Fine-Scale Habitat Associations and Diel Activity Patterns of Camera-Detected Alpine Musk Deer (Moschus chrysogaster)...

Fine-scale habitat data for alpine musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) remain scarce across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, limiting evidence-based conservation. We deployed 221 camera stations at approximately 10 km grid spacing in Baqing County, Nagqu, Tibet, from August to November 2023, and analyzed 1004 independent detections (30 min threshold) with single-season occupancy models that account for imperfect detection, complemented by logistic and negative binomial models and circular activity analyses. Musk deer were detected at 123 of 221 stations (55.66%). Occupancy was negatively associated with elevation (β = -0.70, 95% CI: -1.02 to -0.38) and positively associated with slope (β = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.24-0.92), while detection probability increased with survey effort; the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and distances to roads, settlements, and water showed weak and unstable support across all frameworks. Activity was broadly cathemeral with a moderate diurnal tendency (Rayleigh test, p = 0.001), and activity timing differed among months and between stations near versus far from roads and settlements. These results provide the first occupancy-based evidence of alpine musk deer habitat use on the central Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and identify relatively low-elevation, steep terrain as priorities for conservation planning.