Aspects of shrew community organization in open landscapes of Siberia and northern Kazakhstan

Six shrew communities of ten shrew species from open landscapes of Northern Asia have been studied. The communities are characterized by similar structure, poor species composition, low number, and low abundance. It is shown that the structure of shrew communities depends on the areas occupied by prairie, forested, and wetland microlandscapes. The composition and dominance structure of the communities are affected by the landscape and geographical features of the habitat area. The study of population dynamics in northern Kazakhstan and in the south of West Siberia showed that two species of shrews demonstrated synchrony of population dynamics.