Changes in Rodent Populations in Eastern Fennoscandia under the Influence of Anthropogenic Transformations of Boreal Ecosystems

Abstract

Long-term (1966–2015) stationary and expedition studies in eastern Fennoscandia have revealed specific changes in the structure and abundance of rodent populations under the influence of concentrated forest fells. The general patterns of the influence of intensive forest exploitation on the natural habitats, numbers, territorial distribution, and ecological features of small rodents in the region are analyzed. It has been established that, for most rodent species, industrial harvesting leads to a decrease in the total abundance of populations, as well as to an erratic shift in population dynamics with sudden short recoveries and deep longterm depressions, the formation of a nonresistant mosaic spatial distribution, and a disturbance of the rates and a decrease in the intensity of breeding and population reproduction.