Community of Small Mammals in the patchy landscape of Northern Kulunda (Western Siberia)
T. A. DUPAL, Yu. N. LITVINOV
Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
Keywords: fauna, community, small mammals, biotope, southern forest-steppe, Northern Kulunda
Abstract
An analysis of the community of rodents and insectivores in five biotopes of the southern forest-steppe of the Northern Kulunda was carried out. High biodiversity is typical for the coastal strip with dense herbage near the lake, and low biodiversity is typical for the feather grass-forb steppe. At the beginning of the 21st century, there was a change in dominance in the community of small mammals, and the species richness increased. Of the five shrew species, only the common, tundra and lesser shrews inhabit all biotopes. Their total share in each biotope ranged from 16 % to 38 %. Among the 11 rodent species, the narrow-skulled vole is the dominant species. Its cumulative share in the community of small mammals was 38,3 %. This species is characterized by a peculiar cycle of abundance. The reduction of steppe habitats has led to a decrease in the number of steppe lemming and a change in its population cycle. The share of other rodent species in the community of small mammals is low.
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