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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

The history of formation of recent small mammal communities in the Nether-Polar Urals

The results of studies on small mammal bone assemblages from seven cave-type sites on the Shchugor and Kozhim rivers are presented. Four stages in the development of small mammal fauna in the Nether-Polar Urals are described, which correspond to the Aller?d, Younger Dryas, Early Holocene, and Subatlantic periods. The moderately cryohydrophilic fauna of the Aller?d was replaced by an atypically ??mild?? xerophylic community in the Younger Dryas. In the Early Holocene, its structure still included considerable proportions of tundra species, which, along with forest species, were also found in the subfossil assemblage from the Subatlantic. It is shown that the transformation of the small mammal fauna in the above sites had a specific pattern, compared to that in other regions of northeastern Europe and to the dynamics of the natural environment and climate.     

Communities of phyllophagous insects in young birch greeneries of northern cities

Phyllophagous insect assemblages on birch trees have been studied in greeneries of the cities of Labytnangi and Salekhard and natural habitats in the environs of these cities in 2007, 2010, and 2013. The 44 recorded species were dominated by insects of the orders Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera (18 and 12 species, respectively); regarding feeding ecology and mode of life, they were dominated by open-living chewing phyllophages and miners (19 and 10 species). The urban greeneries and sparse birch forests were colonized by the same species, but the density of many species in the cities was considerably higher. The species composition of the communities changed considerably from year to year. The species richness and similarity of insect assemblages at the studied sites were the highest in 2013. The basic pests of birch in the northern cities were chewing phyllophages, especially Tenthredinidae sawflies.     

Changes in the size structure of carabid communities in forest ecosystems under technogenic transformation

The body size structure of carabid communities has been analyzed based on the 2009 and 2013 collections (with the use of pitfall traps) performed at 10 sites of a spruce–fir forest along the gradient of pollution with emissions from the Middle Ural Copper Smelter. A reduction in the unweighted mean body size of carabid individuals has been shown, as well as the heterogeneity of body sizes in the community (Gini coefficient) of the extremely polluted territory. It has been revealed that the weighted mean body size of individuals and the Lorentz asymmetry coefficient are not dependent on the level of pollution. Differences between the communities of carabids in the background and polluted territories are associated with the smaller number of large-sized species, while the similarity is explained by the dominance of medium- and small-sized species at all sites. The high interannual variability has been observed in the ratio of size groups of the analyzed communities at the background and moderate levels of pollution.     

Ecological assessment of murine rodent communities in the mountain forest belt of southern Central Siberia

The results of long-term studies on the fauna and ecology of murine rodents inhabiting the mountain forest belt of southern Central Siberia are considered. A comparative analysis of the composition and organization of rodent communities has been performed in 15 key plots located within three geographic-climatic facies: perhumid, humid, and semihumid. The species composition, dominance structure, and total abundance of these communities in each facies have significant distinctive features, despite the generally high similarity of the communities within the forest belt. Information indices have been used to determine parameters of the diversity and evenness of communities, which reflect their state and degree of resistance to various factors.     

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.     

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.     

Factors of variation in the number of adventive species in herbaceous communities of the Western Caucasus

The saturation of herbaceous communities with adventive species in the Northern Caucasus has been estimated using as an indicator the number of such species in 0.5-m² plots. Among factors accounting for variation in the test parameter, consideration has been given to the coverage of the herbaceous layer, the species richness of communities (in 0.5-m² plots), and the numbers of adventive and indigenous species (in 15-m² plots). The field data have been processes by methods of ordinary and multivariate regression analysis. The results show that variation in saturation with adventive species between small areas of herbaceous communities largely depends on the number of such species in larger areas, their species-holding capacity, and the level of completeness of communities.     

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.     

Association of sympatric small mammal species under contrasting environmental conditions

The transformation of microenvironmental conditions in habitats of small mammals and related changes in their spatial structure, manifested in changing levels of interspecific contacts, have been studied in microhabitats of plots affected by anemogenic (windfall) and pyrogenic influence in a protected area of the Middle Urals. The association of the dominant species (the bank vole) and other species of the community (grey red-backed vole, northern red-backed vole, and common shrew) increases in environments disturbed by disastrous natural factors. Association of species is less pronounced in the pyrogenic area, compared to the anemogenic area. The type of association between species differs between stages of progressive succession depending on conditions in particular microhabitats and specific features of functional organization in populations of small mammal species.     

