Kazakhstan Encyclopedia - User contributions [en]

Russian desman

2017-04-27T08:53:40Z

WolfmanSF: edit link

{{Taxobox
|name =Russian desman<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Soricomorpha| id = 13700678 | page = 303}}</ref>
|status =EN
|trend =down
|status_system =iucn3.1
|status_ref =<ref name=iucn>{{IUCN2012.1|assessor= Tsytsulina, K.|assessor2= Formozov, N.|assessor3= Sheftel, B.|assessor4= Zagorodnyuk, I.|last-assessor-amp= yes|year=2008|id=6506|title=Desmana moschata|downloaded=2012-09-12}} Listed as Vulnerable A2bc+4bc.</ref>
|image =Desmana moschata MHNT.INS.10.jpg
|image_width =240px
|regnum =[[Animal]]ia
|phylum =[[Chordate|Chordata]]
|classis =[[Mammal]]ia
|ordo =[[Soricomorpha]]
|familia =[[Talpidae]]
|subfamilia =[[Talpinae]]
|tribus =[[Desmanini]]
|genus ='''''Desmana'''''
|genus_authority =[[Johann Anton Güldenstädt|Güldenstädt]], 1777
|species ='''''D. moschata'''''
|binomial =''Desmana moschata''
|binomial_authority=([[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758)
|range_map =Russian Desman area.png
|range_map_caption =Russian desman range}}

The '''Russian desman''' (''Desmana moschata'') ({{lang-ru|выхухоль}} ''vykhukhol{{'}}'') is a small [[List of semiaquatic tetrapods|semiaquatic]] mammal that inhabits the [[Volga river|Volga]], [[Don River, Russia|Don]] and [[Ural River]] basins in [[Russia]], [[Ukraine]] and [[Kazakhstan]]. It constructs [[burrow]]s into the banks of [[pond]]s and slow-moving [[stream]]s, but prefers small, overgrown ponds with abundance of [[insect]]s, [[crayfish]] and [[amphibian]]s. The Russian desman often lives in small (usually not related) groups of two to five animals, and appears to have a complex (but largely unstudied) communication and [[presocial|social system]].

The Russian desman is one of two surviving [[Monotypic taxon|species]] of the tribe ''[[Desmanini]]'', the other being the [[Pyrenean desman]].<ref name=bbc120904/> Despite its outward similarity to [[muskrat]]s (a [[rodent]]), the Russian desman is actually part of the [[mole (animal)|mole]] family [[Talpidae]] in the order [[Soricomorpha]]. Like other moles, it is functionally blind and obtains much of its sensory input from the touch-sensitive [[Eimer's organ]]s at the end of its long, bilobed snout. However, the hind feet are webbed and the tail is laterally flattened —specializations for its aquatic habitat. The body is {{convert|18|to|21|cm|in|abbr=on}} long while the tail is {{convert|17|to|20|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length. Easily the largest species of mole, it weighs {{convert|400|to|520|g|oz|abbr=on}}.{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}

[[File:Desmana moschata (Harvard University).JPG|thumb|left|''Desmana moschata'']]
Decidedly rich and thick in nature, desman fur used to be highly sought after by the [[fur trade]]. Consequently, the Russian desman is now a protected species under Russian law. However, due to loss of habitat (farming), water pollution, illegal fishing nets, and the introduction of non-native species (e.g., muskrat), population levels continue to decline. In the mid-1970s, an estimated 70,000 desmans were left in the wild; by 2004, the figure was only 35,000.<ref name=bbc060609/> However, in some Russian regions,{{which|date=September 2012}} the number of desmans appears to be increasing.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name=bbc060609>{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5065428.stm | title = Russians rally for water mammal | work = [[BBC News]] | date = 9 June 2006 }}</ref>

<ref name=bbc120904>{{cite news | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19260705 | title = Pyrenean desman: On the trail of Europe's weirdest beast | first = Rebecca | last = Morelle | work = [[BBC News]] | date = 4 September 2012 }}</ref>

}}

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline|Desmana moschata}}
*{{wikispecies-inline|Desmana moschata}}
* ARKive - [http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Desmana_moschata/ images and movies of the Russian desman ''(Desmana moschata)'']

{{Soricomorpha|T.}}

[[Category:Talpidae]]
[[Category:Aquatic mammals|Desman, Russian]]
[[Category:Mammals of Asia]]
[[Category:Mammals of Europe|Desman, Russian]]
[[Category:Mammals of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Mammals of Russia]]
[[Category:Fauna of Ukraine]]
[[Category:Endangered animals|Desman, Russian]]
[[Category:Endangered biota of Europe]]
[[Category:Endangered biota of Asia]]
[[Category:Animals described in 1758]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]

