Theriogeographical Zoning of the Eastern Sayan

Aim. We report the development of a scheme for theriogeographical zoning of the Eastern Sayan highlands.
Procedure and methods. Based on the generalization of the accumulated materials and available literary sources on the distribution and ecology of mammals on the territory of the Eastern Sayan, we have performed a theriogeographical zoning of the territory. The species composition and distribution of small mammals in the Eastern Sayan have been identified using standard methods of counting, with trapping grooves 20 m long with two cones and crushing dies set pointwise or in a line with an interval of 5 m. Large (ungulates, predators) and secretly living species of mammals have been counted using visual observations; the area has been examined to identify traces of their vital activity; Bushnell, KeepGuard, and Reconyx camera traps have been used; hunters have been interviewed; and data have been processed using winter route counts (WRCs). In the process of zoning, we have used data on the ranges of 78 species of mammals belonging to 6 orders. To determine the degree of similarity of mammalian communities in terms of species composition, use has been made of the Jaccard index.
Results. Six theriogeographical regions are identified, differing in area and species diversity. The greatest diversity is characteristic of areas that act as zoogeographical barriers between the western taiga and eastern taiga faunas and between the Central Asian steppe and eastern taiga faunas. The smallest species diversity is characteristic of inland regions, where species located on the periphery of their ranges do not penetrate. The heterogeneity of the theriofauna and the change in species diversity in the longitudinal and latitudinal directions indicate complex historical processes of settlement in the highlands. Significant elongation of the Eastern Sayan from northwest to southeast, and high diversity and mosaic nature of landscapes, along with the historical features of the formation of ecosystems and their components, determine the complex structure of the fauna and the heterogeneous nature of its constituent elements. Theoretical and/or practical significance. Theriogeographical zoning makes it possible to reveal similarities and differences in the constituent faunas, as well as the modern distribution of mammals in the conditions of a complex dissected mountainous relief and altitudinal zonality of the Eastern Sayan. The results of zoning can be used in the formation of environmental policy in the transboundary region.

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