Mammals of the North-Eastern Ukraine: changes of fauna…

To be published soon: Mammals of the North-Eastern Ukraine: fauna changes and views to fauna composition – since the review by Olexandr Czernay (1853) to the present. — Zagorodniuk I. V. — There are detailed analysis of species composition of mammal fauna occurring former Kharkiv province during last 160 years since review by O. Czernay, who had prepared the first annotated systematic review of mammal fauna and compared this data with descriptions of all the adjacent regions carried out. Main attention has been paid to two questions: 1) changes in taxonomy and nomenclature of species, and 2) actual changes in fauna composition. Comments to modern state of each species mentioned in the Czernay’s review were prepared. It was shown, that for the last one and a half centuries fauna has essentially changed due to loss of some game animals and “installation” (both natural invasion and artificial introductions) of new alien species, as well as due to changes of aborigine steppe communities by more moistureloving and forest ones. Index of fauna changes for region in a whole is 22 %, but changes of abundance and distribution of some separate species are more essential. Key words: mammals, fauna, taxonomy, historical changes, Kharkiv province, Ukraine.

(The resume was submitted by the author [Lugandsk National University]