Dynamics of the Number and Community Structure of Shrews in the Surroundings of Magadan (Northern Coast of the Sea of Okhotsk)

Abstract

Data on population dynamics and dominance structure in the shrew community in the environs of Magadan in 2011–2018 are presented. Even-toothed shrews and Laxmann’s shrews (S. isodon and S. caecutiens) were generally dominant in the catches, and the slender shrew, the Siberian large-toothed shrew, the Kamchatka shrew, and the least shrew (S. gracillimus, S. daphaenodon, S. camtschaticus, and S. minutissimus) were secondary species with regard to abundance. The increases and decreases in the numbers of all species were coincident to varying degrees, and the differences in the dominance structure in the different years were relatively small. The status of only two species varied: they were the Laxmann’s shrew, characterized by the largest amplitude of number fluctuations, and the slender shrew, for which an increase in abundance occurred recently in the region. The role of some factors in the regulation of the number of animals is discussed.