Comparative analysis of small mammal communities in Chisinau and Yaroslavl, two European cities located in different biomes

Comparative analysis of the structure of small mammal communities has been performed in two European cities located in different biomes: Chisinau (2008?C2009) and Yaroslavl (1994?C2002). The parameters studied included abundance, species composition, similarity and difference of faunas, species diversity, and proportions of groups differing in predisposition to synanthropy. It has been found that the structure of small mammal communities in these cities depends on specific physiographic conditions of the surrounding areas and on the distinctive features of the cities themselves (their structure, age, etc.). The similarity between the faunas is accounted for by the common ecological patterns of fauna formation in the biota of urban cenoses.     

First data on the Middle to Late Holocene dynamics of vegetation in the Upper Kama region

A detailed palynological record and the results of radiocarbon dating of sediments from the Dedyukhinskii floodplain massif in the vicinity of Lake Chashkinskoe (the Upper Kama region; 59°23′ N, 56°34.5′ E) have been used to reconstruct basic stages in the Middle to Late Holocene dynamics of vegetation. The results show that in the Atlantic period broadleaf tree species played a secondary role in forest formations of taiga and subtaiga types. Broadleaf–conifer forests became dominant in the Subboreal period, with fir widely spreading in the forests during its second half. During the Subatlantic period, forest formations acquired their recent taiga character.     

The ecology of quaternary mammals in the Urals

Special aspects of solving certain key problems in the ecology of Quaternary mammals using materials from the Ural region are considered. Possibilities and limitations accounted for by specific features of the region are analyzed. The nature of “mixed” (mammoth, tundra-steppe, hyperborean) faunas and their diversity are considered in the context of questions related to trends in the dynamics of range boundaries and relative abundance of different mammal species during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene.     

Structure of small mammal communities in Moscow parks and public gardens

Data collected between 1987 and 2002 have been used to analyze the structure of small mammal communities in parks and public gardens of the city of Moscow. With regard to several ecological parameters, four categories of parks markedly differing in biotopic conditions have been distinguished. The least stable zoocenoses are formed in deteriorating parks. More favorable ecological conditions exist in public gardens and regular parks, where not only synanthropic but also hemisynanthropic rodents can be found. The fauna of small mammals in landscape parks is similar to that in forest cenoses, but this fauna in park forests better complies with the concept of forest community.     

Assessment of the hunting of mammals using local ecological knowledge: an example from the Brazilian semiarid region

The hunting of wild animals remains a common activity in various parts of the world, especially in rural communities with poor socioeconomic conditions. To investigate patterns of mammal hunting, this study adopted a rural community located in semiarid Brazil as a model to test whether variables such as perceived abundance, activity period (day or night) and animal biomass could influence the consumption potential of mammal taxa. For this study, a checklist/interview technique using 32 photographs of mammals recorded in the region and two photographs of species that did not occur in the region, which acted as “control” species, was used, in addition to other visual stimuli and free lists. All species presented in the photographs, with the exception of the “control” species, were recognized as occurring in the region. Fourteen species were cited as being those most hunted locally. The species cited as most hunted had an average perceived abundance higher than the group of the least-hunted species. However, there was no significant relationship between hunting of a species and its locally perceived abundance. No significant difference in hunting pressure between diurnal and nocturnal species was found, nor was a relationship between animal biomass and hunting pressure observed. Our findings suggest that perceived abundance is an important factor for choosing a resource fauna, but other factors such as intended use, meat flavor and vulnerability to hunting, among others, may influence the potential use of a species.     

Impact of invasive mammal species on natural ecosystems: An example of the Prioksko-Terrasnyi Biosphere Reserve

On the basis of Annals of Nature of the Prioksko-Terrasnyi Biosphere Reserve, its colonization by invasive mammal species and the current state of their populations have been analyzed. In the mammal fauna of the reserve, 13 out of 60 species can be classified as invasive. They differ in the degree of impact on the biota. The house mouse, Norway and black rats, and European bison have virtually no effect on natural ecosystems; the effect of the muskrat, raccoon dog, American mink, red and axis deer is insignificant; and that of stray dogs and Tartarian roe deer is considerable. The European beaver and wild boar play an environment-forming role. The impact of beaver activities is strong but local, whereas activities of wild boars put into question the very possibility of conservation and analysis of representative biosphere areas and biological diversity in the reserve.     

Responses of small mammal community to environmental pollution by emissions from a copper smelter

Analysis of the effect of emissions from the Karabash Copper Smelter (Southern Urals) on the small mammal community has shown that its abundance and structure change significantly under technogenic impact. Structural transformations are accompanied by changes in the composition of dominant species. The “dose-effect“ pattern of community response to this impact is nonlinear: for most species of murine rodents and small insectivores, habitat quality becomes satisfactory at a distance of 9–11 km from the emission plume.     

