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Distribution and survival of the social vole in a clayey semidesert of the Trans-Volga region
Abstract
The social vole (Microtus socialis Pall.) is a landscape species of the Trans-Volga clayey semidesert, which disappeared from the zonal plain in the 1970s but survived in various habitats of lake depressions. In 2009, it settled over the blind plain again. The reasons for the departure and then return of the vole are not known. This phenomenon might be one of the cyclic changes in the specific composition and abundance, which are characteristic of many animals of this region.
... The social vole (Microtus socialis Pallas, 1773) is a successful evolutionary model of trophic adaptation of herbivorous mammals in the steppe, mountain and arid territories, since it plays an important ecosystem role in these biomes, and it can also act as a pest in agrosystems (Voronov, 1935a, b;Ivanenko, 1940;Vereshchagin, 1946;Berishvili, 1968;Kokhiya, 1968;Kasatkin 2002;Bykov et al., 2008Bykov et al., , 2011. The social vole is common within some local territories in the south of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East and Central Asia (Pardinas et al., 2017). ...
... A decrease in the number of voles in areas with an intensification of the dry climate and overgrazing has been recorded (Neronov et al., 1997). The social vole is a long-term monitored species of small herbivorous mammals in the southeast of Kalmykia that is located in the zone of the dry steppes and semi-deserts (Mironov, 1945;Kasatkin et al., 1998;Shilova & Kasatkin, 2000;Bykov et al., 2011;Bukreeva & Lidzhi-Garyaeva, 2018). In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number and distribution of the social vole in the Caspian Lowland (Kasatkin et al., 1998;Bukreeva & Lidzhi-Garyaeva, 2018). ...
... In addition, we note that refuge use among small mammals is already known in dryland South America where several members of the family Cricetidae in the Norte Chico of north-central Chile use riverine shrublands and fog-forest patches as refuges during dry years within dominant thorn-scrub habitat (Milstead et al., 2007). Small-mammal refuges also occur on the Eurasian steppe (Naumov, 1975;Bykov, Shabanova & Bukhareva, 2011). ...
Dryland Australia has a distinctive mammal fauna that has been severely impacted by novel threats since European colonisation. I aimed to understand the defining characteristics of mammal refuges in this region. In chapter 2 I used atlas data to compare the historic and contemporary distributions of dryland marsupials. The greater bilby and common brushtail possum have substantially contracted in distribution. The bilby was more likely to occur on land without cattle grazing and with low rabbit densities, while the possum has contracted to cooler areas. In chapter 3 I focused on the MacDonnell Ranges to understand the factors protecting declining mammals. Predation was supported as a major driver of extant mammal richness and vast areas of rugged terrain provide vital refuge for dryland mammals. In chapter 4 I consider the hypothesis that trophic competition between the dingo and cat creates refuge from predation for small mammals by analysing the diets of the two predators for evidence of competition. I conclude that habitat complexity underpins the refuge and that effects of dingo predation on the cat population are of secondary importance. In chapters 5-7 I focused on the critically endangered central rock-rat (CRR). My habitat suitability maps confirmed a dramatic range contraction for this species over the last 100 years and their current association with extreme ruggedness supported the hypothesis that the impact of cat predation is mediated by habitat complexity. I established the effectiveness of camera trapping for sampling the CRR and, using this sampling tool, found that CRR occupancy was positively associated with areas burnt within the past 5 years and that cats forage less frequently in areas with dense hummock grass cover. Fire management could be used as a tool for rodent conservation in this environment. In chapter 8 I synthesise my findings and provide a framework for research on declining fauna.
... In addition, we note that refuge use among small mammals is already known in dryland South America where several members of the family Cricetidae in the Norte Chico of north-central Chile use riverine shrublands and fog-forest patches as refuges during dry years within dominant thorn-scrub habitat (Milstead et al., 2007). Small-mammal refuges also occur on the Eurasian steppe (Naumov, 1975;Bykov, Shabanova & Bukhareva, 2011). ...
Irruptive population dynamics are characteristic of a wide range of fauna in the world's arid (dryland) regions. Recent evidence indicates that regional persistence of irruptive species, particularly small mammals, during the extensive dry periods of unpredictable length that occur between resource pulses in drylands occurs as a result of the presence of refuge habitats or refuge patches into which populations contract during dry (bust) periods. These small dry-period populations act as a source of animals when recolonisation of the surrounding habitat occurs during and after subsequent resource pulses (booms). The refuges used by irruptive dryland fauna differ in temporal and spatial scale from the refugia to which species contract in response to changing climate. Refuges of dryland fauna operate over timescales of months and years, whereas refugia operate on timescales of millennia over which evolutionary divergence may occur. Protection and management of refuge patches and refuge habitats should be a priority for the conservation of dryland-dwelling fauna. This urgency is driven by recognition that disturbance to refuges can lead to the extinction of local populations and, if disturbance is widespread, entire species. Despite the apparent significance of dryland refuges for conservation management, these sites remain poorly understood ecologically. Here, we synthesise available information on the refuges of dryland-dwelling fauna, using Australian mammals as a case study to provide focus, and document a research agenda for increasing this knowledge base. We develop a typology of refuges that recognises two main types of refuge: fixed and shifting. We outline a suite of models of fixed refuges on the basis of stability in occupancy between and within successive bust phases of population cycles. To illustrate the breadth of refuge types we provide case studies of refuge use in three species of dryland mammal: plains mouse (Pseudomys australis), central rock-rat (Zyzomys pedunculatus), and spinifex hopping-mouse (Notomys alexis). We suggest that future research should focus on understanding the species-specific nature of refuge use and the spatial ecology of refuges with a focus on connectivity and potential metapopulation dynamics. Assessing refuge quality and understanding the threats to high-quality refuge patches and habitat should also be a priority. To facilitate this understanding we develop a three-step methodology for determining species-specific refuge location and habitat attributes. This review is necessarily focussed on dryland mammals in continental Australia where most refuge-based research has been undertaken. The applicability of the refuge concept and the importance of refuges for dryland fauna conservation elsewhere in the world should be investigated. We predict that refuge-using mammals will be widespread particularly among dryland areas with unpredictable rainfall patterns.
