Contribution to the Geographic Distribution of Rodent Species and Ecological Analyses of Their Habitats in Asiatic Turkey

Authors: Nuri YİĞİT, Ercüment ÇOLAK

Abstract: Rodent species in 17 selected localities were determined, and these localities were then compared with respect to rodent species composition. It was determined that a total of 27 rodent species are found in these localities, the number in each locality ranging from 6 to 12. Species previ-ously recorded in mixed and decidous forests in northern Asiatic Turkey, such as Glis glis, Muscardinus avellanarius, Microtus subterraneus and Clethrionomys glareolus, were found not to range across forested localities in west and south Asiatic Turkey in the dry summer season. It was also determined that rodents, which live in similar habitats in different localities, showed considerable differences in species composition, and therefore the similarity coefficients between the localities ranged from 1 to 0.18. In this connection, vegetation structure, climate and altitude were found to be the main factors effecting the distribution of rodent species in Asiatic Turkey.

Keywords: Rodent species, distribution, Asiatic Turkey

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