Species habitat loyalty: classification and experience apply for birds in steppe landscapes

The scale of habitat loyalty is the level of preferences to biocenosis. There is no general scale applying for terrestrial animals. The aim of this paper is to make unification criteria to scale of terrestrial animals habitat loyalty and apply it for Baikal Siberia steppe birds. We offer criteria classification for terrestrial animals by scale of habitat loyalty with five gradations: 1. true native species - species inhabit in that type of biocenosisand genetically belongs to it. 2. True species - species inhabit in different landscapes but in the same time prefer ecological close types biocenosis, these types of biocenosis are preferred for them. 3. Preferencespecies - polytypic species in habitindifferenteco systems landscapes these biotopes are attractivebut not preference and primary. 4. Indifferent species - inhabit in different types of biotopes but this type of bionenose belongs to secondary habitat. 5. Random species - species are foreign to this type of biocenose. All gradations are unified to 3 supergroups: 1) typical species (1st and 2nd gradations); 2) facultative species (3rd and 4th gradations); 3) random species (5th gradation). Theproposed classification of habitatloyalty shows one of the main characteristics of ecological structure and population of terrestrial animals. Also it shows the level of loyalty to biocenose and gives opportunity to identify relation specie to habitats. We made analysis of steppe birds Baikal Siberia using these criteria. 79 species from 13 classes are registered in breeding season in steppe ecosystems. The fauna’s structure of steppe ecosystems through habitat loyalty is heterogeneous. The most mixed is reference group, species from this group are demanded to good nesting safety. Many steppe species are characteristic every habitatdifferentiation of nesting and feeding habitat (particularly preference and true species). The structure bird fauna steppe Baikal Siberia through habitat loyalty is very ecology heterogeneous and specific because region is situated in landscape-zone ecotone.