Biological Diversity of Small Mammals Inhabiting Ishim as an Indicator for the Natural Environment’s Condition

About the authors:

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

Natalia V. Ilyina, Master Student, University of Tyumen; natali.ilina@mail.ru

Abstract:

On the basis of small mammals’ census performed in the summer and autumn of 2016, the authors analyze the species composition of small mammals’ communities, their number, species and structure diversity, and evaluate integral indices of condition of small mammals’ communities inhabiting different structural and functional zones of Ishim. The calculated diversity indices and diversity dominance curves indicate that overall, there is low diversity of ecological niches and low diversity of the whole ecosystem, which decreases as the anthropogenic load grows. The information structure of all the studied communities (except for the high buildings zone) correspond to the ones of slightly disturbed habitat of forest-steppe zone in Western Siberia. This testifies that there is enough natural resources potential of the studied territory.

The authors have registered a gradual decline in elastic stability index in anthropogenic load gradient against the background of multidirectional changes in resistant and overall stability of small mammals’ communities in the direction from the periphery to the center of the town, these changes conditioned by the structural peculiarities of specific habitats. This article supplements information about biological diversity of small mammals, and describes the condition of land ecosystems of Town Ishim after the 2016 inundation. It is the first attempt to provide qualitative characteristics of small mammals’ communities and the landscapes they inhabit, with the help of multidimensional sunrays plots representing a set of diversity indices.

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