Mammals and birds survey using camera trapping in Guangdong Liannan Bandong Provincial Nature Reserve

In order to gain an in-depth understanding of the species diversity in the Guangdong Liannan Bandong Provincial Nature Reserve, we monitored terrestrial birds and mammals based on 72 km grid sites (52 grids inside vs. 20 grids outside) using camera traps inside and outside the reserve for one year. The difference in species diversity between inside and outside the reserve was also analyzed. A total of 5 428 independent photograph (2 287 mammals and 3 141 birds) were collected totaling 19 416 camera-days from March 2021 to March 2022. We recorded 55 species (16 mammals and 39 birds) belonging to 26 families, 11 orders, and 2 classes. Among them, 14 species were listed as Class Ⅱ National Key Protected Species in China (3 mammals, 11 birds). The top three mammal species with the highest relative abundance index (RAI) were Dremomys pyrrhomerus, Sus scrofa, and Callosciurus erythraeus, and the top three bird species with the highest RAI were Lophura nycthemera, Zoothera aurea, and Myophonus caeruleus. The top three mammal species with the highest grid occupancy were Dremomys pyrrhomerus, Sus scrofa, and Paguma larvata, and the top three birdf species with the highest grid occupancy were Lophura nycthemera, Zoothera aurea, and Garrulax pectoralis. Comparing the monitoring data of mammals and birds, species richness, Shannon-Wiener index, and Simpson index were all higher inside the reserve than outside the reserve, while there was no significant difference in the Pielou index. The monitoring results showed that the proportion of carnivore species was relatively high, but with few larger ones. Possible reasons include habitat loss and fragmentation, food shortages, and human activity interference. Comparing with the previous investigation, a total of 8 new records of birds and mammals were recorded in the reserve. This study provides basic data for wildlife monitoring and assessment in the Guangdong Liannan Bandong Provincial Nature Reserve.