Problems of sustainable development and ecological indication in radioactively contaminated areas

Lands that have become unusable because of contamination with long-lived artificial radionuclides require special measures aimed at their monitoring and rehabilitation. In such areas, specific processes in the biota are associated with the direct effect of ionizing radiation on some species, secondary changes depending on the ecology of organisms trophically connected with these species, and side effects explained by the regime of isolation established in radiation reserves. The dynamics of floras and faunas in radiation reserves are determined by successional changes in plant communities, migration of radionuclides, and the protective status of these territories.     

Spatial differentiation of the total bird population in a definite area

The spatial structure of the total bird population at the level of communities has been studied in a definite area at the boundary between northern open forests and forest-tundra. The boundaries of communities have been delimited by mapping out areas with a homogeneous species composition. The pattern of communities is shown to be as follows: the species-richest part of a local species assemblage (characteristic of a given landscape type) forms the basic community, which is surrounded by poorer communities of increasingly variable composition and configuration, depending on distance from the basic community. The most distant communities consist almost exclusively of abundant and widespread species. A group of borderline communities of mixed composition is located at the boundary between two landscape complexes. Mechanisms accounting for such a pattern are discussed.     

Composition of plant communities in natural and technogenically disturbed ecotopes on watersheds of the Yamal Peninsula: Floristic diversity

Specific features in the overgrowing of technogenically disturbed areas with completely destroyed soil and plant cover (a sand pit, a causeway, and an off-road vehicle trail) have been studied in the environs of the Bovanenkovo Oil-Gas Condensate Field. It is shown that the vegetation of natural ecotopes and ecotopes disturbed approximately 20 years ago is characterized by a relatively high similarity in the composition of vascular plants. The total species composition of plant communities (including mosses and lichens) and their structure show a considerable loss of floristic and phytocenotic diversity.     

Abundance and community structure of bats (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) hibernating in artificial caves of Samarskaya Luka

The structure of hibernating bat communities has been studied in eight artificial caves of Samarskaya Luka differing in size and layout. Three types of the relative abundance distribution (RAD) of species in these communities have been revealed. Conditions for hibernation are most favorable in large caves with a stable microclimate, where the abundance of bats is high, the Shannon index has the peak values, and variation in the index of species evenness is the lowest. In such caves, RAD fits the broken-stick and log-series models. Variation in diversity indices reaches the highest level in shallow adits with a changeable microclimate, where RAD fits the geometric series model. The abundance, diversity, and structure of communities depend mainly on cave size and the presence of absence of drafts and, to a lesser extent, on ambient temperature, availability of microshelters, and the type of landscape surrounding the cave. Anthropogenic factors have a weak effect only on the abundance of individual species (M. nattereri, M. daubentonii, M. dasycneme, and E. nilssonii) but not on the overall diversity of bat communities.     

Changes in the structure of ichthyofauna in water bodies of Kaluga oblast over the past few decades

The structure of the ichthyofauna in water bodies of Kaluga oblast has undergone significant rearrangements over the past 20 years. The abundance of some species has increased, while that of other species has decreased; spontaneous dispersal of some fishes is underway. Synchronous fluctuations of fish abundance (“waves of life”) take place simultaneously in the Western Dvina, Dnieper, and Volga basins. These processes differ in intensity depending on fish species and are conditioned by a number of factors, including changes in hydrological regimes of rivers, improvement of the ecological state of small rivers, and increased poaching pressure. The results of monitoring the ichthyofauna fauna of small rivers are used as an example to trace the routes of fish dispersal and discuss changes in the composition of fish communities.     

Similarity of food spectra,habitat types,and ranges of artiodactyls in the Far East

The ranges, spectra of habitat types, and food spectra of artiodactyls in the Far East have been studied. It has been supposed that the overlap of ranges and habitat-type spectra should decrease with an increase in the overlap of food spectra. However, all the three similarity indices have proved to be positively correlated with each other, suggesting that, on the regional scale, the negative role of trophic competition in artiodactyl communities is insignificant, probably because of their low abundance. Conversely, the similarity of food spectra may be regarded as a factor accounting for the overlap of ranges and habitat spectra and, on a large-region scale, for the maintenance of high species diversity.