Understanding the boundaries between chromosome races of common shrews in terms of restricted movement by individual shrews

Shchipanov N.A.

P. 117-122

Data on population density, dispersal and homing in common shrews of the Moscow chromosome race are discussed. A population of common shrews is regarded as a set of “independent populations” with each such independent population characterised by their distinctive dynamics in population density. These distinctive dynamics result from the restricted exchange of individuals between the independent populations. The movement of individuals that belong to an independent population is hypothesised to be driven by a network of signals resulting from common activity (tunnels, nest places, pathways etc.) and direct or indirect social interactions (aggression, acoustic communication, scent marks and so on), i.e. Naumov’s “signals field”. Data on year to year fluctuations of population density in two closely located sampling sites were used to reveal independent populations of this sort. Homing experiments were conducted to establish areas through which shrews are most likely to travel. Surveys of micromycetes on the fur support the idea of discontinuity between independent populations. The boundaries between different chromosome races in continuous forests may be explained in terms of the low probability of dispersal of shrews beyond the area of an independent population.DOI: 10.15298/rusjtheriol.6.1.16

• Beklemishev V.N. 1960. [Spatial and functional structure of population] // Bulleten' Moskovskogo Obshchestva Ispytatelei Prirody, Otdelenie Biologii. No.2. P.41-50 [in Russian].
• Bulatova N., Searle J.B., Bystrakova N., Nadjafova R., Shchipanov N. & Orlov V. 2000. The diversity of chromosome races in Sorex araneus from European Russia // Acta Theriologica. Vol.45. Suppl.1. P.33-46.
• Bulatova N.S., Shchipanov N.A. & Searle J.B. 2007. The Seliger-Moscow hybrid zone between chromosome races of common shrews - an initial description // Russian Journal of Theriology. Vol.6. P.00-00.
• Bykov A.V. 2005. [Small mammal tunnel net as a biogeocenotic constituent of the soil layer of forest ecosystems]. Avtoreferat Dissertatsii na Soiskanie Uchenoi Stepeni Doktora Biologicheskih Nauk. Moskva: Institute of Forestry, Russian Academy of Sciences. 53 p. [in Russian].
• Bystrakova N.V., Shchipanov N.A., Bulatova N.S., Sheftel B.I., Nadjafova R.S., Pavlova S.V., Demidova T.B., Bobretsov A.V, Aleksandrov D.Yu., Kalinin A.A., Kouptsov A.V., Volkova A.T., Oleinichenko V.Yu. & Searle J.B. 2007. New data on the geographic distribution of chromosome races of Sorex araneus (Soricidae, Eulypotiphla) in European Russia // Russian Journal of Theriology. Vol.6. P.00-00.
• Hausser J., Fedyk S., Fredga K., Searle J.B., Volobuev V., Wójcik J.M. & Zima J. 1994. Definition and nomenclature of the chromosome races of S. araneus // Folia Zoologica. Vol.43. Suppl.1. P.1-9.
• Jones R.M. & Searle J.B. 2003. Mapping the course of the Oxford-Hermitage chromosomal hybrid zone in the common shrew (Sorex araneus) - a GIS approach // Mammalia. Vol.67. P.193-200.
• Kuptsov A.V. & Shchipanov N.A. 2004. [Homing in the shrews Sorex araneus, S. caecutiens, S. minutus, and S. isodon (Insectivora, Soricidae)] // Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. T.83. P.213-219 [in Russian, with English summary].
• Levins R. 1968. Evolution in Changing Environments: Some Theoretical Explorations. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
• Lidicker W.Z., Jr. 1985. Dispersal // Tamarin R.H. (ed.). Biology of New World Microtus. Special publication No.8. The American Society of Mammalogists. P.420-454.
• Lidicker W.Z., Jr. 1994. Population ecology // Birney E.C. & Choate J.R. (eds.). Seventy-five years of Mammalogy (1919-1994). Special Publication No.11. The American Society of Mammalogists. P.323-347.
• Mercer S.J. & Searle J.B. 1991. Preliminary analysis of a contact zone between karyotypic races of the common shrew (Sorex araneus) in Scotland // Mémoires de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles. Vol.19. P.73-78.
• Narain Y. & Fredga K. 1996. A hybrid zone between the Hallefors and Uppsala chromosome races of Sorex araneus in central Sweden // Hereditas. Vol.125. P.137-145.
• Naumov N.P. 1973. [Signal biological fields and their significance for animals] // Zhurnal Obshchei Biologii. No.6. P.808-817 [in Russian].
• Naumov N.P. 1977. [Biological signal fields and their significance in life histories of small mammals] // Shilov I.A. (ed.). Uspehi Sovremennoi Teriologii. Moskva: Nauka. P.93-108 [in Russian].
• Neet C.R. & Hausser J. 1990. Habitat selection in zones of parapatric contact between the common shrew Sorex araneus and Millet's shrew S. coronatus // Journal of Animal Ecology. Vol.59. P.235-250.
• Polyakov A.V., Volobuev V.T., Aniskin V.M., Zima J., Searle J.B. & Borodin P.M. 2003. Altitudinal partioning of two chromosome races of the common shrew (Sorex araneus) in West Siberia // Mammalia. Vol.67. No.2. P.201-207.
• Shchipanov N.A. 2000. [Aspects of sustainable persistence of small mammal population] // Uspekhi Sovremennoi Biologii. T.120. P.73-87 [in Russian, with English summary].
• Shchipanov N.A. 2002. [Functional organization of population as an approach to studies of population resistance. Applied aspect (small mammals as example)] // Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. T.81. P.1048-1077 [in Russian, with English summary].
• Shchipanov N.A. 2003. Population as a unit of species existence: small mammals // Entomological Review. Vol.83. P.142-160.
• Shchipanov N.A., Aleksandrov D.Yu. & Alexandrova A.V. 2003. [Small mammals as dispersers of micromycete spores] // Doklady Akademii Nauk. Vol.390. P.136-141 [in Russian].
• Shchipanov N.A., Aleksandrov D.Yu. & Alexandrova A.V. 2006. [Dispersal of micromycete spores by small mammals] // Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. T.85. P.111-113 [in Russian, with English summary].
• Shchipanov N.A., Kalinin A.A., Olienichenko V.U., Demidova T.B., Goncharova O.B. & Nagornev F.V. 2000. [The technique of studying of space usage in Sorex shrews] // Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. T.79. P.362-371 [in Russian, with English summary].
• Shchipanov N.A., Kalinin A.A., Demidova T.B., Oleinichenko V.Yu., Aleksandrov D.Yu. & Kouptzov A.V. 2006. Population ecology of red-toothed shrews, Sorex araneus, S. caecutiens, S. minutus, and S. isodon, in Central Russia // Merrit J. (ed.). Advances in the Biology of Shrews. II. Special publication of the international society of shrew biologists. No.1. P.201-216.
• Searle J.B. & Wójcik J.M., 1998. Chromosomal evolution: the case of Sorex araneus // Wójcik J.M. & Wolsan M. (eds.). Evolution of Shrews. Bialowieza: Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences. P.243-253.
• Wójcik J.M., Borodin P.M., Fedyk S., Fredga K., Hausser J., Mishta A., Orlov V.N., Searle J.B., Volobuev V.T. & Zima J. 2003. The list of the chromosome races of the common shrew Sorex araneus (updated 2002) // Mammalia. Vol.67. P.169-178.