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Dynamics of the Abundance and Community Structure of Small Mammals in the Saratov Trans-Volga Region

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Abstract

A typical feature of the populations of small mammals in different areas of the Saratov Trans-Volga region is the long-term and constantly increasing abundance of Sylvaemus uralensis and its wide distribution in a variety of habitats. The maximal abundance of S. uralensis is 72.0 individuals per 100 trap-days, and its share in catches is 73.0%. The abundance of Microtus arvalis tends to increase. It was shown that Lagurus lagurus has been found again in the steppe zone, on fallow lands and fields, after a prolonged depression in 2012–2013, the average density of species being 4.0 individuals per 100 trap-days. A high abundance of other typical steppe inhabitants (Allocricetulus eversmanni and Ellobius talpinus) was noted as well. The highest indices of species diversity (H = 1.18) are typical of fallow lands.

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  1. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saratov, 410028, Russia

    A. A. Tsvetkova & M. L. Oparin

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  1. A. A. Tsvetkova
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  2. M. L. Oparin
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Original Russian Text © A.A. Tsvetkova, M.L. Oparin, 2016, published in Povolzhskii Ekologicheskii Zhurnal, 2016, No. 4, pp. 493–506.

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Tsvetkova, A.A., Oparin, M.L. Dynamics of the Abundance and Community Structure of Small Mammals in the Saratov Trans-Volga Region. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 44, 1316–1323 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1134/S106235901710017X

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