CAJ | 학술논문

We quantified food habits of Kulan (Equus hemionus hemionus) at Kalamaili Mountain Nature Reserve (KNR) in northern Xinjiang, September 2006 - August 2007, using faecal microscopic methods. We identified 46 plant species in Kulan fecal samples, representing 17 families. Diets veried seasonally: in autumn, we documented 25 plant species from 8 families consumed by Kulans; in winter, Kulan consumed 13 plant species from 5 families; 30 plant species from 14 families were used by Kulan in spring; and 26 plant species from 13 families were used by Kulan in summer. Chenopodiaceae and Gramineae were major foods of Kulan, comprising 64. 7% -84. 1% of their diet, and forbs were very important to Kulan in spring. Stipa glareosa was a major food of Kulan in spring and summer, of lesser but significant importance were Haloxylon ammodendron and Ceratoides latens. Similar to the summer, grasses like Stipa glareosa also played an important role in autumn, but shrubs became of more importance. In winter, Anabasis spp. and Reaumuria soongonica were the major food of Kulan. We believe that the Kulan in KNR occupied a grazer-mixed feeder continuum, and the change of the Kulan food habits through the year were due to the seasonal changes in plant nutrient quality and human interferences. Anabasis spp. , which played a major role in winter, was utilized as a strategy for energy metabolism.