The composition of haypiles of Turuchan pika (Preliminary analysis)

• Published in: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
• Main Authors: Lenkhoboeva, S Y, Chepinoga, V V, Borisova, N G, Chimitov, D G, Belova, V A, Skornyakova, A M, Nikulin, A A, Nikulina, N A, Ilchenko, O G
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: IOP Publishing 2021
• Subjects: taiga
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/908/1/012019; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/908/1/012019; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/908/1/012019/pdf

Abstract The species composition and abundance of plants in the Turuchan pika habitat and in its haypiles were studied in the talus surrounded by taiga on the Primorsky ridge. With the Ivlev’s Electivity Index, it was found that the pika was selective in collecting food: Veratrum nigrum and Urtica dioica, being relatively rare in the habitat, were highly preferred and abundant in the haypiles. The bulk of the haypiles also consisted of 4 species ( Rubus matsumuranus, Sambucus sibirica, Populus tremula, Spiraea media ) with a high abundance in the habitat and collected proportionally with their abundance. Many plant species being abundant in the habitat were not stored by pikas.