Spatially-temporal heterogeneity of amphibian population of Western Siberia

The article presents the results of the analysis and subsequent generalization at the regional level of long-term data on the amphibian population of the entire Western Siberia, including the West Siberian Plain, the Kuznetsk-Salair Mountain Region and the Russian part of Altai. The initial materials were collected for the period from 1970 to 2022 during the amphibian survey in 1623 habitats using ditches and fences with trap cylinders. Based on the collected data, the number of amphibians in this vast region was estimated, the distribution of species at the level of landscape groups and the features of the spatially- temporal dynamics of their abundance were described. Using the methods of cluster analysis in combination with expert data clustering, the classification of amphibian communities was carried out, which was taken as a basis for the development of the legend of the amphibian population map of Western Siberia presented in the article. The main objective of the study was to identify the main trends in the spatial variability of the amphibian population and assessment of their relationship to environmental heterogeneity. The animal population data served as a basis for achieving this goal.