Factors Determining Formation of Small Mammal Population in Urban Cemeteries

摘要

The comparative analysis of a small mammal population structure performed in urban cemeteries revealed the factors influential in forming the population The study is based on the long-term data taken in 42 Moscow cemeteries. In the period of 17944 trap-nights 2743 animals of 12 species were trapped and taken for analysis Taking into account the heterogeneity of the habitats examined, they were classified to a set of ranked parameters The application of ordination and correlation techniques for comparing the composition, abundance, and proportion of species with different levels of synanthropy allowed us to reveal the dependence of a specific pattern of the small mammal population distribution on a set of interconnected factors. The level of isolation, remoteness from the city centre, and age of the habitat proved to be the most essential among them.