A preliminary assessment of the impact of the Przewalski’s horse on myrmecocomplexes (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the Cis-Ural steppe site in the Orenburg Reserve
- Authors: Bulgakov E.A.1, Arbuzov M.A.1, Bulgakova M.A.2
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Affiliations:
- United Directorate of the Orenburgsky and Shaitan-Tau State Nature Reserves
- Orenburg State University
- Issue: Vol 11, No 1 (2022)
- Pages: 31-35
- Section: Biological Sciences
- URL: https://ogarev-online.ru/2309-4370/article/view/108319
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.55355/snv2022111102
- ID: 108319
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Abstract
The paper discusses the results of the analysis of the species dynamics of the myrmecofauna inside the acclimatization pens of the Przewalski’s horse in the Orenburg State Reserve. Although the horse is a specially protected species, the impact it can have on steppe ecosystems needs to be assessed through annual monitoring. Like other ungulates, Przewalski’s horses eat and trample vegetation as well as compact the soil due to the mechanical destruction of soil aggregates. It is shown that grazing of large ungulates has both direct and indirect effects on the myrmecocomplex. Based on the results of the study, the main patterns of species imbalances on the territory of sites in acclimatization paddocks subject to pasture influence were established. The results of the work have shown that there are such ant species as Cataglyphis aenescens N., Lasius alienus F., Tetramorium caespitum L., Messor muticus N., Cataglyphis aenescens N., Temnothorax sp., Tetramorium caespitum L., Proformica epinotalis Kuznetsov-Ugamsky on the territory. In open, well-heated areas, dominant positions were occupied by Cataglyphis aenescens N., while in the presence of vegetation, soil zoonecrophages Lasius alienus F. and Tetramorium caespitum L. dominated. The paper reflects the experimental results, analyzes them, and concludes about the probable reasons for the dominance of the species.
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##article.viewOnOriginalSite##About the authors
Evgeny Aleksandrovich Bulgakov
United Directorate of the Orenburgsky and Shaitan-Tau State Nature Reserves
Email: orenbulg@mail.ru
head of the Przhevalsky Horse Reintroduction Center
Russian Federation, OrenburgMaksim Aleksandrovich Arbuzov
United Directorate of the Orenburgsky and Shaitan-Tau State Nature Reserves
Email: kingwhitelui@gmail.com
leading specialist of the Przhevalsky Horse Reintroduction Center
Russian Federation, OrenburgMarina Aleksandrovna Bulgakova
Orenburg State University
Author for correspondence.
Email: biosu@mail.ru
candidate of biological sciences, associate professor of Biology and Soil Science Department
Russian Federation, OrenburgReferences
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