Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Distribution of Trophic Resources in a Rodent Community in the High-Mountain Zone of the Republic of Dagestan

  • Published:
Russian Journal of Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of nutrition of some cohabiting rodent species in the High-Mountain Zone of the Republic of Dagestan have been studied. The diet of S. uralensis consisted of 23, C. gud, of 22, M. arvalis, of 27, C. migtatorius, of 26, and D. nitedula, of 19 plant species. The most diverse diet was found in the common vole and gray hamster. In spring, sedges dominated in the diets of rodents, in the summer, rations consisted mainly of cereals, and autumn, predominantly from the species of the forbs and legume groups. In all, except for the forest dormouse, the conjugation of diets with the structure of herbaceous vegetation was revealed. The maximum values of the degree of similarity of the diets of rodents were found in pairs of wood mouse – Gudaur vole, Gudaur vole – gray hamster, and common vole – gray hamster. As a result, a sufficient level of food supply, a wide range of microstations, and intrapopulation adaptation mechanisms make it possible for the considered rodent species to live together in the study area.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Abaturov, B.D., Mlekopitayushchie kak komponent ekosistem (na primere rastitel’noyadnykh mlekopitayushchikh v polupustyne) (Mammals as the Ecosystem Component by Example of Herbivorous Mammals in Semidesert), Moscow: Nauka, 1984.

  2. Sheremet’ev, I.S., Rozenfel’d, S.B., Dmitriev, I.A., et al., Food resource partitioning among the large herbivores of eastern Mongolia in summer, Contemp. Probl. Ecol., 2014, vol. 7, pp. 579–586.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Magomedov, M.-R.D., Dependence of feeding and the state of jerboa (Dipodidae) populations on the dynamics of forage resources, Zh. Obshch. Biol., 1989, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 824–834.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Magomedov, M.Sh., An analysis of rodent feeding in the foothill zone of the republic of Daghestan: A microhistological cuticular-coprological method, Zool. Zh., 2017, vol. 96, no. 5, pp. 581–588.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Shvarts, S.S., Evolution and the biosphere, Problemy biogeotsenologii (Problems of Biogeocenology), Moscow: Nauka, 1973, pp. 213–228.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Bashenina, N.V., Puti adaptatsii myshevidnykh gryzunov (Ways of Adaptations of Mouse-Like Rodents), Moscow: Nauka, 1977.

  7. Wynne-Edwards, V.C., Animal Dispersion in Relation to Social Behavior, Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1962.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Akaev, B.A., Relief, Fizicheskaya geografiya Dagestana (Physical Geography of Dagestan), Makhachkala: Shkola, 1996, pp. 112–150.

  9. Lepekhina, A.A., Vegetation, Fizicheskaya geografiya Dagestana (Physical Geography of Dagestan), Makhachkala: Shkola, 1996, pp. 267–314.

  10. Voronov, A.G., Geobotanika (Geobotany), Moscow: Vysshaya Shkola, 1973.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Hurlbert, S.H., The Measurement of niche overlap and some relatives, Ecology, 1978, vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 67–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Pianka, E.R., The structure of lizard communities, Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst., 1973, no. 4, pp. 53–74.

  13. Pianka, E.R., Evolutionary Ecology, New York: Harper and Row, 1978.

  14. Bukvareva, E.N. and Aleshenko, G.M., Is niche division a condition or a consequence of the observed species diversity? Diversity optimization as an additional mechanism for forming the structure of ecological communities, Usp. Sovrem. Biol., 2012, vol. 132, no. 4, pp. 337–353.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Severtsov, A.S., The ratio of fundamental and realized ecological niches, Zh. Obshch. Biol., 2012, vol. 73, no. 5, pp. 323–333.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Hubbell, S.P., Neutral theory in community ecology and the hypothesis of functional equivalence, Funct. Ecol., 2005, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 166–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Clark, J.S., Beyond neutral science, Trends Ecol. Evol., 2009, vol. 24, pp. 8–15.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Larionov, K.O., Nutrition and food supply of Saiga tatarica depending on the characteristics of vegetation on pastures, Extended Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, Moscow: Inst. Probl. Ekol. Evol. im. A.N. Severtsova, 2008.

  19. Magomedov, M.-R.D. and Magomedov, M.Sh., Comparative assessment of the feeding intensity of the forest dormouse (Dryomys nitedula, Dryomys, Rodentia) and the yellow necked field mouse (Apodemus flavipectus, Murinae, Rodentia) in connection with the peculiarities of their seasonal activity, Zool. Zh., 2008, vol. 87, no. 6, pp. 748–753.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Abaturov, B.D. and Dzhapova, R.R., Forage availability to saigas (Saiga tatarica) and their state on steppe pastures with a different ratio of graminoid plants and forbs, Biol. Bull., 2015, vol. 42, pp. 163–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Chew, R.M. and Chew, A.E., Energy relationships of the mammals of a desert shrub (Larrea tridentata) community, Ecol. Monogr., 1970, no. 40, pp. 1–21.

  22. Soholt, L.T., Consumption of primary production by a population of kangaroo rats (Dipodomys merriami) in the Mojave Desert, Ecol. Monogr., 1973, no. 43, pp. 357–376.

  23. Perrin, M.R. and Boyer, D.C., The effect of rodents on plant recruitment and production in the dune fields of the Namib Desert, Trop. Zool., 1994, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 299–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Zlotin, R.I. and Khodashova, K.S., Rol’ zhivotnykh v biologicheskom krugovorote lesostepnykh ekosistem (The Role of Animals in the Biological Cycle of Forest-Steppe Ecosystems), Moscow: Nauka, 1974.

  25. Magomedov, M.-R.D. and Yarovenko, Yu.A., Feeding intensity and feed digestibility in dagestan tur (Capra cylindricornis Blyth) in captivity, Zool. Zh., 1997, vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 243–251.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Connell, J.H., Diversity and the coevolution of competitors, or the ghost of competition past, Oikos, 1980, no. 35, pp. 131–138.

  27. Lack, D., Ecological Isolation in Birds, Oxford: Blackwell, 1971.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to Ph.D. R.A. Murtazaliev for help in determining the plant material.

Funding

The work was financed from the funds of the Caspian Institute of Biological Resources, Dagestan Federal Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Caspian Institute of Biological Resources, Dagestan Federal Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 368025, Makhachkala, Russia

    M. Sh. Magomedov

  2. ANO VO Bashlarov Scientific and Clinical Center, 368025, Makhachkala, Russia

    M. Sh. Magomedov & M. M. Magomedova

Authors
  1. M. Sh. Magomedov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. M. Magomedova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Sh. Magomedov.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest. The authors declare that have no conflicts of interest.

Statement on the welfare of animals. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Magomedov, M.S., Magomedova, M. Distribution of Trophic Resources in a Rodent Community in the High-Mountain Zone of the Republic of Dagestan. Russ J Ecol 54, 331–337 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1067413623040069

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1067413623040069

Keywords:

Search

Navigation