Abstract: Reeve’s muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi) is a wild ungulate most closely associated with human activities in the hilly regions and low mountainous areas surrounding the Sichuan Basin. It is an important indicator species for the quality of the regional ecological environment. Based on monitoring data acquired by infrared cameras from Youxian Waterfowl Wetland Nature Reserve (Youxian, representative of hilly regions) and Guanwushan Nature Reserve (Guanwushan, representative of low mountainous areas) in Sichuan from 2020 to 2022, we analyzed the activity rhythm of the Reeve’s muntjac and its relationship with human activities by using kernel-density estimation and relative activity intensity index. The daily activity rhythm of the Reeve’s muntjac was bimodal in both Youxian and Guanwushan, without significant differences (P=0.24). The peak activity period was from 07:00-12:00 and 17:00-20:00, while the duration of the peak varied in different regions. The monthly activity intensity of Reeve’s muntjac varied across different regions. The peak activity period in Youxian was concentrated between July and December, with the highest peak in November. However, it was concentrated between June and September in Guanwushan, with the highest peak in June. No activity was recorded in some months in both Youxian and Guanwushan. (3) The relative activity intensity was generally high in summer and autumn, and low in winter and spring. The daily activity rhythm a high time overlap with human disturbance (Δ=0.716), without obvious staggered shift phenomenon. At the same observation site in Youxian, the average appearance interval time between the records of the Reeve’s muntjac activities under the influence of human activities (48.99±12.68 d) was significantly higher than that without human activities (7.94±1.13 d) (P<0.01), and the avoidance-attraction ratios (AAR) was 6.17>1, which indicated that Reeve’s muntjac exhibited obvious avoidance response to human activities. Our results suggest that Reeve’s muntjac can adapt to changing environments by adjusting their activity rhythms and avoiding human activities. Enhancing wildlife monitoring represented by Reeve’s muntjac can effectively support regional ecological quality assessment, wildlife management, and biodiversity conservation strategy formulation.

Key words: Muntiacus reevesi, activity rhythm, human activity, infrared camera, kernel density estimation