{{Soricomorpha-stub}}
{{Russia-stub}}

European water vole

2017-04-26T21:41:36Z

WolfmanSF: edit link

{{Taxobox
| name = European water vole
| image = Water Vole on Boot Hill (5592665124).jpg
| image_caption = Water vole
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Rodent]]ia
| familia = [[Cricetidae]]<ref name=MSW3/>
| genus = ''[[Arvicola]]''
| species = '''''A. amphibius'''''<ref name=MSW3>{{MSW3 Musser|id=13000176}}</ref>
| binomial = ''Arvicola amphibius''
| binomial_authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="red-list-northern">{{IUCN2006|assessor=Amori|year=1996|id=2149|title=Arvicola terrestris|downloaded=12 May 2006}}</ref>
| subfamilia = [[Arvicolinae]]
| synonyms = ''Arvicola terrestris''
}}
The '''European water vole''' or '''northern water vole''', '''''Arvicola amphibius''''' (formerly '''''A. terrestris'''''), is a [[List of semiaquatic tetrapods|semiaquatic]] [[rodent]]. It is often informally called the '''water rat''', although it only superficially resembles a true [[rat]].<ref name="spot-ratty">{{cite web|url=http://www.lincstrust.org.uk/conservation/wvole/ratty.php |title=Tales of the Riverbank—How to spot 'Ratty' (previously "Water Volewatch 97") |accessdate=2006-08-23 |last=Freeston |first=Helen |date= |year=1997 |work= |publisher=[[Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust]] |pages= |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925091301/http://www.lincstrust.org.uk/conservation/wvole/ratty.php |archivedate=September 25, 2006 |deadurl=yes |df= }}</ref> Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep brown fur, chubby faces and short fuzzy ears; unlike rats their tails, paws and ears are covered with hair.

In the wild, on average, water voles only live about five months. Maximum longevity in captivity is two and a half years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mammal.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=223:the-water-vole-arvicolla-terrestris&catid=48:mammal-fact-sheets |title=The Mammal Society |publisher=Mammal.org.uk |date= |accessdate=2013-02-26}}</ref>

==Appearance==

Water voles reach {{Convert|14|-|22|cm|in|1}} in length, plus a tail which is about half the length of the body. Weights reported for adults are variable. It is possible for large, optimal adults to weigh as much as {{Convert|225|to|386|g|oz|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wildwoodtrust.org/files/water-voles-info.pdf |format=PDF |title=Ecology and Conservation of the Water Vole Arvicola terrestris amphibius |author=Forder, V. |publisher=Wildwood Trust |accessdate=2015-02-12}}</ref> However, these are peak weights. Elsewhere the mean body mass has been reported as {{convert|60|to|140|g|oz|abbr=on}}, although this figure includes immature water voles.<ref>Saucy, F. (1994). ''Density dependence in time series of the fossorial form of the water vole, Arvicola terrestris''. Oikos, 381-392.</ref> The minimum weight to successfully breed as well as to survive winter is reportedly {{convert|112|g|oz|abbr=on}} in females and {{convert|115|g|oz|abbr=on}} in males.<ref name= Yavuz>Yavuz, Güliz, Ercüment Çolak, and Teoman Kankılıç. ''Investigations on the Ecology of Eurasian Water Vole, Arvicola amphibius (Rodentia: Mammalia) in Ankara Province.'' Pakistan Journal of Zoology 45.6 (2013): 1599-1605.</ref> As a species the mean body mass is claimed as {{convert|140|g|oz|abbr=on}}.<ref>Morand, S., & Poulin, R. (1998). Density, body mass and parasite species richness of terrestrial mammals. Evolutionary Ecology, 12(6), 717-727.</ref>

Overall, European water voles are a uniform dark brown colour, with slightly paler coloration on the underside. Their pelage is quite thick and they are furred over their entire body, including their tail, unlike [[rat]]s. Their dark colour allows them to blend in well in the densely vegetated areas they inhabit.<ref>Niethammer, J. 1990. ''Water Voles (Genus *Arvicola*)''. Pp. 242-245 in S Parker, ed. Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals, Volume III. NY: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.</ref>

==Taxonomy==
The binomial applied to the water vole is ''Arvicola amphibius'', it was formerly known by the [[junior synonym]] ''A. terrestris''. The confusion stems from the fact that [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]] described two species of water vole on the same page of the same work. Those two forms are now universally considered the same species. It has been recognized as ''A. amphibius'' (Linnaeus, 1758) because the first source to unite the two forms, which Linnaeus had treated separately, into a single species chose ''A. amphibius'' as the valid name.<ref name=MSW3/> The species is widely known by the synonym ''A. terrestris'' which for many decades was treated as the valid name.

