The Anthropogenic Adaptation and Sustainability of Mammals Urban Communities in Western Siberia and Central Asia

About the authors:

Sergey N. Gashev, Dr. Sci. (Biol.), Professor, Head of the Department of Zoology and Evolutionary Ecology of Animals, University of Tyumen; gsn-61@mail.ru

Elena A. Bykova, Cand. Sci. (Biol.), Field Coordinator, UNDP in Uzbekistan; elena.bykova@undp.org

Alyona Yu. Levykh, Cand. Sci. (Biol.), Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Biology, Geography, and Methods of Teaching, University of Tyumen (Ishim Branch); aljurlev@mail.ru

Abstract:

The article discusses problems of anthropogenic adaptation and stability of urban mammals’ communities in Western Siberia and Central Asia demonstrating the cases of four cities located in different climatic zones: Novy Urengoy, Tyumen, Ishim, and Tashkent. The anthropogenic adaptation degree analysis shows that urban communities of small mammals can reach full adaptedness irrespective of the functional zone of the city because of a high proportion of synantropic species. The overall sustainability of mammals’ communities increases with a decrease in the degree of urbanization in all natural zones, except for semi-deserts. Generally, natural mammals’ communities of Western Siberia show a greater sustainability compared to urban mammals, while in Central Asia urban communities of small mammals are characterized by higher values of sustainability, which is probably due to a very long historical period of adaptation. Moreover, the overall sustainability of residential urban ecosystems of different natural zones is almost the same, while in forest parks it decreases from the north to the south, indirectly pointing to the vulnerability of northern ecosystems to the impact of anthropogenic factors.

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