Habitat Fragmentation of Two Dormouse Species (Gliridae, Rodentia) and Biodiversity Protection of Deciduous Forests in the Nizhny Novgorod Region

Little is known about the dormouse species distribution in the Middle Volga region. The habitats of the edible dormouse Glis glis L. and the hazel dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius L. are fragmented and mainly lost in the agricultural landscape of the right Bank of the Volga River and in the coniferous forests of the right Bank of the Lower Oka River in the Nizhny Novgorod region. New data are given of features of the habitats of two sympatric dormouse species at a patch of a lime-oak forest surrounded by coniferous forests. Within the studied area, 80 wooden nestboxes were put up in places with well-connected tree canopies and well-developed understory. During three years of our study (2016-2018), preliminary data were obtained on the dynamics of nest-boxes use, relative abundance and reproduction of both dormouse species. The patch of the lime-oak forest, about 20 ha, is divided into two parts by a road and a 50 m-wide vista. Both parts did not differ in vegetation, but the edible dormouse was found in the southern part only. The hazel dormouse was found through the whole lime-oak patch, except for the woodplot no 1 (1.5 ha) occupied by edible dormice with a high density. On the basis of the data obtained, management actions are suggested to raise the level of connectivity and immigration in the population of isolated broad-leaved patches in coniferous forests, in particular, to develop a network of “key habitats”.

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22. Kaplanov L. G., Raevsky V. V. Materials to the fauna of mammals of the Central industrial region. Proceedings of the State Museum of the Central Industrial Region, 1928, iss. 5, pp. 19-21 (in Russian).

23. Kozharinov A.V. Dynamics of nemoral broadleaf forests of Eastern Europe in the Late Gla-cial-Holocene. Zakonomernosti vekovoi dinamiki biogeotsenozov: XXI Chteniya pamyati aka-demika V. N. Sukacheva [The Pattern of Century Dynamics of Biogeocenosises: XXI Conf. in Mem-oriam of V. N. Sukachev]. Moscow, KMK Scientific Press Ltd., 2006, pp. 66-123 (in Russian).

24. Krasnaia kniga Nizhegorodskoi oblasti. T. 1. Zhivotnye. 2-e izd. [Red book of Nizhny Novgorod region. Vol. 1. Animals. Second ed.]. Nizhny Novgorod, dEkOM Publ., 2014. 448 p. (in Russian).

25. Kucheruk V. V. Steppe fauna complex of mammals and its place in the fauna of the Palearc-tic. In: Geografiia naseleniia nazemnykh zhivotnykh [Geography of the Population of Terrestrial Animals]. Moscow, 1959, pp. 45-87 (in Russian).

26. Likhachev G. N. Territorial placement of hazel dormice. In: Ekologiia mlekopitaiushchikh i ptits [Ecology of Mammals and Birds]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1967 a, pp. 79-90 (in Russian).

27. Likhachev G. N. Settlement of artificial nests of hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius L.). In: Ekologiia mlekopitaiushchikh i ptits [Ecology of Mammals and Birds]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1967 b, pp. 67-79 (in Russian).

28. Ray E. A., Torkhov S. V., Burova N. V., Rykova S. Yu., Amosov P. N., Korepanov V. I., Ry-kov A. M., Puchnina L. V., Churakova E.Yu. Kliuchevye biotopy lesnykh ekosistem Arkhangel’skoi oblasti i rekomendatsii po ikh okhrane [Key Biotopes of Forest Ecosystems of the Arkhangelsk Region and Recommendations for Their Protection]. Arkhangelsk, 2008. 30 p. (in Russian).

29. Formozov A. N. About hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius L.) in the Nizhny Novgorod province. Proceedings of the State Museum of the Central Industrial Region, 1925, iss. 2, pp. 4-14 (in Russian).

30. Yurkovskaya T. K. Map of the vegetation. In: Natsional’nyi atlas pochv Rossiiskoi Federat-sii. Gl. red. chl.-korr. RAN S. A. Shoba [S. A. Shoba, ed. National Atlas of soils of the Russian Federation]. Moscow, Astrel Publ., 2011, pp. 46-47 (in Russian).

31. Bieber C. Dispersal behaviour of the edible dormouse (Myoxus glis L.) in a fragmented landscape in central Germany. Hystrix, 1995, vol. 6, pp. 257-263.

32. Bright P. W., Morris P. A. Habitat requirements of dormice Muscardinus avellanarius in relation to woodland management in Southwest England. Biological Conservation, 1990, vol. 54, pp. 307-326.

33. Buchner S. Dispersal of common dormice Muscardinus avellanarius in a habitat mosaic. Acta Theriologica, 2008, vol. 53, pp. 259-262.

34. Capizzi D., Battistini M., Amori G. Effects of habitat fragmentation and forest management on the distribution of the edible dormouse Glis glis. Acta Theriologica, 2003, vol. 48, pp. 359-371.

35. Gaston K. J., Blackburn T. M. Large-scale dynamics in colonization and extinction for breeding birds in Britain. J. of Animal Ecology, 2002, vol. 71, pp. 390-399.

36. Goodwin C. E. D., Hodgson D. J., Bailey S., Bennie J., McDonald R. A. Habitat preferences of hazel dormice Muscardinus avellanarius and the effects of tree-felling on their movement. Forest Ecology and Management, 2018, vol. 427, pp. 190-199.

37. Hanski I. Metapopulation Ecology. New York, Oxford Univ. Press, 1999. 313 p.

38. Hanski I. The shrinking world: Ecological consequences of habitat loss. Oldendorf; Luhe (Germany), International Ecology Institute, 2005. 307 p.