Some authorities consider the [[southwestern water vole]] (''Arvicola sapidus'') to be the same species, but this is now generally considered distinct.<ref name="red-list-northern" /><ref name="red-list-southern">{{IUCN2006|assessor=Amori|year=1996|id=2150|title=Arvicola sapidus|downloaded=23 August 2006}}</ref>

==Range==

The water vole ''Arvicola amphibius'' is found in most of Europe, Russia, West Asia and Kazakhstan.<ref name="red-list-northern" />

==Habitat==
[[Image:Arvicola terrestris.jpg|thumb|Water vole, [[Ore Mountains (Central Europe)|Ore Mountains]], Germany]]
In Britain, water voles live in burrows excavated within the banks of rivers, ditches, ponds, and streams. Burrows are normally located adjacent to slow moving, calm water which they seem to prefer. They also live in reed beds where they will weave ball shaped nests above ground if no suitable banks exist in which to burrow. The area in which they burrow is known as the subnivean zone.

Water voles prefer lush [[wikt:riparian|riparian]] vegetation which provides important cover to conceal animals when they are above ground adjacent to the water body. Areas of heavily grazed and trampled riparian habitats are generally avoided.<ref>Strachan, R. and Moorhouse, T. (2006). ''Water Vole Conservation Handbook'' (2nd edition). Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford.</ref> Water voles may be displaced by the introduction of riparian woodland and scrub as they prefer more open wetland habitats away from tree cover.

As well as frequenting typical lowland wetland habitats dominated by rank marginal aquatic vegetation, water voles are also just as at home in areas upland 'peatland' vegetation where they utilize suitable small ditches, rivers, and lochs surrounded by moorland up to 1000 m asl (e.g. northern Scotland).<ref name="Harris & Yalden">Harris, S. and Yalden, D.W. (2008). ''Mammals of the British Isles: Handbook'', 4th Edition. The Mammal Society.</ref>

In Europe and Russia, they may venture into woods, fields, and gardens. They live under the snow during the winter.

Water voles are currently being reintroduced as a threatened species in Yorkshire, England. In the Massif Central area of France, however, farmers are campaigning for action to be taken against water voles, where plagues of these rodents are causing major damage to crops.{{Citation needed|date=March 2017}}

==Diet==
Water voles mainly eat grass and other vegetation near the water, but will also consume fruits, [[Bulb|bulbs]], twigs, [[Bud|buds]], and roots when given the opportunity. In Europe, rich harvest periods can cause water vole "plagues" to take place, during which the voles eat ravenously, destroying entire fields of grass and leaving the fields full of burrows. Water voles in some parts of England have been shown to occasionally prey on frogs and tadpoles; it has been speculated that this is to make up for a protein deficiency in the voles' diet.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/8654410.stm | work=BBC News | title=Water voles get a taste for frogs | date=30 April 2010}}</ref>

Food remains alone are not a reliable indicator of the presence of this species, as other smaller voles can also leave remains of large grasses and rushes.<ref>Ryland, K. and Kemp, B (2009). "Using field signs to identify water voles - are we getting it wrong?", ''In Practice, Bulletin of the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management''. '''63''', March 2009 (pp. 23-25).</ref>

==Breeding==
The mating period lasts from March into late autumn. The female vole's [[pregnancy]] lasts for approximately 21 days. Up to 8 baby voles can be born, each weighing around {{Convert|10|g|oz|1}}. The young voles open their eyes three days after their birth. They are half the size of a full grown water vole by the time they are weaned.

==Behaviour==
Water voles are expert swimmers and divers. They do not usually live in large groups. Adult water voles each have their own territories, which they mark with fecal latrines located either near the nest, burrow and favoured water's edge platforms where voles leave or enter the water.<ref name="Harris & Yalden"/> Latrines are known to be a good survey indicator of this species, and can be used to gauge abundance of animals.<ref>Strachan, R. and Moorhouse, T. (2006). Water Vole Conservation Handbook (2nd edition). Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, [[University of Oxford]].</ref> They also scent-mark by using a [[secretion]] from their bodies (a flank gland), although this is not normally detectable during a field survey. They may attack if their territory is invaded by another water vole.

