Analysis of the Avifauna Structure in the Alpine Belt of the Northwestern Putorana Plateau, Central Siberia

• Published in: Biology bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences 2021-12, Vol.48 (9), p.1513-1527
• Main Authors: Romanov, A. A., Melikhova, E. V., Zarubina, M. A., Tarasov, V. V., Yakovlev, V. O.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Altitude; Avifauna; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Birds; Breeding seasons; Calidris ruficollis; Cell Biology; Charadriiformes; Ecology; Life Sciences; Passeriformes; Population density; Sea level; Species composition; Species diversity; Stercorarius longicaudus; Taxonomy; Zoology
• ISSN: 1062-3590; 1608-3059
• DOI: 10.1134/S106235902109020X

Ecological patterns of the spatial differentiation of bird fauna and populations in the alpine belt of the northwestern Putorana Plateau were analyzed at 730–1412 m above sea level. The survey was conducted by route counts along transects of unlimited width. The fauna of breeding birds was assessed using the species belonging to faunal complexes and zonal-landscape groups. The similarity of the avifauna of the areas and high-altitude zones compared was determined using the Sørensen faunal coefficient. To identify the differences in the bird populations at various sites, the population similarity coefficient was utilized. The taxonomic structure and species composition of the breeding avifauna in the alpine belt of the northwestern Putorana Plateau are quite common and amount to 33 species. Two species, the red-necked stint, Calidris ruficollis (Pallas 1776), and the long-tailed skua, Stercorarius longicaudus (Vieillot 1819), were first recorded breeding in the alpine belt in the Putorana Plateau at a distance of 600 and 200 km, respectively, away from the southern borders of their main distribution areas. The taxonomic structure of the breeding avifauna corresponds to the zonal and landscape features of the Arctic mountain regions with the dominance of species of Passeriformes and Charadriiformes, which together accounted for 80–88% of the overall diversity. The species of the Arctic faunal complex (52–62%) are the most significant in the formation of avifauna in the alpine belt of the Putorana Plateau. Zoogeographically, the avifauna of the alpine belt of the northwestern Putorana Plateau shows specific features due to Arctic–alpine ( n = 5) and alpine ( n = 1) species that are ecologically related to mountain landscapes. The avifauna of the alpine belt of the northwestern Putorana Plateau is formed within a system of general zonal-landscape and altitudinal belt patterns. The abundance and population density of birds in the alpine belt of the northwestern Putorana Plateau is much higher than in any other part of this belt. In the alpine belt of the northwestern Putorana Plateau, the species diversity, as well as bird population density and abundance, of most species decreases progressively with altitude. During the breeding season, 97% of species of local avifauna breed in the lower part of the alpine belt compared to 47% in its middle and lower parts. The population density of birds in the alpine belt in the northwestern Putorana Plateau is 264, 187, and