically clear-felled forests, and habitats that slope at between 10 and 20 degrees. The authors suggest that such areas are better for raising young, as females often make dens in stands of large conifer trees that are more than 200 years old to conceal their young.
Males however, were found to roam more widely, perhaps due to their need to move greater distances to find prospective female mates.
The authors caution that “effective conservation and management strategies should consider these differences in habitat selection of females and males,” since the female giant pandas have a narrower habitat and thus are likely to be disproportionately affected by habitat loss.
The article can be found at: Qi D et al. (2011) Different habitat preferences of male and female giant pandas.
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Source: Journal of Zoology.
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