Significance of rodent population dynamics for the formation of long-term community structure

Changes occurring with time in the structure of communities are evaluated and strategies of community functioning are described using the example of murine rodents from three areas of Western Siberia that differ in landscapes and geographical conditions. Many rodent species are common to all communities included in analysis. The populations of these species have different ranks in the dominance structure of communities, depending on the natural climatic conditions of the landscape, and differently influence the composition of communities and time course of changes in their structure.