Phylogenetic diversity scaling in small mammal communities: The example of Nizhny Novgorod region of the Volga Basin

Traditional approaches to structural analysis of biotic communities, based on the data on species abundances, do not take into account phylogenetic relationships between these species. We propose a new approach to studying the scaling (scale dependence) of phylogenetic diversity by means of multifractal analysis in which the moments of phylogenetic diversity are used. The results of applying this approach to small mammal communities of Nizhny Novgorod region of the Volga Basin has shown that phylogenetic diversity scaling complies with the power law, which is indicative of the self-similarity of these communities. The multifractal spectra of phylogenetic diversity scaling markedly differ from the spectra of species diversity scaling, providing evidence that the proposed approach can provide novel information on the structure of biotic communities.     

The energy consumption of Paris and its supply areas from the eighteenth century to the present

Since the eighteenth century and the industrial revolution, cities have experienced great changes in their metabolism, and particularly in their energy consumption: transitions from one energy source to another, growing per capita consumption, and total consumption to cite but a few. These changes also impact urban energy supply areas and supply distance. This paper estimates Paris??s energy demand in both final and primary terms since the eighteenth century and gives an illustration of long-term socio-ecological interactions in an interdisciplinary perspective, connecting energy flow analysis, and historical research. It gives an overview of energy supply areas and assesses the distance between supply sites and the city. Paris??s annual total energy requirement (TER) was about 19?GJ per capita at the beginning of the eighteenth century and reached 30?GJ per capita in 1800; the supply area remained nearly the same with an average supply distance (D_avg) of 200?km. During the nineteenth century, Paris??s population increased fivefold, and energy transitioned from biomass to fossil fuel. Per capita TER remained stable, whereas Paris??s supply area moved progressively toward coal basins, in connection with the tremendous change in transport systems. As a consequence, the D_avg grew to 270?km around 1870. During the twentieth century, and especially since the Interwar period, per capita TER increased considerably (to 26?GJ/cap/year in 1910, 47?GJ/cap/year in 1946 and 126?GJ/cap/year in 2006). The internationalization of the energy supply and the shift to petroleum and natural gas also increased the remoteness of the supply sites: the D_avg equaled 3850?km in 2006.     

Small mammals in undisturbed and restored tundra biogeocenoses

Small mammal communities have been studied in undisturbed and restored zonal biogeocenoses in the southern subzone of eastern European tundras. The results show that the consequences of anthropogenic disturbances to the environment have an adverse effect on parameters of abundance, spatial distribution, and population dynamics of species comprising zonal communities. Soil and plant components of the disturbed biogeocenosis recover more rapidly than its small mammal community.     

乌江梯级电站开发对大型底栖无脊椎动物群落结构和多样性的影响

为了解乌江贵州段的底栖动物资源现状以及梯级电站开发对底栖动物群落结构和多样性的影响，对18个断面的底栖动物进行了调查。底栖动物多样性通过Shannon Wiener多样性指数进行计算。结果显示：自然河段中，底栖动物物种丰富，以节肢动物占优势，物种丰富度和密度均以思南断面最高，生物多样性则以沿河二桥断面最高；群落类型复杂，环节动物 软体动物 节肢动物为优势群落，软体动物为群落中的优势类群。梯级水库的修建使底质环境差异变小，底栖动物物种丰度、密度和生物多样性降低，群落类型趋于简单，优势类群表现不明显，并且水库建成的年代越久,底栖动物的丰度、密度就越低,群落的组成类群就越少，物种组成以寡毛类和摇蚊类为主。研究表明,梯级电站的修建对底栖动物的物种组成、密度分布、多样性、群落类型等都造成了负面影响。〖     

Small mammal communities in forest ecosystems affected by urbanization

A set of characters has been used to evaluate transformations in forest phytocenoses and their small mammal communities affected by urbanization, compared to conditionally undisturbed phytocenoses (communities). In park forests of the city of Yekaterinburg, the understory and subordinate shrub and herb-dwarf shrub layers of phytocenosis are transformed to a greater extent. The undergrowth of conifer forestforming species is as a rule sparse or absent, and that of deciduous trees often consists mainly of invasive species. Small mammal communities in pine forests transformed under the effect of urbanization also undergo changes leading to the formation of relatively stable (for an urbanized environment) zoocenoses differing both in species composition and in parameters characterizing community diversity.     

New data on the population structure of small mammals in the Denezhkin Kamen’ Nature Reserve

For the first time, continuous studies on the population structure of rodents and insectivores in three altitudinal belts on the eastern macroslope of the Northern Urals have been performed over several years in the Denezhkin Kamen’ Nature Reserve. The results show the mountain tundra communities are depleted, the small mammal populations of zonal habitats are similar to each other, and river valleys and sparse forests of the subalpine belt play a leading role in supporting the maximum species diversity of small mammals.     

