The trophic overlap in sympatric red deer ( Cervus elaphus) and roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus) in northeast China was very high, but these two species selected totally different habitats. The study on the spatio-temporal niche patterns of seven sympatric wild ungulates distributed in the Qinling Mountains (China) provided a scientific reference of the spatial and temporal ecology of wild ungulate communities in forest ecosystems. In recent years, many scholars have carried out various studies on the niche differentiation and coexistence of sympatric ungulates in the wild along different niche dimensions. Wild ungulates are one of the most important communities in forest and grassland ecosystems as they not only directly or indirectly affect the growth and renewal of plant communities by feeding, trampling, and carrying seeds but also are the main food source of carnivores, which can drive the composition and structure of these ecosystems. Our findings revealed the spatio-temporal niche relationship between tufted deer and sambar, contributing to a further understanding of the coexistence mechanism and providing scientific information for effective wild animal conservation in the reserve and other areas in the southeastern edge of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that the daily activity peak in the two species appeared at dawn and dusk however, the activity peak in tufted deer at dawn and dusk was later and earlier than sambar, respectively. (2) Based on 10,4 independent captures of tufted deer and sambar, their daily activity rhythms were calculated by using the kernel density estimation. Additionally, the overlap indexes Schoener’s D (D) and Hellinger’s-based I (I) were 0.703 and 0.930, respectively. The distribution areas of the two species were 1038.40 km 2 and 692.67 km 2, respectively, with an overlapping area of 656.67 km 2. (1) Combined with 235 and 153 valid presence sites of tufted deer and sambar, the Ma圎nt model was used to analyze the distribution of the two species based on 11 ecological factors. In this study, based on a 9-year dataset (2012–2021) from 493 camera-trap sites in the Gongga Mountain National Nature Reserve, we analyzed the habitat distributions and activity patterns of tufted deer ( Elaphodus cephalophus) and sambar ( Rusa unicolor). Clarifying the distribution pattern and overlapping relationship of sympatric relative species in the spatio-temporal niche is of great significance to the basic theory of community ecology and integrated management of multi-species habitats in the same landscape.
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