Population Status of Tarbagan (Marmota sibirica Radde, 1862) in the Daursky State Nature Biosphere Reserve and Dzeren Valley Federal Nature Refuge

Abstract

Field studies on the distribution and population size of tarbagan (Mongolian marmot) were carried out in 2010–2017 in districts of Zabaikal’skii krai bordering Mongolia and China. The study area constitutes parts of federal-level, strictly protected areas: Daursky State Nature Biosphere Reserve and Dzeren Valley Federal Nature Refuge. It is shown that the tarbagan population in the study area has reached more than 2000 families by 2017. The most active population restoration is observed in habitats historically characterized by the maximum tarbagan population: the Nerchinskii Ridge near the Mongolian border. Engineering structures at the border and the special frontier regime contributed to the preservation of the original marmot settlements. Marmot migration from Mongolia no longer plays an important role in the maintenance of frontier marmot populations in the studied section of the Russian–Mongolian border.