The initial stage of the development of the complex soil cover pattern in the Caspian Lowland was studied. The obtained data
made it possible to reveal the specific features of the morphological and chemical properties of the soils on terraces of
the Khaki playa and the role of burrowing animals in the formation of the microtopography and complex soil cover patterns
on the youngest surfaces. The soil cover of the studied area consists of three-component complexes: light-humus quasi-gley
solonetzes on relatively flat background surfaces, zooturbated solonetzes on microhighs, and humus quasi-gley soils in microlows.
The layered deposits of the Khaki playa terraces and the shallow depth of the saline groundwater are responsible for the specificity
of the modern salinization of the studied solonetzes. The distribution of the salts in their profiles has a sawshaped patter,
which is related to the nonuniform texture of the deposits. On the microhighs composed of the earth extracted from 5- to 7-year-old
suslik burrows, specific zooturbated solonetzes are formed. The known age of these formations makes it possible to determine
the rate of the desalinization of the gypsum- and salt-bearing material extracted onto the soil surface and the rate of the
salt accumulation in the lower part of the solonetzic horizon and in the subsolonetzic horizons in comparison with the data
on the solonetzes of the background flat surfaces. The specific features of the soils in the closed microlows suggest that
these soils have a polygenetic origin. The features of the recent hydromorphism predetermine the specificity of their morphology.
The burrow network of small mammals represents a system of hollows in the soil used by these animals from the surface to the groundwater level. In forest biogeocenoses, the burrow network may occupy up to 15% of the volume of forest litter and topsoil and affects their properties. In taiga, this network is mainly confined to the litter horizon and is formed by voles. In mixed and broad-leaved forests, it occupies the topsoil and is mainly constructed by moles, with further expansion and shaping by mice. In broad-leaved forests and artificial groves beyond the area of mole habitats, the burrow network is absent, and animals here move within a loose leaf litter. Only under settlements of forest and yellow-necked mice are there vertical burrows connecting the soil surface with the groundwater level.
Evaluation of climate was made on the base of decade data of precipitation, temperature, moisture and calculated values of evaporation, moisture deficit for the period of 1952-1998. Comparison of mean climate indexes of the first and second part of the XX centuries didn't reveal sharp changes. Under more detailed analyses of indexes for the period of 1952-1998 two sub-periods were fixed (1952-1977 and 1978-1998), which differed according to the moistening degree and some other indexes. Second sub-period calculated with Caspian sea level change and with the rise of ground waters on examined territory is characterized by the increase of precipitation for 50 mm during the warm period warming on 1.3Γ, on winter-spring season lowering of evaporation on 70 mm during warm season, decreasing of decades with small and, increase of decades with moderate and strong precipitation.
In the clay semidesert of the Caspian Lowland, the surface runoff is transformed to soil runoff due to the presence of a system
of social vole (Microtus socialis Pall.) passageways in the soils that promotes the retention of soil moisture and prevents the development of soil erosion.
A quantitative assessment of this process is given. We describe the mechanism of intense soil erosion arising after the disturbance
of vole underground passageways responsible for the formation of specific relief elements and plant communities.
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Effect of Steppe Lemming Activity on the Sopil and Plant Cover of Kazakhstan Dry Steppes
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Mlekopitayushchie kak komponent ekosistem (Mammals as a Component of Ecosystems)
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Izmenenie prirody severo-zapada Prikaspiiskoi nizmennosti (Chnages in the Natural Environment of the Northwestern Caspian Lowland)
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Prirodnaya sreda i zhivotnyi mir glinistykh polupustyn’ Zavolzh’ya (The Natural Environment and Fauna of Transvolga Clay Semideserts
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Pochvennye i botanicheskie issledovaniya na yuge Tsaritsynskogo uezda Saratovskoi gubernii (In the Semidesert: Soil and Botanical Studies in the South of Tsaritsynskii District
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Unusual Behavior of East European Voles (Microtus rossiaemeridionalis Ognev.) in the Transvolga Clay Semidesert
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Pochvennye i botanicheskie issledovaniya na yuge Tsaritsynskogo uezda Saratovskoi gubernii
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- B A Keller
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Distribution and Ecology of Mice in the Transvolga Clay Semidesert
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Polydominance of Small Mammal Communities As a Prerequisite for Burrow Network in Forest Biogeocenoses
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Prirodnaya sreda i zhivotnyi mir glinistykh polupustyn’ Zavolzh’ya (The Natural Environment and Fauna of
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Dynamics of Climatic Conditions in the Region of Dzhanybek Research Station, Northern Caspian Lowland
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