The experience of reintroducing the Olkhon mountain vole to insular ecosystems of the Lake Baikal area

Authors

  • Igor Moroldoev Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals SB RAS, Frunze str. 11, Novosibirsk, 630091, Russian Federation
  • Yuri Litvinov Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals SB RAS, Frunze str. 11, Novosibirsk, 630091, Russian Federation
  • Natalia Lopatina Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals SB RAS, Frunze str. 11, Novosibirsk, 630091, Russian Federation
  • Sergei Abramov Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals SB RAS, Frunze str. 11, Novosibirsk, 630091, Russian Federation
  • Pavel Zadubrovskiy Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals SB RAS, Frunze str. 11, Novosibirsk, 630091, Russian Federation
  • Svetlana Babina Western Baikal protected areas, Baikalskaya str. 291B, Irkutsk, 664050, Russian Federation

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7850824

Keywords:

biodiversity, Alticola, mountain voles, Lake Baikal, Olkhon island, wildlife conservation, threatened species

Abstract

This short communication reports the initial results of the experimental reintroduction of the Olkhon mountain vole Alticola olchonensis, an endemic mammal species of the Lake Baikal area. In 2019–2020, several dozen young individuals born in the vivarium of the Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals SB RAS (Novosibirsk, Russia) were released into the wild on Borokchin Island (the Maloe More Strait, Lake Baikal). The Olkhon mountain vole used to inhabit this island but disappeared in the early 21st century. The reintroduction outcomes can be considered successful as the young-of-the-year voles have survived the winter and bred.

Author Biography

Yuri Litvinov, Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals SB RAS, Frunze str. 11, Novosibirsk, 630091, Russian Federation

Head of Laboratory of Ecology of Vertebrate Communities Lab, DSc

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Published

2023-04-22

How to Cite

Moroldoev, I., Litvinov, Y., Lopatina, N., Abramov, S., Zadubrovskiy, P., & Babina, S. (2023). The experience of reintroducing the Olkhon mountain vole to insular ecosystems of the Lake Baikal area. Journal of Wildlife and Biodiversity, 7(3), 17–23. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7850824