Ecological significance and risks of mineral licks to mammals in a nature reserve on the Eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

ABSTRACT

Mineral licks are important components of terrestrial ecosystems that have special value to the maintenance of fluid balance of mammals, by providing them with essential mineral nutrients such as sodium, calcium, and magnesium. In the Anzihe Nature Reserve, southwest China, seven species of ungulates and one species of primates were frequently observed visiting the mineral licks in high densities. As a consequence, mineral licks have attracted illegal hunters and facilitated the spread of parasites and diseases, leading to a depletion of local populations. Therefore, we suggest that regions with abundant mineral licks should be designated as key protected areas in the Anzihe Nature Reserve and relevant zones for animal health surveillance.

KEYWORDS:

• Mineral licks
• mineral nutrients
• illegal hunters
• parasites and diseases

Acknowledgments

We thank Honghan Ma, Honglin Zhou, and Yongqiang Gu for their kind assistance with field data collection. This study was financially supported by Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (STEP) (No. 2019QZKK0402, No. 2019QZKK0501). Zhixin Wen is supported by the National Science and Technology Basic Resources Survey Program of China (2019FY100204).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Science and Technology Basic Resources Survey Program of China [2019FY100204]; Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences [2019QZKK0402,2019QZKK0501].