Insectivorans (Lipothyphla) of Left-Bank Ukraine and Crimea: analytical materials on fauna and ecology

Insectivorans, or soriciforms (Lipothyphla, seu Soriciformes) are one of the two groups of small mammals that play an important role in the functioning of terrestrial and semi-aquatic ecosystems. Together with rodents, they represent a significant part of the species richness, abundance, and biomass of the mammal fauna in Ukraine. These two groups inhabit the same biotopes, but they differ radically in their type of diet and therefore occupy different trophic levels in ecosystems. The insectivorans in Ukraine’s modern fauna are represented by 10 species, which are common in Left-bank Ukraine and Crimea. These are as follows: Erinaceus roumanicus (white-bellied hedgehog) from the family Erinaceidae; Desmana moschata (Russian desman) and Talpa europaea (European mole) from the family Talpidae; and seven species of shrews from the family Soricidae—Crocidura suaveolens and C. leucodon (lesser and bicoloured white-toothed shrew), Neomys fodiens and N. milleri (Eurasian and Mediterranean water shrew), Sorex araneus and S. minutus (common and Eurasian pygmy shrew), and the relatively new species in Ukraine’s fauna S. volnuchini (Pontic shrew). The distribution of species by natural zones, administrative regions, and main biotopes on the Left Bank (east of the Dnipro) and Crimea was analysed, and some issues related to changes in species ranges, their fragmentation and population dynamics of insectivorans in this territory were discussed. The Dnipro ecological corridor, which had functioned for many millennia, was completely destroyed in the 20th century due to the construction of a cascade of hydroelectric power plants and reservoirs. As a result, a whole range of floodplain ecosystems and their flora and fauna disappeared completely, and the subsequent ploughing of virgin steppes and their irrigation with water from the Dnipro had a radical and severe negative impact on the steppe fauna, including insectivorans, leading to a fundamental change in the primary steppe ecosystems. Because some of the floodplain ecosystems of the Siverskyi Donets River in Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts have been preserved, this area has become one of the biodiversity hotspots in Left-bank Ukraine. The steppe ecosystems of Crimea have undergone significant transformation, especially after the construction of the North Crimean Canal and the network of irrigation systems. The fauna of the Crimean Mountains has been the least affected by these changes.