Microhabitat Preferences of Some Rodent Species in a Community Living in the High-Montane Zone of the Republic of Dagestan

The microhabitat distribution, the position of spatial niches, and the abundance of eight mouse-like rodent species living in the high-montane zone of the Republic of Dagestan were assessed. Twenty environmental parameters were selected, 16 of which discriminated interspecific differences significantly. The distribution of rodents relative to environmental parameters was shown to make the greatest contribution to interspecific differences and species preferences for the habitats and microhabitats of all rodents. The rodent species in the study area can be divided into four groups (guilds): forest species, open-space species, rocky-gravel species, and near-water species. The results of pairwise comparisons of the spatial niches of the rodent species considered revealed low values of their overlap.