Structural features and heat-protection properties of the pelage of small mammals in connection with the conditions of existence in the northern taiga

We conducted a detailed comparative ecological analysis of the structure and heat-protective properties of the hair of eight dominant species of small mammals of the boreal taiga: european mole (Talpa europaea), eurasian shrew (Sorex araneus), eurasian pygmy shrew (Sorex minutus), masked shrew (Sorex caecutiens), eurasian water shrew (Neomys fodiens), northern birch mouse (Sicista betulina), tundra vole (Microtus oeconomus) and common red-backed vole (Myodes glareolus). Based on the obtained results, the main adaptive features of these small animals were revealed. This adaptation allows them to successfully compensate for their characteristic imperfections in thermoregulation, in particular by including the most effective mechanisms of physical thermoregulation. The segmental structure of hair, its differentiation into categories, thinning and transition to universalism and multifunctionality, adaptive restructuring of the microstructure of the hair corresponding to the environment and to the topography of the pelage were studied. In the ecological and evolutionary plan, all the main dimensional and structural indicators of the fur of animals were analyzed in detail, including those that allow us to assess their geographical, population and seasonal variability.