Small mammals in the main types of ecosystems near the Donetsk biostation, Ukraine

Mouse-like rodents and shrews in Kharkiv Oblast (Ukraine): species composition, distribution, and current state of populations

Since 1957, zoologists of the Kharkiv Sanitary and Epidemiological Station have been conducting annual monitoring of small mammals in Kharkiv Oblast. To assess the current state of populations of mouse-like rodents and shrews, we analysed a dataset for the period from 2000 to 2018. The small mammal fauna was studied at 117 sites in 27 districts (raions) of Kharkiv Oblast. Various types of oak forests, dry and floodplain meadows, riparian vegetation, steppe areas, forest stripes, gardens, fields, and haystacks were examined. Four species of insectivores and 16 species of mouse-like rodents were identified. The dominant and widespread species in the region are Sylvaemus uralensis, Apodemus agrarius, Sorex araneus, Microtus levis, Myodes glareolus, and Sylvaemus tauricus. Some species are less common and in some areas of the region have not yet been identified, including Sorex minutus, Sylvaemus sylvaticus, Crocidura suaveolens, Micromys minutus, Cricetulus migratorius, and Microtus oeconomus. The least common species with single records include Neomys fodiens, Mus spicilegus, Lagurus lagurus, Terricola subterraneus, Dryomys nitedula, and Arvicola amphibius. Indigenous species of the region include seven species, another seven species are those that increased their number and range, three species have recently appeared in the region due to dispersal from adjacent territories, while, on the contrary, the abundance and range of three species have declines. Microtus oeconomus is characterised by a current southward range expansion. Myodes glareolus, which was mentioned in the last century north of our region, is now widely distributed throughout the region and further south. Lagurus lagurus is an invasive species with periodic population outbreaks in the region and currently is rarely recorded.