SMALL MAMMALS AS THE OBJECT OF BIOMONITORING RESEARCH ON THE TERRITORY OF KEMEROVO REGION

Abstract

The study summarizes the experience of studying long-term dynamics of small mammals’ communities on theterritoryofKemerovoregion. The studies show that small mammals are models for conducting biomonitoring and are good indicators of a variety of successional processes. To conduct relative abundance surveys of small mammals the standard method of trapping grooves was used. The study revealed that small mammals are characterized by cyclical changes in number with a period of 3 – 4 years, which is true to a different degree for all species of this group. In some years, the cycle can be disrupted by extraordinary weather conditions. In the course of many years of research it was found that the structure of animal communities is changing. In mammals the changes are caused by the transformation of habitats, and, in the first instance, processes such as reforestation of clearings and overgrowing of meadows. As a result, the study area has seen a steady increase in the proportion of forest communities species, their penetration into the meadows, and increase in the abundance of hygrophilous species