==Predation==
As a large and common microtine rodent, the range of predators faced by the European water vole is truly daunting. However, many species of predator prefer other [[rodent]]s, such as ''[[Microtus]]'' [[vole]]s and [[Apodemus|wood mice]], due to their greater numerical abundance.<ref name= Yavuz/> [[Wildcat]]s, [[red fox]]es, most species of [[hawk]] (especially [[common buzzard]]s), [[owl]] (especially the [[barn owl]], ''[[Strix (genus)|Strix]]'' genus and [[Eurasian eagle-owl]]) and [[falcon]] (in large numbers by the [[common kestrel]]) in their range are among their reported predators. A very large number are also taken by [[mustelid]]s. Reportedly small ''[[Mustela]]'' weasels as well as [[European mink|European]] and introduced [[American mink]] may take the largest number of water voles of any predator due in part to aligning habitat preferences.<ref name= Yavuz/><ref>Macdonald, D. W., Sidorovich, V. E., Anisomova, E. I., Sidorovich, N. V., & Johnson, P. J. (2002). ''The impact of American mink Mustela vison and European mink Mustela lutreola on water voles Arvicola terrestris in Belarus''. Ecography, 25(3), 295-302.</ref> The rarely checked invasive population of American mink has reportedly caused a decline of water voles in [[United Kingdom|Britain]].<ref>Jefferies, D. J., Morris, P. A., & Mulleneux, J. E. (1989). ''An enquiry into the changing status of the water vole Arvicola terrestris in Britain''. Mammal Review, 19(3), 111-131.</ref>

==Conservation==

===United Kingdom===
The water vole population in the UK has fallen from its estimated pre-1960 level of around 8 million to 2.3 million in 1990 and to 354,000 (other source: 750,000) in 1998. This represents a 90–95% loss. It is still declining dramatically: the most recent estimate for 2004 is around 220,000. This decline is partly attributed to the [[American mink]], an aggressive predator of the vole, together with unsympathetic farming and watercourse management which destroyed parts of the water vole's [[habitat (ecology)|habitat]].

On 26 February 2008, the UK Government announced full legal protection for water voles would be introduced from 6 April 2008.<ref name="legal protection">{{cite web|url=http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=355365&NewsAreaID=2))|title=Press release on Government news network|date=26 February 2008}}</ref> This makes it an offence to disturb, damage or obstruct their breeding places.

The water vole is the UK's fastest declining mammal and efforts are under way to protect it and its habitat from further destruction. One aspect of water vole conservation in the UK is focused on non-linear habitats such as [[reed bed]] which support extensive networks or [[metapopulations]]. Other areas supporting healthy populations of water voles are large conurbations such as [[Birmingham]] and [[London]] and some upland areas where American mink are scarce. Across the UK the [[The Wildlife Trusts partnership|Wildlife Trusts]] and other organisations are undertaking many practical projects to conserve and restore water vole populations.

Water voles have recently returned to [[Lindow Common]] nature reserve in Cheshire, UK, after many years of absence.<ref name="ranger-news">{{cite web|url=http://www.macclesfield.gov.uk/standardpage.asp?pageid=10564 |title=News from Lindow |accessdate=2006-08-23 |author=Macclesfield Borough Council's "Countryside and Ranger Service" |authorlink=Macclesfield |date= |work= |publisher= |pages= |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070118220242/http://www.macclesfield.gov.uk:80/standardpage.asp?pageid=10564 |archivedate=2007-01-18 |df= }}</ref> The reserve rangers credit this to conservation management, which included thinning of woodland.

Wetlands West (formerly the Severn and Avon Vales Wetlands Partnership) reports on work done as part of the Water Vole Recovery Project in the Berkeley Vale.<ref>{{cite web | title=Berkeley Vale Water Vole Recovery Project (2007-2010)", Wetlands West Annual Report 2009/10, Appendix E | work=Wetlands West | url=http://www.severnwetlands.org.uk/pdf/Appendix%20E.pdf | accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref> In Gloucestershire a new nature reserve for water voles was created in 2009/2010 at [[Nind Nature Reserve|Nind]] (a former trout farm).

