Author: Artem Sozontov
Keywords: Samplingevent, data paper, occurrence records, small mammals, rodents, insectivores, biological diversity, landscape-biotopic diversity, environmental heterogeneity, industrial pollution

Small mammals of background areas in the vicinity of the Karabash copper smelter (Southern Ural, Russia)

Svetlana Mukhacheva^1, Yulia Davydova^1, Artëm Sozontov^1, Yulia Davydova^2

1 Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology (IPAE UB RAS), Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation; 2 Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology (IPAE UB RAS), 0000-0003-4297-6629, Russian Federation

Corresponding author(s): Svetlana Mukhacheva (mukhacheva@mail.ru)Yulia DavydovaArtëm Sozontov, Yulia Davydova (davydova@ipae.uran.ru)

Received {date}; Revised {date}; Accepted {date}; Published {date}

Citation: Combination of authors, year of data paper publication (in parentheses), Title, Journal Name, Volume, Issue number (in parentheses), and doi of the data paper.

Resource Citation

Mukhacheva S, Davydova Y, Sozontov A (2021): Small mammals of background areas in the vicinity of the Karabash copper smelter (Southern Ural, Russia). v1.3. Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology (IPAE). Dataset/Samplingevent. http://gbif.ru:8080/ipt/resource?r=small_mammals_2021&v=1.3

Abstract

The dataset contains records of small mammals (Eulipotyphla and Rodentia) collected on the background areas in the vicinity of the Karabash copper smelter (Southern Ural, Russia) and the territory of the Sultanovskoye deposit of copper-pyrite ores before the start of its development. Data were collected during the snowless period in 2007 (16 sampling points), 2008-2010 (13 points), 2011 (30 points), and 2012–2014 (19 points). The capture of animals was carried out in different types of forests (pine, birch, mixed and floodplain), sparse birch stand, swamp (reed, bogged), marshy and dry meadow, border areas, a dump of household waste, ruderal vegetation, and shift camp. Our studies of small mammals were conducted by trap lines (snap- and live-traps). During the study period, 710 specimens of small mammals were caught, which belong to 5 species of shrews and 13 species of rodents. 
The dataset can help study regional fauna, the species distribution in different habitats and be used as reference values for environmental monitoring and conservation activities. We have published several faunal and analytical works based on the materials collected in 2007 (Mukhacheva et al., 2009), in 2008–2010 (Kshnyasev et al., 2010; Mukhacheva et al., 2010a, 2010b; Mukhacheva, Davydova, 2012), in 2011 (Mukhacheva et al., 2012); and 2012–2014 (Mukhacheva, Davydova, 2016a, 2016b).

Keywords: Samplingevent, data paper, occurrence records, small mammals, rodents, insectivores, biological diversity, landscape-biotopic diversity, environmental heterogeneity, industrial pollution

General description

Purpose: The purpose is to describe a dataset on occurrence records of small mammals (Eulipotyphla and Rodentia) in the main habitat types on the background (unpolluted) areas of the Chelyabinsk oblast (Southern Ural, Russia). This dataset is part of our long-term researches of small mammal communities inhabiting areas with different levels of industrial pollution.

Project details

Project title: Small mammals of the background areas near the Karabash copper smelter, Southern Urals, Russia 2021
Personnel: Svetlana Mukhacheva, Davydova Yulia, Artëm Sozontov
Funding: N-Eurasia-Russia2021
Study area descriptions/descriptor: The data were collected on the territory of 5 districts of the Chelyabinsk region, Russia.
Design description: The dataset includes the occurrence of species small insectivores (Eulipotyphla) and rodents (Rodentia) within five administrative districts of the Chelyabinsk oblast (Southern Urals, Russia). The collection of animals was carried out for eight years (2007–2014) during the snowless period: in June-July (2007, 2011–2014) or September-October (2008–2010). In total, there are 78 observed sampling points, which are reduced to 14 main types of biotopes: forests (pine, birch, mixed, and floodplain), sparse birch stand, meadows (marshy, dry), swamps (reed, bogged), border areas (pine forest-reed swamp, birch forest-dry meadow), a dump of household waste, ruderal vegetation, and shift camp.

Data published through GBIF: http://gbif.ru:8080/ipt/resource?r=small_mammals_2021

Taxonomic coverage

Taxonomic ranks
Class: Mammalia
Order: Eulipotyphla, Rodentia
Family: Soricidae, Dipodidae, Sciuridae, Cricetidae, Muridae

Spatial coverage

General spatial coverage: The data were collected on five administrative districts (Kyshtymsky, Karabashsky, Kunashaksky, Argayashsky, and Miassky) of the Chelyabinsk oblast Russia.
Coordinates: 55°13'51.6''N and 55°43'4.8''N Latitude; 60°7'26.4''E and 61°45'50.4''E Longitude 

