Rodent Fauna of the Forest–Steppe Zone of European Russia

Abstract

The forest–steppe is an ecotone characterized by a combination of forest and steppe ecosystems. In the European part of Russia, there are three forest–steppe biomes: the Dnieper–Volga (forest–steppe part), Trans-Volga, and Crimean–Caucasian. All of them have now been largely transformed by man. One of the most important components of forest–steppe biocenoses is rodents. This work describes the fauna of rodents in the forest–steppe of the European part of Russia. A general list of rodent species in the area under consideration was compiled. The taxonomic composition, geographic, ecological, and other elements of the rodent fauna were identified, and similarities and differences in the composition of the rodent fauna of forest–steppe biomes were assessed. In total, 44 species of rodents have been reliably recorded (35 in the Dnieper–Volga biome, 27 in the Trans-Volga biome, 26 in the forest–steppe of the North Caucasus, and 20 in the forest–steppe of Crimea). In the zonal forest–steppe, 37 species were noted, and in the barrier (Caucasus and Crimea), 30. Representatives of the Muridae (25%) and Critecidae (36%) families dominate. The predominant species are Eurasian steppe (21%), Euro-Siberian (18%), European forest (14%), and European steppe (14%) species. There were 17 steppe and desert–steppe species (39% of the total number), and 13 forest species (30%).