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In this paper, we update the status of Black-necked cranes (Grus nigricollis) in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China where it has hardly been recorded. We report on research in Southern Xinjiang，mainly in Altun (Arjin in Chinese) and Kunlun Mountain ranges and their adjacent areas, including part of Pamir Plateau and the southern edge of Lop Nur Basin. Black-necked cranes were observed in seven counties, by direct observation in 2010 to 2017, and we deduced that 180-220 individuals of the species inhabited Kunlun and Altun Mountains and the surrounding areas. 137 cranes, the largest population, were recorded in the autumn migration season in the Altun Mountain Nature Reserve in 2013. The most recent record of Black-necked cranes in the Lop Nur Basin ( N 40°19', E 91°58', alt. 790 m) was observed on May 2010 would be the northernmost distribution location with the lowest latitude and extreme arid environment．

Recent technological innovations have led to an upsurge in the availability of unmanned aerial vehicles (also known as drones and hereafter referred to as UAVs)—aircraft remotely operated from the ground—which are increasingly popular tools for ecological research, and the question of this study concerns the extent to which wildlife responses might allow aerial wildlife monitoring (AWM) by UAVs. Our experiment tests the hypothesis that the wildlife-UAVs interaction depends strongly on flight altitude that there may be a lowest altitude range for which the ungulates are not exceedingly disturbed, dictating a practically achievable level of discernibility in flight observation, for this question might influence the future viability of the UAVs in the study and protection of the other wildlife in China’s semiarid ecosystem. We examined the behavioral responses of a group of enclosed Przewalski’s horses (Equus ferus przewalskii) to the presence of different in-flight UAVs models by conducting flights at altitudes ranging from 1 to 52 meters and recorded the heights at which each horse reacted to (noticed and fled) the UAVs. All horses exhibited a stress response to UAVs flights as evidenced by running away. The results suggest strong correlations between flight altitude and response across the different subjects that adults generally noticed the UAVs at the larger heights (20.58 ± 10.46 m) than the immature (4.67 ± 0.87 m). Meanwhile, reaction heights of females (15.85 ± 6.01 m) are smaller than that of males (26.85 ± 18.52 m). Supported by their biological roles in herds (e.g., males must give protection to his entire herd while females are purely responsible for their offspring), our results also show that age, closely followed by gender, are the two most significant elements that determine a horse’s level of alertness to the UAVs. This research will help future scientists to better gauge the appropriate height to use a drone for animal observation in order to minimize disturbance and best preserve their natural behavior.

The Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia is a flagship species of mountainous central Asia, and a conservation concern. China has the largest extent of potential snow leopard habitat and is thus crucial for snow leopard conservation. There are many challenges to snow leopard conservation in China, however, and there is still little information on the species for many geographical locations, including the Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang province, which are important because they potentially connect snow leopard populations in Krygyzstan and Kazakhstan with those in Mongolia. We used camera traps in four areas across eastern, central and western Tianshan, with a total survey effort of 3,216 camera-trapping days. We confirmed the presence of snow leopards and an abundance of potential snow leopard prey, including the Siberian ibex Capra sibirica, in all areas. We found 2–3 individual adult snow leopards at each site, with relatively limited survey effort, and more study is needed to fully investigate the importance of the Tianshan Mountains for the species. Establishing more protected areas is essential for snow leopard conservation, and we have used data from this study to apply for protected area status for several areas.

We studied the breeding biology of Himalayan Griffon ( Gyps himalayensis ) in the central Tien Shan Mountains over two years (2012/2013). Line transect surveys were used to locate breeding sites. Breeding behavior was monitored from vantage points and nest site information obtained during nest visits and from video camera footage. Nest and nest-site characteristics, breeding stage and measurements of eggs and chicks were recorded during nest visits. Our survey estimated between 89 and 122 nests located within 14 colonies at 7 localities. Himalayan Griffon preferred nesting on the south-facing slopes (78.6%). Nests were in rock cavities, small caves or on ledges. Nest material comprised principally of fine reed stalks such as Poa spp. and Stipa spp. The maximum lateral extent of a single colony was 7.3 km, and the two nearest colonies were 47 km apart. Breeding season length was between six and nine months extending from January to September. The duration of the chick-rearing period was particularly prolonged compared to that of other Gyps vultures. The potential reasons for this are discussed and future research recommended.

Changes in the palaeoenvironment and paleoclimate expedite the process of evolutionary divergence in animals. The evolutionary events of some small mammals distributed in Xinjiang Arid Region remain ambiguous. Thus, it is necessary to predict their evolutionary histories based on divergence estimates. Some museum specimens were involved in this analysis because of sampling limitation for threatened species in the arid region. A related problem is that some mutilated specimens without complete taxonomic data made it difficult to directly analyze species divergence. Here, sequences of cytochrome c oxydase I were used to identify museum specimens and combined with cytochrome b to estimate the recent divergence of extant small mammals constrained with eight fossil calibrations. The results showed that the massive species differentiation emerged during the Middle and Late Miocene periods. We inferred that differentiation of these small mammals might be associated with the retreat of the Tethys Sea from the Tarim Basin around the Eocene-Oligocene boundary and the global climate fluctuations during the Miocene period. Furthermore, the aridification and changes in the Taklimakan and Gurbantunggut Deserts might have driven the diversification of intraspecies and the emergence of cryptic species since the Late Pleistocene.

Anthropogenic landscapes influence evolutionary processes such as population genetic differentiation, however, not every type of landscape features exert the same effect on a species, hence it is necessary to estimate their relative effect for species management and conservation. Przewalski's gazelle (Procapra przewalskii), which inhabits a human-altered area on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is one of the most endangered antelope species in the world. Here, we report a landscape genetic study on Przewalski's gazelle. We used skin and fecal samples of 169 wild gazelles collected from nine populations and thirteen microsatellite markers to assess the genetic effect of anthropogenic landscape features on this species. For comparison, the genetic effect of geographical distance and topography were also evaluated. We found significant genetic differentiation, six genetic groups and restricted dispersal pattern in Przewalski's gazelle. Topography, human settlement and road appear to be responsible for observed genetic differentiation as they were significantly correlated with both genetic distance measures [F(ST)/(1-F(ST)) and F'(ST)/(1-F'(ST))] in Mantel tests. IBD (isolation by distance) was also inferred as a significant factor in Mantel tests when genetic distance was measured as F(ST)/(1-F(ST)). However, using partial Mantel tests, AIC(c) calculations, causal modeling and AMOVA analysis, we found that human settlement was the main factor shaping current genetic differentiation among those tested. Altogether, our results reveal the relative influence of geographical distance, topography and three anthropogenic landscape-type on population genetic differentiation of Przewalski's gazelle and provide useful information for conservation measures on this endangered species.