Small Mammal Communities of the Nadym Hills and Changes They Undergo along a Landscape Catena

• Published in: Contemporary problems of ecology Vol. 16; no. 6; pp. 763 - 775
• Main Authors: Levykh, A. Yu, Chernykh, D. V., Zolotov, D. V., Biriukov, R. Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.12.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abundance; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Catenaries; Climatic conditions; Composition; Dominant species; Ecology; Floodplains; Hills; Life Sciences; Mammals; Plant species; Population decline; Population structure; Small mammals; Sorex araneus; Sorex caecutiens; Species composition; Species richness; Sustainability; Taiga; Vegetation; insectivores; landscape catena; diversity; sustainability; rodents
• ISSN: 1995-4255; 1995-4263
• DOI: 10.1134/S1995425523060148

This paper discusses the species composition and population structure of small mammals inhabiting the north-taiga landscape of the Nadym Hills (Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia) with an emphasis on catenary patterns in the intralandscape differentiation. Five small mammal species ( Cl. rutilus, S. caecutiens, S. araneus, A. oeconomus, and E. sibiricus ) typical for the north-taiga subzone of Western Siberia are recorded in different parts of a northwest-facing landscape catena (upland, saddle, slope, and floodplain). In terms of abundance, the northern red-backed vole ( Cl. rutilus ) predominates in all catena localities and in the landscape as a whole. Other species codominate in certain localities, with the exception of S. araneus, who is common only on the upland. Throughout the entire study area and in the upper localities of the catena, Cl. rutilus and S. caecutiens form the core of small mammal communities. The total abundance of small mammals and the abundance of the dominant species gradually decline along the slope (i.e., from the upland to the floodplain). Resident and propagating small mammal populations are present in all catena localities. The composition, structure, and parameters of small mammal communities change along the slope following changes in afforestation, wetting, plant species richness, vegetation structure, and microtopography. In all catena localities and throughout the entire study area, small mammal communities feature low values of the diversity, evenness, and sustainability indices and high values of the dominance index, which is determined by harsh natural and climatic conditions. However, their generally undisturbed structure is typical for natural subarctic communities, which indicates their sustainability.