川西亚高山云杉叶凋落物质量损失过程及土壤生物的作用

采用分解袋法,研究了川西亚高山云杉纯林与混交林叶凋落物的质量损失过程及土壤动物与微生物的作用。结果如下:(1)云杉叶凋落物分解过程中,土壤动物数量总体呈下降趋势,即土壤动物主要在分解前期发挥作用,其中,大型土壤动物早期以植食性的蛴螬为主,中期以捕食性的石蜈蚣为主,后期以腐食性的马陆为主;中小型土壤动物始终以螨类、跳虫和线虫为优势类群;相关分析表明线虫数量与云杉叶凋落物分解速率相关性最大,大型土壤动物次之。(2)云杉叶凋落物分解过程中,微生物数量总体呈上升趋势,即土壤微生物主要在分解后期发挥作用,进一步相关分析表明真菌数量与云杉叶凋落物分解速率相关性大于细菌和放线菌。(3)云杉纯林叶凋落物分解速率低于混交林,其中分解3、15、21、24个月时,纯林小孔径分解袋失重率分别为混交林的65.51%、95.73%、98.91%、94.8%,大孔径分解袋失重率分别为混交林的89.83%、92.95%、98.13%、97.13%,即,两类林分小孔径分解袋及凋落物分解前期失重率差异更为明显,表明凋落物分解速率既受底物质量的影响,也和参与分解的土壤生物有关,其中与线虫、大型土壤动物及真菌的数量相关性最大。     

Medieval London and its supply hinterlands

The essay reviews the impact of London??s demands for food, drink and fuel on the farming systems and specialisation in the regions from which it drew supplies. Focusing on the well-recorded period around 1,300, when London was a major but second-ranking European city, it makes comparisons with other European cities in the same period and with London in later centuries, as the city developed a world role. Despite its small size by modern standards, medieval London??s impact on its hinterland was distinct, dynamic, highly commercialised and extensive. It shaped rural landscapes and agrarian practices in ways which in key respects conform to modern theories of spatial specialisation. London??s environmental influence operated within an international context, where the opening up of distant resources could affect choices concerning specialisation in and close to the city. Demographic change and shifts in consumption arising from changing standards of living were also influential. This left a marked ??urban footprint?? in production, marketing and the generation of waste. Moreover, its distinctive political context influenced London??s attitude towards managing its supply chains, differentiating it from many of its European counterparts. Medieval observers recognised those landscapes and their connection with the city, but did not theorise them in present-day terms.     

Splenomegaly in small mammals: Prevalence and risk factors

Sources of variation in the relative spleen weight have been studied in small mammals (Rodentia: Muridae, Cricetidae; Insectivora: Soricidae) from the Ural and Fennoscandian forest ecosystems differing in the level of industrial pollution (2004?C2010). Formal threshold indices for the diagnosis of splenomegaly in rodents and shrews have been proposed and substantiated. Effects of several factors on the probability of splenomegaly have been estimated, and the ??normal spleen?? index has been determined.     

The State of the Mammal Community of Boreal Forest Ecosystems in the Vicinity of a Nickel-Smelting Plant

The effect of industrial air pollution on natural small mammal populations has been studied in the northern taiga subzone of the boreal forest zone. The results of long-term monitoring have been used to demonstrate the possibility of predicting changes in the main population and community characteristics of the animal species studied as dependent on the degree of anthropogenic impact.     

The Holocene Evolution of Vegetation in the Southeast of the Volga Upland

The Holocene evolution of vegetation in the high-plain territory of the northwestern Volga Upland has been shown to have certain specific features. Based on analysis of spore–pollen assemblages from peat deposits, the onset of bog formation has been dated to the late Boreal period (about 8500 yr BP); the pine–birch phase in the development of forests, to the early Atlantic period (8000?6000 yr BP); the appearance and peak development of the zonal broadleaf species complex, to the late Atlantic period (6000?4500 yr BP); and early anthropogenic changes in the vegetation, to about 3000 yr BP.     

以底栖动物为指示物种对长江流域水生态进行评价

采用底栖动物作为指示物种对长江流域的水生态进行了调查研究和生态评价。在长江上游支流、中下游干流及沿江湖泊上选取36个代表性样点进行生态考察和底栖动物采样、鉴定和分析。采用Hilsenhoff生物指数和水化学分析对样点水质进行评价，对比分析了各样点底栖动物的结构组成及多样性。上游支流大部分样点水质清洁；中游干流及沿江湖泊水质受到轻度到中度污染；下游干流水质污染加重。底栖动物多样性在上游支流中最高，中游湖泊较高，干流中下游较低。总结得出了4种河床演变条件下的底栖动物群谱。上游支流河床稳定的河流底栖动物密度较大，物种丰富，多样性高；侵蚀下切的河流底栖动物密度、物种数和多样性较低；淤积抬升的河流底栖动物密度、物种数和多样性更低一些；河势散乱且河床运动剧烈的支流物种丰度和密度均很低甚至为零，生态条件差。