Using small mammals for the assessment of the current state of the Polar Ural landscapes

This article is devoted to the study of the fauna and population structure of small mammals as indicators of the current state of the Polar Ural landscapes. The results of field studies conducted in July 2022 on the coast of Lake Bolshoe Khadatayoganlor, in the floodplain of the Kharbey, Khadata, Malaya Paypudyna, Engayu, Longot'yegan rivers in July-August 2024 and in the floodplain of the Vostochny Nyrdvomenshor stream were analyzed for the paper. In total, 1450 traps (put per a day) and 355 cylinders (used per a day) were worked out, 168 individuals of 9 species of small terrestrial rodents (Rodentia: Clethrionomys (= Myodes ) rutilus Pallas, 1779, Craseomys rufocanus Sundevall, 1846, Alexandromys oeconomus Pallas, 1776, Agricola agrestis L., 1761, Lasiopodomys gregalis Pallas, 1779, Alexandromys middendorffi Poljakov, 1881) and insectivores (Eulipotyphla: Sorex tundrensis Merriam, 1900, Sorex caecutiens Laxmann, 1788, Sorex minutus L., 1766) were caught. All the registered species are typical for the Polar Urals and adjacent plain and mountainous regions. Their abundance indices are comparable with the research literature data for the Polar, Subpolar and Northern Urals. The species composition, ecological and faunogenetic structure of the small mammal population correspond to the zonal-subzonal and altitudinal position of the studied landscapes and their biotopic structure. The studied small mammal communities are characterized by low indices of diversity, evenness and stability. Such characteristics are typical for small mammal communities of high-latitude and high-mountain landscapes and are explained by the severe natural and climatic features of the territory. Small mammal communities from the coast of Lake Bolshoe Khadataeganlor, from the floodplain of the Malaya Paypudyna River, from the floodplain of the Vostochny Nyrdvomenshor Stream, which are distinguished by a greater intra-landscape diversity of habitats and a milder microclimate, are characterized by comparatively higher indices of diversity and stability. The studied small mammal communities of the Polar Urals have an undisturbed diversity-evenness structure typical for subarctic landscapes. The studied landscapes do not contain small mammal species with a high degree of anthropogenic adaptability. Along with low integral indices of anthropogenic adaptability and an excess of elastic stability indices over the resistant ones (except for the landscapes at the Morozov Cordon in the floodplain of the Khadata River, where tundra grassing is observed due to musk ox grazing), this indicates, on the one hand, the absence of significant anthropogenic impact on the studied landscapes, and on the other hand, the low adaptability of the studied mammal communities to anthropogenic transformation of the habitat.