The European Otter has been known to actively attack mink preying upon water vole.There are also indications that the water vole is increasing in numbers in UK areas where the [[European otter]] has made a return.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5331740.stm |title=Otters 'prompt vole resurgence' |accessdate=2006-09-11 |author= |date=2006-09-10 |year= |work= |publisher=BBC |pages= }}</ref>

====National Water Vole Monitoring Programme (NWVMP)====
In 2015 [[People's Trust for Endangered Species]] launched a new project to try and coordinate conservation efforts for the water vole in the UK. The National Water Vole Monitoring Programme (NWVMP) is the first ongoing monitoring scheme for this species in the UK and aims to bring together data from several hundred sites to allow the status of this animal to be assessed year-on-year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ptes.org/get-involved/surveys/countryside-2/national-water-vole-monitoring-programme/ |title=PTES website for the National Water Vole Monitoring Programme |publisher=PTES |date= |accessdate=2015-05-09}}</ref>

==Literary appearances==
A water vole named "Ratty" is a leading character in the 1908 children's book ''[[Wind in the Willows]]'' by [[Kenneth Grahame]]: the locality used in the book is believed to be [[Moor Copse]] in [[Berkshire]], [[England]], and the character's name "Ratty" has become widely associated with the species and their riverbank habitat, as well as the misconception that they are a species of rat.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.aspx?id=tcm:9-184342 |title=RSPB |publisher=RSPB |date= |accessdate=2013-02-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Water Voles: The Return of Ratty |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2006/02/03/water_voles_a_z_feature.shtml |title=BBC Devon |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=2009-01-21 |accessdate=2013-02-26}}</ref>

In the comic novel and film ''[[Cold Comfort Farm]]'' by [[Stella Gibbons]], one of the characters, Urk, refers to the subject of his unrequited love, Elfine Starkadder, as his little water vole. Throughout the story, Urk spends a lot of time talking to the water voles on the farm.

[[Charles Stuart Calverley|C. S. Calverley]] a 19th-century writer of (among other things) light verse, in his poem "Shelter," beginning:

''By the wide lake's margin I mark'd her lie--''

''The wide, weird lake where the alders sigh--''

Tells of an apparently shy, easily frightened young female by a lakeside, who in the last line of the poem, it's revealed that:

''For she was a water-rat.''

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Arvicola terrestris}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131208230834/http://www.bbcwildlife.org.uk/water_voles General information on Water Voles]
{{taxonbar}}

{{Arvicolinae}}

[[Category:Animals described in 1758]]
[[Category:Aquatic mammals]]
[[Category:Endangered species of the British Isles]]
[[Category:Mammals of Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Mammals of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Mammals of the Middle East]]
[[Category:Mammals of Russia]]
[[Category:Rodents of Europe]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Voles and lemmings]]

White-winged woodpecker

2017-02-20T01:21:18Z

WolfmanSF: /* top */clean up using AWB

{{Taxobox
| image = White-winged Woodpecker.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref>{{IUCN|id=22681130 |title=''Dendrocopos leucopterus'' |assessor=BirdLife International |assessor-link=BirdLife International |version=2013.2 |year=2012 |accessdate=26 November 2013}}</ref>
| regnum = [[Animalia]]
| phylum = [[Chordata]]
| classis = [[Aves]]
| ordo = [[Piciformes]]
| familia = [[Picidae]]
| genus = ''[[Dendrocopos]]''
| species = ''D. leucopterus''
| binomial = ''Dendrocopos leucopterus''
| binomial_authority = ([[Tommaso Salvadori|Salvadori]], 1870)
| synonyms = }}

The '''white-winged woodpecker''' (''Dendrocopos leucopterus'') is a species of [[bird]] in the family [[Picidae]].
It is found in [[Afghanistan]], [[China]], [[Iran]],<ref>http://www.irandeserts.com</ref> [[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Turkmenistan]], [[Uzbekistan]]. The white-winged woodpecker's natural [[habitat]]s are temperate [[forest]]s and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

==References==
{{Commons|Dendrocopos leucopterus}}
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:woodpecker, white-winged}}
[[Category:Dendrocopos|white-winged woodpecker]]
[[Category:Woodpeckers|white-winged woodpecker]]
[[Category:Birds of Central Asia]]
[[Category:Birds of Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Birds of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Birds of Kyrgyzstan]]
[[Category:Birds of Tajikistan]]
[[Category:Birds of Turkmenistan]]
[[Category:Birds of Uzbekistan]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1870|white-winged woodpecker]]

{{woodpecker-stub}}
{{asia-stub}}