Temporal coverage: June 23, 2007 - July 17, 2014

Methods

Method step description: -
Study extent description: The dataset includes the occurrence of species small insectivores (Eulipotyphla) and rodents (Rodentia) within five administrative districts of the Chelyabinsk oblast (Southern Urals, Russia). The collection of animals was carried out for eight years (2007–2014) during the snowless period: in June-July (2007, 2011–2014) or September-October (2008–2010). In total, there are 78 observed sampling points, which are reduced to 14 main types of biotopes: forests (pine, birch, mixed, and floodplain), sparse birch stand, meadows (marshy, dry), swamps (reed, bogged), border areas (pine forest-reed swamp, birch forest-dry meadow), a dump of household waste, ruderal vegetation, and shift camp.
Sampling description: Field studies were carried out using commonly accepted methods. Sampling was designed to cover the main habitat types for small mammals. The animals were caught using wooden traps (snap- or live-traps) arranged in lines (10 to 25 traps each) at a distance of 7–10 m from each other and exposed for 2–4 days, inspected once a day. In 2012–2014, modified lines were used to capture animals, consisting of alternating snap-traps and live-traps (3: 1). It allowed keeping records of animals in small-sized areas (which fit into the selected biotope options with a high mosaic habitat) while at the same time catching species that “prefer” different caught gear. Each specimen was individually marking, aged, and sexed. In addition, the following biometric parameters were taken: body length, tail length, hind leg length, and weight. Finally, the animals were identified to the species level using appropriate identification keys (Gromov, Erbaeva, 1995; Zaitsev et al., 2014).
Quality control description: Collected materials (sculls and samples of organs) are stored at the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology (IPAE UB RAS, Yekaterinburg). All captured animals were determined to species level by qualified technicians.

Datasets

Dataset description
Object name: Darwin Core Archive Small mammals of background areas in the vicinity of the Karabash copper smelter (Southern Ural, Russia)
Character encoding: UTF-8
Format name: Darwin Core Archive format
Format version: 1.0
Distribution: http://gbif.ru:8080/ipt/archive.do?r=small_mammals_2021
Publication date of data: 2021-09-25
Language: English
Licences of use: Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License

Metadata language: English
Date of metadata creation: 2021-09-13
Hierarchy level: Dataset

References
Gromov, I.M. and Erbaeva, M.A. (1995). Mlekopitayushchie fauny Rossii i sopredel’nykh territorii. Zaitseobraznye i gryzuny (Mammals in the Fauna of Russia and Bordering Territories: Lagomorphs and Rodents), St. Petersburg: Zool. Inst. Ross. Akad. Nauk
Zaitsev, M.V., Voita, L.L., and Sheftel’, B.I. (2014). Mlekopitayushchie fauny Rossii i sopredel’nykh territorii. Nasekomoyadnye (Mammals in the Fauna of Russia and Bordering Territories: Insectivores), St. Petersburg: Zool. Inst. Ross. Akad. Nauk
Kshnyasev I.A., Mukhacheva S.V., Davydova Yu.A. (2010) Shrew abundance near Karabash copper smelter, Ural Mountains, one of the most polluted areas in the world. Advances in biology of shrews III. Materials of the Intern. conf. September 14–17, Syktyvkar, Komi Republic, Russia. Moscow, КМК. 2010. P. 32.
Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 3rd ed., Wilson, D.E. and Reeder, D.M., Eds., Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2005.
Mukhacheva S.V., Davydova Yu.A. (2012). How the diversity of small mammal communities changes in the area of operation of copper smelting enterprises // Biological systems: stability, principles and mechanisms of functioning. N. Tagil, 2012. Publishing house: NGSPA, Vol. 2. pp. 90-93.  [In Russian].
Mukhacheva S.V., Davydova Yu.A. (2016a). Small mammal communities in the impacted areas: the importance of landscape-ecological diversity consideration // Principy èkologii.  Vol. 5. № 3. 104.
Mukhacheva S.V., Davydova Yu.A. (2016b). Changes in the biodiversity of small mammals of impact regions in a heterogeneous environment // Teriofauna of Russia and adjacent territories. X Congress of the Theriol. Soc. RAS). Moscow: Association of Scientific Publ. CMC. p. 274. [In Russian].
Mukhacheva S.V., Davydova Yu.A., Vorobeichik E.L. (2012) The role of heterogeneity of the environment in preservation of the diversity of small mammals under the conditions of strong industrial pollution // Doklady Biological Sciences 447 (1): 338–341. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0012496612010206
Mukhacheva S.V., Berdyugin K.I., Davydova Yu.A. (2009) The experience of using small mammals to assess the state of natural ecosystems // Agrarian Bulletin of the Urals. №. 3. pp. 65-68. [In Russian].
Mukhacheva SV, Davydova YuA, Kshnyasev IA (2010a) Responses of small mammal community to environmental pollution by emissions from a copper smelter. Russian Journal of Ecology 41 (6): 513–518. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1067413610060081
Mukhacheva SV, Davydova YuA, Kshnyasev IA (2010b) The population of small mammals in the vicinity of the Karabash copper smelter // Materials conf. Miass-Yekaterinburg: Ural Branch RAS, pp. 149-153. [In Russian].
Berdyugin K.I., Davydova Yu.A. Kshnyasev I.A., Mukhacheva S.V. (2011) The role of landscape heterogeneity in the diversity of small mammals of impact territories // Theriofauna of Russia and adjacent territories. IX Congress of the Theriol. Soc. RA S. Moscow: Association of Scientific Publ. CMC. p. 53. [In Russian].