Tserendavaa P., Erdenechimeg E., Hackländer K., Samiya R., Sheftel B.I., Undrakhbayar E., Nomin A., Muehlenberg M. 2023. A 12-year population study of the reed vole (Alexandromys fortis) (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in Khonin Nuga, West Khentei, Mongolia // Russian J. Theriol. Vol.22. No.2. P.142–149 [in English].
Tserendavaa Purevjal [tserendavaa.purevjal@students.boku.ac.at], Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria; Erdenechimeg Erdenetsetseg [erdenechimeg@humanities.mn], University of Humanities, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Klaus Hackländer [klaus.hacklaender@boku.ac.at], Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria; Samiya Ravchig [samiya@num.edu.mn], National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Boris I. Sheftel [borissheftel@yahoo.com], A.N. Severtsov Institute Ecology and Evolution RAS, Moscow, Russia; Undrakhbayar Enkhbat [undrakhbayar@mas.ac.mn], Laboratory of Mammalian Ecology, Institute of Biology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Nomin Altanchimeg [cnomin13@gmail.com], University of Humanities, Mongolia; Michael Muehlenberg [mmuehle@yahoo.com], Centre for Nature Conservation of the University of Goettingen, Germany.
doi: 10.15298/rusjtheriol.22.2.07
ABSTRACT: The reed vole Alexandromys fortis is a small herbivorous species primarily inhabiting open meadows in northern and central Eurasia. While the reed vole population in Mongolia is classified as least concern, there are limited information available about this species. To address this knowledge gap, a survey was conducted in the Khonin Nuga region of West Khentey, along the Yeroo River in Northern Mongolia, to assess the physical characteristics and population structure of reed voles. Over the course of a 12-year study, the reed vole population exhibited significant oscillations. Notably, the species demonstrated strong sexual dimorphism, with males consistently displaying larger size than females among all individuals measured. Furthermore, an imbalanced sex ratio was observed, with a greater number of males present both in the captured individuals (male-to-female ratio of 1.19:1) and the adult samples (male-to-female ratio of 1.45:1).
KEY WORDS: Alexandromys fortis, Rodentia, population structure, population dynamics, sex dimorphism.