Effects of Landscape Heterogeneity on Common Shrew (Sorex araneus) Population Dynamics

Abstract

The effects of landscape heterogeneity on changes in the common shrew population were researched. Multiyear (1987–2017) time series data on species abundance in the plain and piedmont areas of the Pechora-Ilych State Nature Biosphere Reserve have been analyzed using the Fourier spectral analysis method. A cyclic component of three years and another one of lower value at five years were identified in the common shrew population dynamics in the piedmont area. In the plain area, changes in the animal population are more chaotic and periodic components are poorly manifested in the time series. The influence of landscape heterogeneity on the species population and its amplitude of fluctuation were also identified; these parameters are significant in the piedmont area and negligible on the plain.