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

Abstract

The paper discusses the results of the analysis of the species dynamics of the myrmecofauna inside the acclimatization pens of the Przewalskis 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, Przewalskis 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.