Ecological and biological peculiarities of theriofauna in the orchards of collective farms in the Central Caucasus

The article presents, for the first time, the data on the species composition of small mammals and intraspecific variation of the dominant species - Apodemus uralensis in the orchards of collective farms in the foothills of the Central Caucasus. The theriocomplex of the orchards within Nalchik is represented by 7 species, among which 6 rodent species are registered: Apodemus uralensis Pallas, 1811, Apodemus agrarius Pallas, 1771, Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758, Cricetus cricetus Linnaeus, 1758, Microtus (Terricola) majori Thomas, 1906, and Microtus arvalis Pallas, 1778. One representative of insectivores - Crocidura suaveolens Pallas, 1811 is also registered. The species composition is scarce in the orchards of collective farms in Aushiger-village. Only three rodent species are found there: Apodemus uralensis, Apodemus agrarius, and Dryomus nitedula Pallas, 1778. The differences in ecological and biological characteristics for the studied assemblages of small mammals can be explained by unbalanced anthropogenic load and diverse landscape conditions of the areas under survey.